Ukiyo-E Art Analysis

The Tokugawa Shogunate introduced these sections into the cities of Edo, Kyōto, and Ōsaka. The purpose was to separate the rich townsmen from participating in the culture and nightlife. Geishas were professional women who entertained people with their skill in music, poetry, and storytelling. Theatre also blossomed in the Edo Period. Both of the theatre forms kabuki and bunraku were extremely popular.

Beginning in the 1960’s, we see an influx of new graphic styles, art directed at integrating ‘pop’ culture or mass media. In the U.S. or Europe, it may be common for an artist to use this medium for their own expression, or perhaps if a graphic artist is hired to complete work for an advertisement, product, or an event; however, hardly do these two mentalities intertwine. Tadanori Yokoo has found that this is not the case for him. His vibrant expression of concepts, colors, and motifs have gathered appreciation by a wide array of commissioners. Yokoo’s interpretation of contemporary Japanese Popular culture through flat bright illustrative design, create a psychedelic and imaginative work not yet seen at this time in Japan.

The Japanese art trends in Europe is called Japonisme. Hokusai’s Ukiyo-e was one of most influence Japanese art during Japonisme. Vincent Willem van Gogh was also the enthusiastic Ukiyo-e collector. Hokusai’s Ukiyo-e had a huge influence on his

The objectification of women isn’t restricted to clothes alone. The manner in which a female character addressed in some of the dialogues and songs clearly references her sexuality and how a man is going to exploit it,” commented actress Taapsee Avers. Hemanth Kumar made a conclusion that there is a growing trend in objectifying and sexualising women. In this I fully agree. Due to the objectification of women, many children and teenage girls believe that in order to be beautiful or appreciated, they would have to be sexy.

Leonardo’s Mona Lisa was very complex, especially her lips. In order for Leonardo to get her lips to be so realistic, he dissected and studied the nerves and movements of the human mouth. Leonardo was not only able to create a unique smile, but was also able to make the lips realistic. Leonardo’s painting represents the Renaissance because he adds realism to the painting that people would see in their daily life. Leonardo also incorporated bright colors and a vivid background.

Contrarily the female geisha had other means or entertainment “ In the late sixteenth century, the pleasure quarters...were created…after the defeat of the Toyotomi Clan, the wives and children of high status samurai fell into prostitution in order to survive... Since this new group of women were rivalled by courtesans, they needed to offer something different – extraordinary artistic talent” (Barua3and4). The birth of geisha stemmed from economic competition in the sex industry however it metamorphosed over the years “[b]y the end of the seventeenth century, there were yet more geisha-like women called Saburuko, who also resorted to selling sexual favours to rich aristocrats due to their social displacement”(Barua4). It was not until “the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a number of other pleasure quarter residents began to make a name for themselves as talented musicians, dancers or poets, rather than simply as sex workers”(History of the Geisha9). It took a great deal of time for the geisha culture to be what it is now, however even as prostitutes they were emphasized for the artistic

Advertisers typically use sex in the form of a woman, by using her body, and if a man is not in the image she is portrayed as passive, innocent, sexy, and aggressive, all at the same time.

Doreen, one of the other women whom Esther worked with in New York showed similarities with Esther in terms of her ability to see through the hypocrisies of society, however she approached these matters in a very different way. Instead of contradicting social norms and conventions by pursuing knowledge and success like Esther, Doreen manages to always see the lighter side of their situation and strives to enjoy herself as much as possible. She also had a very relaxed attitude towards sex, which made her a sort ‘poster girl’ for the early days of the sexual revolution. The effects of the sexual revolution in the 1950’s on girls are clearly visible in Doreen and Esther.

Alice Neel was a painter in the early twentieth century, who was a trendsetter among women at the time. Neel worked primarily in the form of portraits, landscapes, and still-lifes but most notably portraits. There are two theories to Alice Neel’s paintings that critics alike seem to always mention or try to push as the main concept. These concepts are called the Male Gaze, and Honest Alice. The Male Gaze derives from the idea that all content that is created for women is meant to satisfy the sexual desire or even just appeal to men more sensually about women in the world.

A woman with “Florentine beauty” is made to be enthroned on “sumptuous beds” as “entertainment for a pope or prince.” She is a creature, destined for the service of man. Also, Baudelaire treats woman’s body as an object, a “work, not of nature, but of artistic perfection” (Baudelaire, qtd. in Groom 57). During the époque, women are “obliged to adorn herself in order to be adored,” and are expected to put on cosmetics in order to appear “magical and supernatural…to astonish and charm [men]” (Baudelaire 33).

In this picture, Sherman brought the stereotype of women roles in daily life, and the woman in this picture provided a role of independent and confident. Sherman overturned the position of men and women through these paintings, which can improve women’s position in our society and also can prove that gender equity problem is changing, women are having profound influence in our society.

She had “roughed lips” and was “heavily made up” this means that she cares about her appearance and wants to look attractive in front of others. In that era women were looked down upon by men because of their sense of fashion as they were viewed as objects belonging to the men and Steinbeck demonstrates this in the way the characters in Of Mice and Men react to her appearance. He also makes this obvious to the reader when Curley’s wife finds out that Curley was in the house and she wasn’t. After using the excuse of “lookin’ for Curley” when she goes to the bunk-house to flirt with the new guys (Lennie and George) and when Slim tells her that he seen him going in her house “she was suddenly apprehensive” giving the impression that Curley will be mad if she is not home when he comes in as in the 1930s women were expected to do nothing apart from the jobs given to them from men. They were not allowed to go out and socialize unless told to do so (especially not socializing with other men).

Morgan Pitelka’s article “The Empire of Things: Tokugawa Ieyasu's Material Legacy and Cultural Profile” is a piece which allows the reader to engage in an intellectually stimulating discussion about the material legacy of Tokugawa Ieyasu. This particular article paints Ieyasu in a positive light due to the fact that the cultural profile created is done so mainly through the use of a single source. Pitelka’s article discusses the life and legacy of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The article itself paints Ieyasu in a positive light due to the nature of the source used to create a cultural profile of the shogun.

Self-labeled “sex-positive feminists” generally believe there shouldn’t be some universal, cookie cutter guideline for all women’s sexuality. As one sex worker and activist, Teri Goodson, said, “Some non-sex worker feminists seem to understand that the stigma and oppression of female prostitutes is used to uphold the double standard and is limiting to all women’s sexual freedom.” Those thoughts capture the essence of the liberalized women of the 1920s who shattered several cultural boundaries. In fact, these women were reverently labelled as “flappers,” a term popularized by F. Scott Fitzgerald in reference to those women. Mind you, the term “flapper” had previously been primarily associated with prostitutes.

A poet named Erin Van Vuren once wrote, “I will not be another flower, picked for my beauty and left to die.” The United States during the 1920s era consisted of social and political change that F. Scott Fitzgerald captured in his writing. This new era consisted of contemporary music known as jazz, prohibition, and technological breakthroughs such as radio arose. The American Dream, an idealistic train of thought that incorporated US citizens obtaining equal opportunities to achieve success and prosperity all built on hard-work, determination, and initiative, was on most agendas, however, this delusion slowly came to a halt once it was made clear that it was nothing more than an idea. This then largely impacted how Fitzgerald wrote and how