In this project, I took a look at gender identities in context of the time period they were in, the culture, and the general attitude towards them. I read Lou Sullivan’s diaries to better understand from where he came, and what gender issues were like in his time. I wrote my own journal entries to express my thoughts and show how the modern world is affecting me now. I also did a contextual analysis for four works of art that depict gender identity. Ultimately, I wanted to understand how the view of gender identities has changed through different cultures and time periods, and how trans people, and others in the LGBTQ community may have challenged those views.
Language Arts
Lou Sullivan's Diaries | Notes
I read the selected diaries of Lou Sullivan and took notes on gender and major and minor context clues. I color coded the notes, and you can see them below. I definitely should have done some more research outside of the book, and I had planned to do it after I finished the book, but I probably should've done some extra research every 30 pages or so.
My Own Journal
Though my original idea was to write an contextual essay on the book; because of time constraints, I decided to keep my own journal for the remaining days during the Apollo Project. It was actually pretty interesting because I was surprised how many events occurred during these eight days that I probably wouldn't have thought too much of.
Art
Brief Overview
I chose seven different artworks depicting gender and gender identity from various time periods and places. The seven I chose were the Sleeping Hermaphroditos by an unknown artist (Hellenistic Period), Saint Wilgefortis by an unknown artist (1671), Dance to the Berdache - George Caitlin (1830), Princess X - Constantin Brancusi (1915-16), the Ladies and Gentlemen Series - Andy Warhol (1975), an untitled piece by Robert Gober (1991), and an untitled art series by Jasper Behrends (2017). I did a contextual analysis for four pieces that I determined had the widest breadth of time.
During the Hellenistic period, the subject matter for artworks began to vary greatly. Artists explored subjects of the aged, children, and who they considered barbarians (Non-Greeks). This piece is indicative of the Hellenistic period, as the subject matter follows the diversion from the classical Greco-Roman bodies. What makes the piece unique is the depiction of a Hermaphroditos, the son of Hermes and Aphrodite, whose body merged with the nymph Salmacis after he rejected her advances, making Hermaphroditos a bi-sexed being. At the time, gender was seen as being dependent upon which genitals someone has, but those defined as female were not treated as equals or as celebrated as those defined as male. Both literary and artistic depictions of Hermaphrodites complicates the Greek construct that women are sexually insatiable, instead focusing on the dynamics of sexual desire. The sculpture was created to be seen from the back where the viewer would only see the female form before circling to the front to be shocked by the male genitalia. It is most likely that the understanding of Greek gender roles played into the creation of the sculpture as less of a challenge to the gender binary, but more as a piece of humour.
Princess X - Constantin Brancusi (1915-16)
Princess X was created by Constantin Brancusi, a Romanian sculptor who lived in France at the time. He’s considered one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th century because of his approach to sculpting. At a time where many artists were starting to claim affiliation with movements that were branching out from traditional styles, Brancusi belonged to none. He rejected traditional views on sculpting and instead focused on simplified, stylised, and curved forms of works that expressed or suggested ideals or non-concrete ideas. This attitude towards sculpting would attract him both much praise and much criticism. On January, 28 1920, Brancusi displayed one of his works at the Salon des Indépendants in Paris. The work in question was Princess X, a bronze sculpture that Brancusi says depicts the most simplified, broken down essence of a woman. The ovular shape at the top represents the head of the woman, with a long neck connecting it to a full bust, and small ridges at the base of the neck to represent the hair, however, to some the piece was seen to have the likeness of a penis. The sculpture was removed by the police who thought it indecent. Brancusi was shocked by this notion and would go on to argue that the piece was of a woman frequently looking down to check a mirror, and the bronze surface reflected a literal depiction of female vanity. The sculpture most definitely presents a duality of both masculine and feminine attributes, depending on which angle you view it from. Viewed from the right side, the piece looks more upright, and the breasts are more visible. When viewing it from the left, the piece has more of a C-shape and looks more like a penis and testicles. Curators have also noticed that most of Brancusi’s own photographic records of the piece are taken from the left side. Brancusi’s Princess X invites viewers to think more in-depth about gender through it’s dual presentation of masculine and feminine traits.
Ladies and Gentlemen Series - Andy Warhol (1975)
In the 1970s, the United States entered a more liberal mindset, and homosexual and drag communities had begun to boldy embrace their sexuality and gender identities. This climate is what inspired Andy Warhol to create the Ladies and Gentlemen series where he depicts drag queens (then called transvestites) through silkscreened photos that he took. Warhol would take a polaroid photo of the subject and then silkscreen it onto canvas before adding swashes of color that emphasize the subject’s features. The drag queens are portrayed from neck up, and display expressions ranging from joy to flirtatiousness. Like in Warhol’s celebrity portraits, many of the photos are taken at a three quarter angle, and each portrait retains the subject’s gender ambiguity with a heavy focus on gender role play. At the time, there was little understanding of gender dysphoria, and people were categorized into Transvestite (TV) or Transexual (TS). Transvestites were people who enjoyed crossdressing, but still wanted to remain their assigned gender. Transexuals, on the other hand, were those who did wish to become the opposite gender. Drag queens were, and still are, men (often homosexual) who dress as a woman, less to pass as one, and more for the performance and theater of it. These communities were inter-connected and cooperative because of their consolidation of political power and common goals, including the abolition of the many laws that outlawed crossdressing across America. The Ladies and Gentlemen Series is a testament to the heightened visibility of gender identities in the United States. The 1970s were a time where trans people and drag queens were fighting for their rights, and Andy Warhol’s series marks the public’s beginnings to understand and accept queer gender identites.
Untitled Art Series - Jasper Behrends (2017)
Jasper Behrends is a trans artist from northern Virginia. In June, he took Advanced Placement (AP) Studio Art at his high school and focused his concentration on sexuality and gender. The result is a series of digital artworks depicting the human body and visualizing his emotions as a trans person like gender dysphoria. The artworks show abstractions of the human body and are accompanied by vibrant colors. His portfolio would later get the highest possible score. Not soon after he started his concentration, the vice principal had gone to him after Behrends’ art teacher informed the administration of the “potentially sensitive” subject. The vice principal told him that he had no problem with LGBTQ issues, but that there’s a time and place for these things, and it did not belong in school. Behrends’ works explore his feelings as a trans person, and the school’s response shows the bias that still faces queer issues to this day.