Isabel Dolan: The Exploration of Gender in Art and Politics

How we would represent politicians if we lived in a matriarchal society that celebrated gender and identity.  How does gender and identity intersect with art?  I was inspired by the work of Judy Chicago. She had a series where she embroidered  napkins with questions like “what if women ruled the world?” and “would God be female?”.

This inspired me to think about how women and non-binary people would be represented in art if women did rule the world.

I chose to do presidential portraits because I wanted my work to be subversive and we have never had a female president in the US, so I thought it would be a fitting project. Additionally, the portraits we have of female politicians copy the portraits of male politicians. This is because, across the globe, many people agree that a politician shouldn’t look too feminine. Therefore, femininity or any expression of identity is not widely accepted. I wanted to do this topic because I wanted the opportunity to be personally creative with my project and photography is a hobby of mine. Also, as an aspiring filmmaker and photographer, I am always curious about how identity intersects with the visual arts. 

My models are Carina Grande, Xavi Campbell, and Audrey Krishnadasan. 

Occidental College is a partner of the ERA Coalition and the Fund for Women’s Equality.


Connect and Follow Us

Twitter: @4womensequality and @eracoalition

Instagram: @fundforwomensequality and @eracoalition

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fundforwomensequality

 

Resources:

Video on the ERAhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-s61h1FH2E&t=1s

History of the ERA: https://www.eracoalition.org/the-amendment 

We are the Fund for Women’s Equality: https://youtu.be/8ogt45BN_SY 

Share:

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Help Us Make This Happen

Donate to FFWE

Your contribution will help us to implement laws ensuring sex equality across the country!

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *