Abstract :
Woman is an important factor in ensuring the survival of life and continuity of lineages. Although the fact that women, who have an undeniable position in our society, had their political, social, societal and artistic rights came to the fore during the age of enlightenment for the first time, they were seen to be equal to men, on paper, only after the French Revolution in 1789. “Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen” by Olympe de Gouges which was issued two years later than the Revolution, in 1791, is considered important today in respect of its being the first written document stating the notion of male–female inequality and women’s rights. However, that women were not able to participate actively in artistic activities and their lack in them was expressed by Linda Nochlin’s article “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists ?” which was issued in 1971- only two hundred years after the issuance of the first declaration. Nochlin’s article has been quite effective in starting a thought-provoking period by taking the history of art into consideration and criticising this situation. In this study, feminist art was handled within the context of feminist criticism. When the interdisciplinary works of women artists are studied carefully through feminist approaches, the fact that women artists use their bodies in their works, besides the situation that they become both the subject and the object of their works were criticised. “Body image in feminism” was discussed through the works of some feminist women artists as well as using the researches done in this field.
NaturalLanguageKeyword :
Feminist Art , Feminist Criticism , Women Artists , Body Image
