Joan Semmel Wikipage Artist

Background

Joan Semmel was born on October 19th, 1992 in New York City. She developed a love for painting throughout her life which eventually lead her to make that her center focus for education, attending Pratt Institute achieving her masters degree. From there she went to study at the Arts Student League in New York, then obtaining her diploma from Cooper Union Art School. She ended up traveling to Spain and South America to finally begin her career as an artist. She developed a deep interest for abstract art as she found it was an outlet for her with being able to express herself and concepts in a less direct manner. While doing so she was sadly exposed to the harsh, negative sexist community, as she realized that the portrayal of women had a consistent demographic of objectifying women in sexual ways for the satisfaction of the male viewer. She worked for seven years in Madrid to be a factor in fixing this dilemma before ultimately returning to the states around the seventies to take part in the growing feminist movement. “I wanted to create sexual images that were erotic for women that did not satisfy only the male appetite, which is dealt with in most pornography” From then on Semmel made it her mission to emphasize the irony in men using only women for their works and success, but degrading them in the process, while also only creating pieces for men’s appeal. She transitions the view of erotic photos then being females used for male pleasure, to now being incorporated within a more realistic view of both men and female paintings that accommodates to all. Sexual equality at it's finest.

The Female Nude

Joan Semmel, like said before, contained a fascination with the human body and including it within her art pieces in a sensual form. But, unlike her male chauvinist counterparts, she believed that women need to be represented how they should have always been presented within the art community; without categorizing females as a whole. Semmel takes us back to looking at the whole concept between an individual who is naked and one who is nude. The “Ways of Seeing” allows us to understand that “To be naked is to be oneself. To be nude is to be seen naked by others and yet not recognized for oneself. A naked body has to be seen as an object in order to become a nude. (The sight of it as an object stimulates the use of it as an object.) Nakedness reveals itself. Nudity is placed on display. To be naked is to be without disguise” Semmel realizes that women have been tainted not by them being nude within these paintings, but mainly from the male viewer who interprets them as nothing but naked, which immediately sexualizes them personally therefore making them associate that with any female they find attractive. It's insulting and degrading. Joan even has been quoted saying it herself; “I am always asked the question about my feelings of being publicly naked, and I always answer: It isn’t me, it’s the painting,”

Erotic Pieces

To extend from this idea of nudity, she eventually started to construct pieces that was based on the interaction between the male and female during intercourse. She forces the viewer to keep in mind the whole concept of nudity opposed to being naked by making most of the individuals in her paintings anonymous and keeping their faces hidden. This element is beneficial because it therefore compels the viewer to focus on the sexual connection itself and the personal interaction instead of two specific individuals.

Societies Perspective on Female Attractiveness

Lastly with her imagery, Semmel likes to exhibit the importance of the reality of the human body, tearing apart the everlasting evolving image of what an “attractive female” is within a society. She uses herself and other females to express the reality of how age, weight, and the overall transitioning body are common with every single female. This does not take away from their beauty and Semmel is able to prove that there is and never really be a standard when it comes to what's considered beautiful and appealing.

Sources:

https://www.alexandergray.com/artists/joan-semmel
https://hamptonsarthub.com/2016/09/29/reviews-art-review-joan-semmel-self-portraits-offer-vibrant-affirmation-of-aging/
https://elephant.art/joan-semmel-flesh/
file:///C:/Users/Jordyn/AppData/Local/Packages/Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe/TempState/Downloads/Ways%20of%20Seeing_Ch3_Berger.pdf