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Peter Paul Rubens, Venus and Adonis, mid- or late 1630s
RESEARCH
Historical Background:
This is a photo of Venus and Cupid trying to restrain Adonis who was Venus lover, from going out and hunting because she was afraid something would happen to him.
Representation of Gender Role:
This shows the man as a hunter, strong and warrior like. Where as it shows the woman kind of inferior to him because she's lower than him in the painting and her body language and facial expression makes it seem like she's pleading to him not to leave.
Brianna, Female Hero​, 2015
The gender issue that I want to discuss is the roles of men and women in regards to who is the protector and who is the nurtuer.
I chose to reform the artwork Venus and Adonis because it is a perfect example of a man taking on the role of protector and provider since he is the hunter in the photo. I feel like this has been a common belief for quite some time now in American culture so I wanted to reform it to show that men are not the only ones who can provide for the family.
The way I demonstrated the reform in my new artwork is by switching roles. I had a woman being the one going out to fight for our country in the military while the man stays home to take care of the baby. The message that I wanted to convey is that women don't always have to be the ones at home taking care of the kids.
INDIVIDUAL ART MAKING
I think that this research for these gender role artworks were interesting, but I had already known about them because I've taken classes about masculinity and femininity and gender roles. So I've learned this stuff before. But switching it so that the roles are changed was fun for me.
REFLECT ON THE PROJECT
Brianna