Other Social and Political Art
Feminist issues are by no means the only social and political con-
cerns that contemporary artists have addressed in their work. Race,
ethnicity, and sexual orientation are among the other pressing issues
that have given rise to important artworks during the past few
decades.KIKI SMITH American sculptor Kiki Smith(b. 1954) has ex-
plored the question of who controls the human body, an interest
that grew out of her training as an emergency medical service tech-
nician in New York City. Smith, however, also wants to reveal the
socially constructed nature of the body, and she encourages the
viewer to consider how external forces shape people’s perceptions
of their bodies. In works such as Untitled (FIG. 36-40), the artist
dramatically departed from conventional representations of the
body, both in art and in the media. She suspended two life-size wax
figures, one male and one female, both nude, from metal stands.
Smith marked each of the sculptures with long white drips—bodyfluids running from the woman’s breasts and down the man’s leg.
She commented:
Most of the functions of the body are hidden ...from society....
[W]e separate our bodies from our lives. But, when people are dy-
ing, they are losing control of their bodies. That loss of function can
seem humiliating and frightening. But, on the other hand, you can
look at it as a kind of liberation of the body. It seems like a nice
metaphor—a way to think about the social—that people lose con-
trol despite the many agendas of different ideologies in society,
which are trying to control the body(ies) ...medicine, religion, law,
etc. Just thinking about control—who has control of the body?...
Does the mind have control of the body? Does the social?^26
FAITH RINGGOLD Other artists, reflecting their own identi-
ties and backgrounds, have used their art to address issues associated
with African American women. Inspired by the civil rights movement,
Faith Ringgold(b. 1930) produced numerous works in the 1960s
that provided incisive commentary on the realities of racial prejudice.
She increasingly incorporated references to gender as well and, in the
1970s, turned to fabric as the predominant material in her art. Using
fabric enabled her to make more pointed reference to the domestic
sphere, traditionally associated with women, and to collaborate with
her mother, Willi Posey, a fashion designer. After her mother’s death in
1981, Ringgold created Who’s Afraid of Aunt Jemima? (FIG. 36-41), a
quilt composed of dyed, painted, and pieced fabric. A moving tribute
to her mother, this work combines the personal and the political. The
quilt includes a narrative—the witty story of the family of Aunt
Jemima, most familiar as the stereotypical black “mammy” but here a
successful African American businesswoman. Ringgold conveyed this36-40Kiki Smith,Untitled,1990. Beeswax and microcrystalline wax
figures on metal stands, female figure installed height 6 11 – 2 ; male figure
6 41516 ––. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (purchased with
funds from the Painting and Sculpture Committee).
Asking “who controls the body?” Kiki Smith sculpted two life-size wax
figures of a nude man and woman with body fluids running from the
woman’s breasts and down the man’s leg.36-41Faith Ringgold,Who’s Afraid of Aunt Jemima?1983. Acrylic
on canvas with fabric borders, quilted, 7 6 6 8 . Private collection.
In this quilt, a medium associated with women, Ringgold presented a
tribute to her mother that also addresses African American culture and
the struggles of women to overcome oppression.994 Chapter 36 EUROPE AND AMERICA AFTER 19451 ft.
1 ft.