This body of work embarks on the de-objectification of the pin up girl through the exploration and transgression of culturally imposed binary systems through the analysis and appropriation of the Old School tattoo and pin up aesthetic, which remains significant in mainstream pop culture, fashion and various subcultures today.
The pin up girl was a fabricated image of the perceived “perfect woman” within the cultural context of the 1940-1960s. She was innocent, beautiful and subservient. She was a visual representation of the allegory of femininity.
So, why would a contemporary feminist want anything to do with this historical tradition of female objectification?
This body of work embarks on the de-objectification of the pin up girl through the exploration and transgression of culturally imposed binary systems through the analysis and appropriation of the Old School tattoo and pin up aesthetic, which remains significant in mainstream pop culture, fashion and various subcultures today.
Through my practice as a female feminist artist the pin up girl is transformed from an object representing allegorical femininity to an avatar for my own personal experiences, feelings and responses to the world. Hence, the object becomes the subject.
A central aspect of the body of work is the potentially erotic nature of many of the prints. The depiction of feminine women unabashedly displaying body language exuding power and confidence and utilizing their own Gaze is in conflict with traditional pin up girls. My work depicts female sexuality and the strength behind the hyper-femme gender performance.
About the Artist
Amy Elizabeth’s approach to her practice is interdisciplinary and diverse. She questions and critiques pre-existing social and ethical norms present in the Western world, playfully distorting belief systems to reveal a sense of irony and dissidence.
Amy Elizabeth graduated with a Bachelor of Visual Arts majoring in Fine Arts with Honors First Class from Sydney University’s Sydney College of the Arts.
The pin up girl was a fabricated image of the perceived “perfect woman” within the cultural context of the 1940-1960s. She was innocent, beautiful and subservient. She was a visual representation of the allegory of femininity.
So, why would a contemporary feminist want anything to do with this historical tradition of female objectification?
This body of work embarks on the de-objectification of the pin up girl through the exploration and transgression of culturally imposed binary systems through the analysis and appropriation of the Old School tattoo and pin up aesthetic, which remains significant in mainstream pop culture, fashion and various subcultures today.
Through my practice as a female feminist artist the pin up girl is transformed from an object representing allegorical femininity to an avatar for my own personal experiences, feelings and responses to the world. Hence, the object becomes the subject.
A central aspect of the body of work is the potentially erotic nature of many of the prints. The depiction of feminine women unabashedly displaying body language exuding power and confidence and utilizing their own Gaze is in conflict with traditional pin up girls. My work depicts female sexuality and the strength behind the hyper-femme gender performance.
About the Artist
Amy Elizabeth’s approach to her practice is interdisciplinary and diverse. She questions and critiques pre-existing social and ethical norms present in the Western world, playfully distorting belief systems to reveal a sense of irony and dissidence.
Amy Elizabeth graduated with a Bachelor of Visual Arts majoring in Fine Arts with Honors First Class from Sydney University’s Sydney College of the Arts.
