Hannah Wilke was an artist whose work focused on the idea of femininity and loving the female body; the art uses real black and white photography of Wilke and a repetitive, shirtless scene to send the message. All of her artwork, from paintings to sculptures, is based on promoting the female body, but her photography series, Satirical Object Series, is one of the most empowering works she has done. In the images, she is her own model-shirtless and confidently not covering her breasts. The sassy expressions in every photo, paired with the small vulvas sculpted out of chewed gum, stuck onto her body, are truly effective in getting her point across to her viewers. Wilke uses her art to show that the female body is remarkable, and despite society’s stereotypes, natural beauty should be cherished and doesn’t have to be covered up. …show more content…
The black and white of the pictures adds a serious tone to the work, despite the obvious uncomfortable elements of the photos such as nudity and usually covered body parts being sculpted in large qualities make of gum. The sincere tone gives viewers the idea that the problems women face in society are a real issue people need to address, and Wilke does this through her art. Adding to that, by using herself as the subject, the message is more personal and tells that women should have confidence in their own bodies and not feel the pressure to change who they are, live up to society’s expectations, or cover themselves up. Wilke is setting an example of how she perceives womanhood in her Satirical Object Series with the black and white images of