Josephine Hicks Article Review #3

Josephine Hicks

WGST 202

T/Th 12:301:45

Professor Currans

Blog Topic: Sexuality and Visual Art

Article Review #3

Levin, Gail. "Censorship, Politics and Sexual Imagery in the Work of Jewish-American Feminist Artists." Nashim 14 (2007): 63-96. ProQuest. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.

In Gail Levin's "Censorship, Politics and Sexual Imagery in The Work of Jewish-American Feminists Artists", she discusses the sexual visual art of nine feminist Jewish-American artists. She compares Jewish-American women in the theater to these artists, and claims that the activism of these women is a by product of their heritage. Levin believed that feminist artists of Jewish heritage were motivated by their belief in social justice and desire for political reform, and so they engaged in radical politics, through creative tools and imaging (87). Levin discusses how some of the sexually explicit art had been reduced to erotica and provoked attempts at censorship. Levin's main point is that Jewish women have been among the pioneers of feminists that set out to raise awareness of female sexuality(90).

Nine feminist Jewish-American artists, Judy Chicago, Judith Bernstein, Martha Edelheit, Eunice Golden, Joyce Kozloff, Joan Semmel, Nancy Spero, Anita Steckel and Hannah Wilke, have all contributed in the making of controversial sexually explicit art. This art was contextualized by the new openness about the female body and sexuality manifest from the 1960s through the 1980s (63). Levin discusses the stereotype of Jewish-American woman being keen on addressing female sexuality through creative tools. She tells the reader that this stereotype started to really emerge in the early twentieth century when a Russian-born Jewish immigrant, Sophie Tucker (1884-1996), had established herself as a cabaret performer. Tucker performed songs that challenged the United States' code for morality regarding women's sexuality, such as “I May Be Getting Older Every Day (But Younger Every Night). Tucker mocked old-fashioned marriage and would talk about marital sex and how spouses would cheat on each other. She even went as far to "encourage women to hold on to their men by becoming more physical and men to treat their women 'right,' implying that marriage should be gratifying sexually and personally for both men and women" (66). She challenged Puritan ideologies that were widespread at the time. Levin brings it to her reader's attention that Puritan tradition continues to affect trends in modern American art. She points out that Tucker did not have this Puritanism in her ethnic background, and that "Jewish feminists’ use of sexual imagery often celebrates both sexuality and female agency" (67).

Levin continues by saying that the sexual art depicting female anatomy and nudity was often misread as simply erotic. She says, "to a feminist in the early 1970s, the political issue of female identity often trumped other meanings," (67). Levin gives us an example of what those meanings include; she quotes Barbara Rose: "It is designed to arouse women, but not sexually. . . . Judy Chicago’s yoni lifesavers [Pasadena Lifesavers, 1969–1970] are all vaginal or womb images. What is interesting about them is the manner in which they worshipfully allude to female genitalia as icons—as strong, clean, well made, and whole as the masculine totems to which we are accustomed" (67). Rose believed that the glorification of female genitalia was liberating because it undermined "one of the most fundamental ideas of male supremacy—that a penis, because it is visible, is superior" (67). Levin discusses male supremacy by informing the reader of the double standard that exists when it comes to the depictions of sexuality in visual art. She explains how women artist's images of female genitalia have been rejected by art critics, whereas male artists' images of phalluses are accepted. Jewish-American, Hannah Wilke (1940–1993), was particularly motivated to target these double standards as she ignored the traditional male gaze upon the female nude by presenting herself nude so that she could control what the viewer would see (71). Another Jewish-American artist, Joan Semmel (b.1932), known for her images of couples making love, was also concerned with these double standards. She views women’s sexuality intellectuality—as something men have “suppressed and then denied," and believed that "the male [has] had free reign to invent sexual mythology in terms of his own fears and fantasies," (73-74). Levin mentions seven other Jewish-American artists in the same light, in effort to really bring about awareness of Jewish-American women claiming their sexuality.

Naturally, these Jewish-American women speaking out against the repression of female sexuality became a kind of political activism (74). People would look at their art and reduce it to erotica or simply explicit sexual material with no redeeming social value. Their art made people cringe with disgust, anger, and sometimes pure outrage. People were constantly trying to look away from their work, and ultimately censor it. In retaliation to this censorship, these women joined the "Fight Censorship Group"" that was organized by a fellow Jewish-American woman artist, Anita Steckel. Women Jewish-American artists such as Judith Bernstein, Louise Bourgeois, Martha Edelheit, Eunice Golden, Joan Gluckman, Joan Semmel, and Hannah Wilke were all members of this group. Levin concludes with, "The artwork and the struggles summarized in this paper should serve to heighten our awareness that the drive for free expression in art is linked with women’s quest to claim their sexuality ... and that Jewish women have been among the pioneers in that quest" (90).

Gail Levin's "Censorship, Politics and Sexual Imagery in The Work of Jewish-American Feminists Artists" easily relates to my blog topic, sexuality and visual art. She describes the efforts of Jewish-American women as they set out to claim their sexuality through visual art. The topic of this article is very similar to Einat Metzl's "Artistic, Therapeutic, and Sexually Informed: A Five-Week Human Sexuality Course for Art Therapy Students", in that art is used as a means to represent and express sexuality. In Metzl's article, the reader learns that art-making and other creative outlets serve as an effective way to teach people about sexuality. That was because art-making and creative tools created a space where Metzl’s students could represent, express, and talk about sexuality. It was important for each individual to discuss their sexuality with others so that everyone could learn that everyone’s sexuality is different.  In Levin's article, we witness women using visual art as a means to communicate their thoughts, feelings, and ideas about sexuality with their viewer. These female Jewish-American artists were doing the same thing that Metzl’s students were doing. They were teaching about sexuality by expressing their individual takes on sexuality. All in all, I would definitely recommend reading this article. Not only is it a very informative read, but it was interesting to witness the progress that feminism has made so far.