{"id":9198,"date":"2019-05-12T17:55:57","date_gmt":"2019-05-12T21:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parsons.edu\/undergrad\/?post_type=student-work&p=9198"},"modified":"2019-09-20T17:04:33","modified_gmt":"2019-09-20T21:04:33","slug":"aria-bowes","status":"publish","type":"student-work","link":"https:\/\/parsons.edu\/undergrad\/student-work\/aria-bowes\/","title":{"rendered":"Aria Bowes"},"content":{"rendered":"

My gallery exhibition focuses on representations of gender in African cultures\u00a0throughout history. I look specifically at the helmet masks worn by the Elephant\u00a0and Sande Sowei Helmet masks of the Bamileke and Mende cultures\u00a0(respectively) of Cameroon and Sierra Leone (respectively). I also analyze\u00a0representations of Akhenaten during his reign. All of this research is used to\u00a0prove that the rules and confines of gender seem to be getting stricter with time\u00a0and civic development. Rather than moving towards liberation in our\u00a0advancement we are creating more boxes to cram ourselves into. Maybe these\u00a0cultures have something to offer in terms of our relationship to the social\u00a0construct that is gender.<\/em><\/p>\n

Gender is a meaningless social construct which dictates the journey of many lives at\u00a0varying levels of rigidity. This adherence to the belief in gender translates into social customs\u00a0and norms, politics, the economy, and art. Through Greek sculptures we learn about the factors\u00a0that comprise the perfect man or woman, not just in terms of beauty, but in terms of character as\u00a0well. The same can be said for any civilisation. Since many artistic depictions are idealizations of\u00a0real life, looking at certain artifacts of a certain culture, time or place can reveal a lot about the\u00a0ideals and societal expectations of men and women. Looking into the art of Ancient Egyptians\u00a0and the Mende and Bamileke peoples of Sierra Leone, it became clear that these cultures did not\u00a0share the same views on gender as many modern western societies.<\/p>\n

Starting with Akhenaten in Ancient Egypt, the differences between depictions of man and\u00a0woman become blurred. When Akhenaten came into power, he brought with him an entirely new\u00a0way of life. He was very dedicated to beauty. In the art of the period, this meant that depictions\u00a0of Akhenaten\u2019s figure lent themselves toward a more typically feminine view. He was rendered\u00a0with \u201cfleshy, almost female breasts, [and] swollen thighs.\u201d Though this change was at first\u00a0assumed to be realistic, it was later discovered that this depiction was the result of \u201cnew stylistic\u00a0conventions\u201d enforced under Akhenaten (R. Krauss 2003). The vast changes that took place\u00a0under Akhenaten caused the art to depict the pharaoh with uncharacteristically feminine traits.\u00a0This is indicative of a more expansive view on what it meant to be male, beautiful and powerful\u00a0in Egypt at the time. It may not have been agreed upon by the public, but the fact that the ruler of\u00a0the nation advocated for a more sexually ambiguous depiction of himself is meaningful.\u00a0Additionally, \u201camong the surviving colossal statues of Akhenaten in the earlier style, created for\u00a0the Aten Temple at Karnak, is a nude figure without male genitalia that may represent Akhenaten\u2019s wife, Nefertiti\u201d (Krauss\u00a02003). Because Akhenaten is feminized\u00a0to the point of total obscurity, it becomes\u00a0hard to be sure of anyone\u2019s gender in the\u00a0art of the time. It is easiest to see this\u00a0depiction in the Steles depicting\u00a0Akhenaten and his family.<\/p>\n

In this 1360 Stele of Akhenaten\u00a0and family<\/a> beneath the aten (sun), it is\u00a0difficult to distinguish the pharaoh from\u00a0his wife. They share similar features
\nincluding elongated faces, their posture\u00a0and their garments. While one figure seems to have breasts,\u00a0the figure with the flatter chest is displayed in a more\u00a0maternal manner. The main indication of identity in this\u00a0piece, has nothing to do with gender but rather hierarchical\u00a0scale. Akhenaten is simply larger than any other figure,\u00a0because he is the ruler.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

R. Krauss. “Akhenaten.” . Accessed May 4, 2018.\u00a0http:\/\/www.oxfordartonline.com.libproxy.newschool.edu\/groveart\/view\/10.1093\/gao\/97818\u00a084446054.001.0001\/oao-9781884446054-e-7000001359.<\/p>\n

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