Through Her Gaze: Representations of BIWOC in 20th and 21st century American Art, highlights the creatorship and representation of Black, Indigenous, Women of Color (BIWOC) through the relationship between the artists and the subjects they depict. Through Her Gaze aims to investigate the ways in which artists depict femininity in terms of beauty, sexuality, and agency. Engaging with this exhibition prompts viewers to look closely at the way in which artists’ identities inform and reflect on their work. The exhibition is composed of three themes, “Through Her Pose and Gaze”, “The Female Nude”, and “Outside Looking In”, that focus on different ways of seeing and representing personal and collective identity within depictions of BIWOC.
“Through her Pose and Gaze” examines the way in which artists have chosen to depict BIWOC strategically through the subject’s pose and expression, commenting on how these artists have subverted traditional depictions of women in which the male gaze often trumps the gaze of the female subject. “The Female Nude” highlights different representations of the Female nude across artists and its connection to selfhood and sexuality. Historically, The Female Nude has allowed artists to highlight culturally acceptable images of nakedness as it provides viewers to gaze upon the female body without consequence or guilt. These objects focus on several depictions of the Female Nude, across mediums while projecting themes of sexual agency and individualism.
“Outside Looking In”, composed entirely of photographs, focuses on the possible disconnect within the relationship between subject and artist that is created through visual choices regarding composition and perspective. Photography has its origins in a documentation and anthropological approach and is celebrated for being a medium that can capture reality objectively–yet this theme brings to light the photographer’s power to manipulate reality. In effect, these images challenge historic depictions of BIWOC in contrast to contemporary representations.
Initially viewing the Bowdoin College Museum of Art’s (BCMA) provided collection, our group asked two driving questions through a lens of race and gender: Who is depicted? And What artists made up the majority of the collection? The lack of representation of women of color as not only subjects but as artists were prevalent. Through Her Gaze critiques the way that viewers and institutions in general acknowledge and view women as creators and as a field of reference. Consequently, Through Her Gaze is primarily composed of representations of BIWOC, by BIWOC.
Inspired by Elizabeth Humphrey’s upcoming exhibition, There is a Woman in Every Color, Through Her Gaze similarly highlights identities that have been historically overlooked and underrepresented throughout art history as well as by institutions such as Bowdoin College. It is crucial to challenge institutions like the Bowdoin College Museum of Art to use their platform to not only engage in dialogue and reflection on themes presented in this exhibition but actively seek out the expansion of collections to include cultural and racial identities that have been historically marginalized.