American Viragos: Depicting Heroines in Public Art
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University of Central Florida STARS Honors Undergraduate Theses UCF Theses and Dissertations 2017 American Viragos: Depicting Heroines in Public Art Cara Henry University of Central Florida Part of the Art and Design Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the UCF Theses and Dissertations at STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Undergraduate Theses by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Recommended Citation Henry, Cara, "American Viragos: Depicting Heroines in Public Art" (2017). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 170. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses/170 AMERICAN VIRAGOS: DEPICTING HEROINES IN PUBLIC ART by CARA HENRY A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Honors in the Major program in Studio Art in the College of Arts and Humanities and in the Burnett Honors College at the University of Central Florida Orlando, FL Spring Term, 2017 Thesis Chair: Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz Abstract To confront the inadequate representation of women as heroic figures in American public art, this project investigates the precedent of representing heroines in art. Through researching artwork featuring heroines, and heroic figures in general, this project aims to understand the historical context that new works featuring heroines will fit into. A template for constructing art featuring heroines was developed, showing what features or qualities are generally emphasized for the artwork to read as heroic. As art history has supplied principally man heroic figures, it was interesting trying to discern whether a template for art about heroines is different or essentially the same as a template for heroes. This project also includes three groups of artworks: new portraits for United States paper currency featuring American heroines, propaganda posters featuring Lady Liberty, and proposals for public installations that celebrate American heroines. These works investigate the process of placing women in spaces historically used to celebrate predominantly man heroic figures. In this investigation, I found that many heroic signifiers used for heroes were suitable for heroines. Emphasize physical strength, a performance of masculinity, or an emphasized performance of femininity were not necessary for the portrayal of heroines to read as heroic. By creating these artworks and a template for constructing heroines, this project will hopefully encourage and enable other artists to create works featuring heroines and generate support for better representation of women in public art. ii Acknowledgements This thesis was only possible through the assistance and guidance from my lovely committee: Dr. Maria Cristina Santana, Professor Jason Burrell, and my art mom, Professor Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz. iii Table of Contents CHAPTER ONE: THE INVESTIGATION ............................................................................... 1 CHAPTER TWO: HEROIFICATION....................................................................................... 3 HEROISM AND GENDER ..................................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER THREE: PRECEDENT ......................................................................................... 22 MIXED RESULTS.................................................................................................................. 35 CHAPTER FOUR: THE TRIALS ............................................................................................ 40 EXPERIMENT 1: Lady Liberty ........................................................................................... 40 EXPERIMENT 2: Currency Portraits ................................................................................. 51 EXPERIMENT 3: Installation Proposals ............................................................................. 68 IDA B. WELLS .................................................................................................................... 68 AMELIA EARHART ........................................................................................................... 72 GRACE HOPPER ................................................................................................................. 76 CHAPTER FIVE: TEMPLATE ................................................................................................ 79 TEMPLATE ............................................................................................................................ 79 CHAPTER SIX: FINDINGS ..................................................................................................... 82 iv List of Figures Figure 1: de Weldon, Felix. United States Marine Corps Memorial. 1954. Cast bronze. Arlington National Cemetery. ARTSTOR. Web. 19 January 2017. ....................................................... 5 Figure 2: Christy, Howard Chanler. Gee! I Wish I Were a Man. 1917. Lithograph. University of Minnesota Libraries. ARTSTOR. Web. 19 January 2017. ..................................................... 6 Figure 3: Michelangelo. Sistine Chapel (The Libyan Sibyl detail). 1508-1512. Fresco. Sistine Chapel. ARTSTOR. Web. 19 January 2017. ........................................................................ 10 Figure 4: Ehrhart, Ehrhart. Columbia’s Easter bonnet. 6 Apr. 1901. Cartoon. Prints and Photographs division. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Web. 01 Apr. 2017. ...................... 15 Figure 5: “Postcard: No Votes Thank You. The Appeal of Womanhood. [1912].” Ann Lewis Women’s Suffrage Collection. Ann Lewis and Mike Sponder, 2015. Web. 02 Apr. 2017. 16 Figure 6: “A Woman’s Mind Magnified.” The Suffrage Postcard Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2017....................................................................................................................................... 17 Figure 7: “The Apotheosis of Suffrage.” The Library of Congress. The Library of Congress, n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2017. ............................................................................................................... 18 Figure 8: David, Jaques-Louis. Oath of the Horatii. 1784. The Louvre, Paris, France. ARTSTOR. Web. 21 July 2016. ............................................................................................................... 22 Figure 9: Gentileschi, Artemisia. Judith Slaying Holofernes. 1620. National Museum of Capodimonte, Naples, Italy. ARTSTOR. Web. 21 July 2016. ............................................. 24 Figure 10: Michelangelo. David. 1501-1504. Galleria Dell'Accademia, Florence, Italy. ARTSTOR. Web. 21 July 2016. .................................................................................. 25 v Figure 11: “The Nine Women of Statuary Hall.” Equal Visibility Everywhere. EVE: Equal Visibility Everywhere, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2017. .................................................................. 26 Figure 12: Levy, Rom. “Freddy Sam “I Am Because We Are” New Madiba Tribute Mural- Johannesburg, South Africa.” Streetartnews.net. Street Art News, 11 Jan. 2014. Web. 01 Apr. 2017. ............................................................................................................................. 27 Figure13: Anyangwe, Eliza. “Congo: Painting Colonial Brutality in the DRC.” CNN. Cable News Network, 03 June 2015. Web. 01 Apr 2017. .............................................................. 28 Figure14: Lopez, Belkys. “The Mirabal Sisters: Heroes, Not Victims.” thehuffingtonpost.com, The Huffington Post, 25 Nov. 2015. Web. 01 Apr. 2017 ..................................................... 29 Figure15: Cindy. “Professor Wangari Maathi.” Artandarchitecture-sf.com. N.p., 22 Aug. 2012. Web. 01 Apr. 2017. ............................................................................................................... 30 Figure 16: Ewing, Ed. “Che’s Last Stand.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 31 Dec. 2008. Web. 01 Apr. 2017. ..................................................................................................... 31 Figure17: “Lincoln Statue.” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2017. ........................................................................................................................ 32 Figure 18: Chicago, Judy. The Dinner Party. 1974-1979. Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY. ARTSTOR. Web. 21 July 2016. ................................................................................... 33 Figure 19: Chicago, Judy. Emily Dickinson (Detail of The Dinner Party). 1974-1979. Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY. ARTSTOR. Web. 21 July 2016. .................................................. 33 Figure 20: Larson, Kay. "A Subtlety, Or the Marvelous Sugar Baby." Rev. of A Subtlety, Or the Marvelous Sugar Baby. Curator 57.4 (2014): 505. Web. 21 July 2016 ............................... 34 vi Figure 21: “Diana Memorial Fountain.” The Royal Parks. The Royal Parks, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2017....................................................................................................................................... 36 Figure 22: CNN Wire Staff, and Sarah Aarthun. “Senegal Unveils Colossal Statue Amid Criticism.” CNN. Cable News Network, 03 Apr. 2010. Web. 19 Mar. 2017. ...................... 37 Figure