Shame

Evolving out of a generalized women's movement, the Feminist Art movement emerged in the 1970s and transformed the art world of the late twentieth century. Equal parts art movement, social movement, and political movement; the feminist art movement sought to establish a fundamentally different set of values by which art is motivated and created, perceived and evaluated. In the process, many of our basic assumptions about art and the art world were called into question, including its hierarchy and the role of art in daily life. Feminist artists sought to retrieve and rehabilitate the image of women in art, as well as to reconstruct the history of art made by women and people of other cultures. These have conceptually been absent from traditional art history‘s and the Academy.

In this dark and provocative piece of social commentary, contemporary artist Jeanne Gray addresses the disturbing subject of shame and the particular way it affects young women and girls. Frightened, alone and vulnerable, a young girl huddles in the corner, while representatives of a various institutions that should provide protection to a child (such as hospitals, schools, and churches) assault her with blame. It is clear from her posture that she is already taken on the shame of the adult world and its actions, whatever they may be.

Both personal and universal in subject matter, this work of conspicuous art well expresses two feminist ideas: that the person is indeed political and that by expressing themselves, as members of a larger community, women can give a voice to those who cannot speak for themselves.

Techniques: Machine pieced, quilted, and appliqued, fused
Culture: American
Geographic Location: North and Central America, United States
Credit Line: Gift of the artist, Jeanne Gray