Open for visitors until May 6 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), “In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States” displays the works of female artists who sought liberation from the traditional domesticity and objectification of women, revealing a relatively obscure but essential part of art history.
The exhibition displays works of a variety of media from 1931 to 1968. While many of the earlier paintings focus on self-identity through portraits and masquerades, the later works definitely show influences on the feminist movement.
Prominent, iconic artists featured at the exhibition include Frida Kahlo, Louise Bourgeois, Leonora Carrington, Lee Miller, Dorothea Tanning, Remedios Varo, and Kay Sage, along with other lesser known American and Mexican female artists to total 48 artists.
Female surrealist artists used their bodies to explore their emotional and creative realms and to also examine the role their bodies played in their self-identity. Pulling away from the traditional male artist’s depiction of women as sexual objects, female surrealists did not depict their bodies in an erotic manner. They symbolically used asexual body parts: hands, heads, and eyes.
Some explored their anatomy in an almost scientific manner, as in Helen Lundenberg’s “Plant and Animal Analogies.”
To confront the traditional representation of nude women in art, some artists created scenes where the body was actually part of the landscape, sometimes trapped or cleverly hidden. Doris Lindo Lewis’ “Mamsacape” is a perfect example of this.
Many works provided social commentary, specifically on gender issues. Dorothea Tanning’s 1954 “Family Portrait” depicts a young woman, assumed to be the daughter, sitting at the dinner table.
She is the only one with normal proportions. An older woman carrying a plate of food is considered to be the mother and she is the same size as the family dog. The father is a towering, lurking shadow of a man whose dimensions are gigantic compared to the rest of the figures. This painting was commenting on the gender power dynamics in most families.
The hall was packed with people, more so in the vicinity of paintings created by better-known names. Frida Kahlo’s corner had many admirers taking pictures with “The Two Fridas” and “Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird,” soaking in the vibrant and tropical colors that Kahlo frequently used.
A wide variety of personal style within the surrealist movement was evident. Remedio Varo’s meticulously-drawn paintings featured androgynous figures dealing with scientific and musical themes, contrasting sharply with Kay Sage’s abstract, geometric scenes that play with shadow and shades of black. The diversity of perspective and style was greatly appreciated.
Tickets are free for LACMA members; otherwise it is $15 for adults, $10 for students over 18, and free for all attendees 17 years old and under.
Hi Blessing! First off, your article’s topic is quite interesting and unique! I enjoyed reading about the different paintings, techniques, and artists. & Your pictures are good-quality too! I like the one where you’re staring at the picture I always found scary and little bit creepy, ahaha! 🙂
We learned about Frida Kahlo in our Spanish class. She was a bizarre lady haha.