Joy Hsu
"F" is For Fruit
Class of: 2022
Major: Communication Design BFA
Medium: A combination of collage, photo and painting
Faculty: Kate Teale
Prompt: To propose and make work for an imagined exhibit at either MoMA or PS1. This final is focused on identifying, researching and developing an idea/question/problem that will lead you to a self-proposed final project and body of work.
Integrative Studio
Integrative Seminar
“F is for Fruits” is an art exhibit about fruits, women, and censorship. Stephanie Sarley is an artist who specializes in creating erotic art using fruits on social media. This led my interest in the topic of fruits being used as a stand-in for female genitalia, specifically in advertisements. This collection of work explores the concept behind utilizing fruits as a symbol for female sexuality and genitalia in art and advertisement today. This is an exhibition questioning the reason behind our society’s obsession to censor bodies in art or in advertisements. The style and humor of my artwork were influenced and inspired by my research on the censorship of women’s bodies.
Research about the subject provided insight about the connotations and pre- established symbolism fruits already have with sex, as well as the psychological reasons behind why our brain likes to find objects or shapes found in nature to substitute for genitalia. Artworks like Frida Kahlo’s famous painting What the Water Gave Me and Lee Price’s Women & Food series inspired my erotic photoshoot with fruits and bathtubs, leading me into my exploration of ways to use fruits as the main subject of my exhibition. It is obvious to many why the censorship of genitals is mandatory, however not many of us think about how this affects us or the artwork or advertisement itself. My exhibit is a very sensual and experimental, leading us to think about just how much we are affected by censorship.