Modern Art Heralds Sexism in Society

John Wayne once said, "Women have a right to work wherever they want - as long as they have dinner ready when you get home." Though this sentiment may have been widely agreed upon in the early and mid 1900’s, is that opinion still floating around the United States? To find an answer, you could ponder modern art. As women struggle to be a voice heard and not just a body seen, the art world has not turned a deaf ear. In Ad Reinhardt’s Yellow Painting, the artists employs shapes, color, and varying proportion to depict how sexism, cowering to a male dominated society, overpowers women.

I was intrigued by both the lines of shapes and the blending of shapes in Reinhardt’s work. The lines represent harsh angles more often than curvatures. The harsher the line, the more visible and dominate its shape is on the canvas. In the upper left hand side, an open triangle is traced with a bold line and shadowed a dark auburn. A curved line can be seen when the viewer relaxes the eye, allowing it to fall over the navy blue curve the left of the canvas. The curve is reminiscent of a woman’s hourglass figure. Comparing these two lines, both harsh and soft, the viewer can begin to realize that this exemplifies an established pattern throughout the piece. Harsh lines are bold, thick, and often repeated while the curved lines are not so boldly drawn though they are in a darker color. The bold male lines in the piece wildly overpower the curved female lines, making this touch of femininity almost unnoticeable. I encourage you to study the painting for just a moment, concentrating on shapes. You may see, as I have, that Reinhardt also employed the use of blended shapes along with lines to depict sexism in American culture. Whenever you may notice a glimmer of femininity in the painting, that image is interrupted by a masculine stoke. One example can be found in the upper center of the image. Look slightly to the right, and you may see the bust of a woman with flowing hair. However, the image is interrupted on its left side by the bust of a smiling man. Looking even closer, you may see that same man wearing a hat. With the technique of blending shapes together, Reinhardt forces viewers to look for whatever they seek to find in the piece.

Reinhardt also uses color to express an opinion of sexism in society. The artist used warm colors alongside cold interjections in this piece. The general palate of the piece is warm. Reinhardt uses golden yellows, and a nearly terracotta red or burnt orange. However, there are injections of colder colors like navy blue and gray to the left side of the piece. The difference in warm versus cool palates can also be distinguished by comparing the whites used on the left and right sides of the canvas. On the left, where the navy blue curvature is, the whites are cooler and almost a fair shade of gray. Now look to the right side of the canvas. These whites are warmer, almost the color of a natural fiber. If one considers the theory that Reinhardt is using this piece to make a statement on sexism in society, it is interesting to point out that the color palate is gender neutral. Common knowledge would tell you that red is associated with women while blue is associated with men. However, yellow is a neutral color. Could Reinhardt be posing a new question for consideration: is a male centered world masked in gender neutrality? What a thought, eh mates?

Another element that you can look at to see how Reinhardt uses this piece to raise discussion about sexism in society is prominence compared to proportion. Proportionately, the masculine shapes are smaller than the curving lines, but the masculine lines are more prominent throughout the piece in number. In contrast, the feminine lines and shapes are the larger in proportion in the piece, but fewer in number. Allow me to cite an example. If you look to the bottom right of the piece, you can see various and multiple shapes with hard lines (these are the shapes which I refer to as male). Now look to the left side of the frame where the curving lines are most evident. These curvy shapes are less prominent in the piece, though they are proportionately larger than the straight lines and shapes. Comparing these two shapes in their respective sections on the canvas, you can see that the male shapes are smaller than the female shapes, but they are indeed more numerous overall.

After elaborating on my interpretation of the work, I realize that some critics and fellow art enthusiasts may say, “Hello. What’s this nonsense about sexism in society? The painting is merely a painting.” To this response, or any other counter thought, I can only say that my opposition may be right. Then again, I beg you to consider that my logic, too, is correct. This, mates, is the true joy of art. There isn’t a right or wrong answer, no matter what a text book tells you. It isn’t a true or false examination. Art is the exercise of free thought, free will, free emotion—all elements of the human nature that we should celebrate. So if you think I’m wrong—say it! Let me hear from you! Let’s start a discussion. Let’s learn from each other!