FEMMENTALITY

The exposition to be analyzed was created by Savannah Paul. The artist is a senior in Long Beach State where she will obtain her BFA in metal this Spring. Paul explained that she wants to seek a Master but not at the moment since she wants to grow more as an artist and have more experience. So, she will look for a job in a gallery or will try to work for another artist. She also said that she has been working for years in her pieces. Metals wasn’t her first choice since she knows how to draw and paint but after taking a class, she realized she enjoyed the process more and switch to the other program.

I will like to describe the artist’s work from my perception. The metals’ shapes are mostly undulating. She didn’t paint most of the art pieces, but some had colors such as gold and white which she related with her main theme. The pieces are big, so you are able to identify the shape from meters. Paul did sketches before forming the body, so her work is influence by her drawing and painting and informed by her time studying the human figure. She also commented that she used her own body as a reference to make the pieces. 

The artist clarified that during this pivotal socio-political moment in the US, it is extremely important to examine what it means to be a woman. Her art work takes on a social commentary that has been emboldened by the many powerful women who have participated in the #MeToo movement and bound women together in an unprecedent way. Paul wanted to portray the different issues women have to face daily such as rape and abuse in order to create conscience. 

To conclude, I really enjoy Paul’s work since I felt connected to it. She did an excellent job by pointing out the role of being woman. We can see ourselves in these objects so as the artist. It is amazing how Paul examined the figure aesthetically in order to see the beauty of the form. And as she said, “as a woman I see the struggle and the strength that accompany the body I was born with”.