When I was reading this week’s reading, I realized just how inspiring and thought-provoking art can be. Some of history’s most important events have been depicted through art. While we have books and papers from that era, I believe art speaks for itself. Art lives on in museums for all time, to be examined by future generations who may interpret it differently. For example, in the Renaissance, The Catholic church was always depicted in art, and during that time, people began to depict various aspects of life. It weakened the Catholic Church’s position. Taboo topics and new ideas are sparked by art. That’s what makes art so influential.

I was mesmerized by the art pieces shown in “10 Female Performance Artists You Should Know.” It was unusual, but I liked how different they were. I found it interesting when Caroline Schneeman said, “Art history is dominated by images of nude women, created by men.” Then the article said her art was controversial because of her nudity. It reminds me of a discussion I had in my media class about the male gaze. Men love to profit off of women’s bodies, but it’s not okay when a woman does it. What makes the male gaze or voyeurism so appealing is that the women are usually unaware. My professor pointed out that many nude portraits of women do not show them looking back. They’re looking away. We talked about how it was because it gave men pleasure to know they were seeing something they shouldn’t for their own sexual pleasure. If the women in those portraits were staring right at them, it would intimidate them. I think that is why Schneeman’s art was considered controversial: it intimidated men to see a woman use her body as art.