Intelligently and sensitively Frances Goodman negotiating a charged and complex field of meanings and ambivalent stances concerning the definition of female identity in the 21st century. Goodman’s oeuvre is politically poised to challenge and subvert conventional beliefs about femininity. Her works cast a critical and sarcastic gaze at the dimension of “empowering femininity,” scoring a kind of own goal. By using attributes that are clearly identified with stereotypes of femininity, such as acrylic nails, false eyelashes, bridal gowns, pearls and jewelry, she subverts conventions of beauty and raises questions concerning the institution of marriage, while also examining the ways in which the beauty cosmetics and fashion industries promote obsessive and neurotic behavior among women.
In my essay, I tried to anchor Goodman’s works around three axes: the affinity between market forces and romanticism, Julia Kristeva’s theory of the abject, and the subversive neo-craft model of art-making.
Intelligently and sensitively Frances Goodman negotiating a charged and complex field of meanings and ambivalent stances concerning the definition of female identity in the 21st century. Goodman’s oeuvre is politically poised to challenge and subvert conventional beliefs about femininity. Her works cast a critical and sarcastic gaze at the dimension of “empowering femininity,” scoring a kind of own goal. By using attributes that are clearly identified with stereotypes of femininity, such as acrylic nails, false eyelashes, bridal gowns, pearls and jewelry, she subverts conventions of beauty and raises questions concerning the institution of marriage, while also examining the ways in which the beauty cosmetics and fashion industries promote obsessive and neurotic behavior among women.
In my essay, I tried to anchor Goodman’s works around three axes: the affinity between market forces and romanticism, Julia Kristeva’s theory of the abject, and the subversive neo-craft model of art-making.
Spit-Swallow, 2013, neon