In The Ways of Seeing by John Berger, he states that "when an image is presented as a work of art, the way people look at it is affected by a whole series of learnt assumptions about art." What I see when I look at Emma Amos's artwork might differ from someone else. When people look at a painting they are making assumptions about beauty, status, taste, and civilization. This is why it is important to have different standards of beauty. Who is to say that my standard of beauty is invalid because the next person doesn't think it fits their normality of what beauty is? Susan Sontag stated in her book On Photography that photographs are important because "it means putting oneself into a certain relation to the world that feels like knowledge." We all know that knowledge is power. Art brings awareness, art can get you think, art can make you change your mind on what you think is important.
Think about our social norms in the 21st century, has much changed over the past 50 years? I would say yes. Now, we're breaking down certain barriers but the standard of beauty still remains the same. The tall, thin, blonde haired, white girl beauty. The same standard that's pictured in the majority of the popular magazines sold in our local stores. The fashion world is changing as far as incorporating more woman of color into their fashions shows, commercials, and front page news spreads. In 2016, there were only "196 woman of color out of 689 cover appearances" (huffingtonpost.com). Although that is only 29%, is it not a step in the right direction? I have hope in the future that we can double that number. Representation matters in our society, and we need to address the fact that there are millions of woman who are all different and as equally beautiful.
I found another piece that I thought was similar to Amos's photo and it shows 2nd wave feminist protesting the discrimination that they face due to their gender. One woman holds up a sign that says "let's judge ourselves as people." The woman standing behind her has her sign raised above her head and it states "can make-up cover the wounds of our oppression?" Often times, women in magazines, commercials, and advertisement are depicted as objects and not humans. That if you don't look a particular way, you're not deemed a "real woman." Not too long ago we had the feminist march on Washington, which dealt with the same problems that women faced in the past.
The difference between these two works of art is obliviously race, but the goal is ultimately the same. One can say that Black woman are subjected to discrimination more than White woman are just based off society. The end game is get people talking. To get people to understand that things have got to change for the sake of humanity. There is no such things as a dominant race. What effects me on a daily basis may not effect you in the same way. What I can do is inform those who are ignorant about this topic, the knowledge needed to understand why it is important. Art is universal, and these two pieces of artwork address the unrealistic standards of beauty.
Sources:
- STYLE. (2010, Dec. 15) Far Too Many Fashion Magazines Only Used White Cover Models in 2016. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/women-of-color-magazine-statistics-2016_us_58514e78e4b0ee009eb47cbe
- Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. British Broadcasting Coorporation and Penguin Books. 1972
- Sontag, Susan. On Photography. Macmillian. 1977.
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