LACMA- In Wonderland Exhibit

LACMA
In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States

Yesterday I went with my Spanish class to see the In Wonderland exhibit at the LACMA, and realized that many of the themes presented paralleled those in Social Issues in Gender and Sexuality. Male surrealist artists often used women's bodies as the symbols of their fantasies and sexual desires, and often times the women were nude. Women surrealist artists rarely used the naked male body. In fact women surrealist artists such as Frida Khalo portrayed their bodies in order to explore their emotions and creativity as well as better understand their identities. They resisted the objectification of the woman's body by constructing symbols from parts of the body such as the eyes, mouths, hands or heads. Although for male artists focused largely on the breasts, the female artists portrayed the breasts in a way that would address current dramatic social issues, such as a mastectomy.

While the male surrealist artists used women as muses, the women artists proved that they not only could be sources of inspiration, but also creators of art as well! There was a fairly common thread of these women artists not following the "traditional" gender role of mother and housewife. Although many of these women were attractive, they either remained in a noncommitted relationship, divorced, or single and embraced their independence. I'm glad that these women were able to be recognized and put into the spotlight for their important contributions for surrealist art.