What is “Women’s Work?”

Women’s work is work that society attaches to women based off of gender stereotypes. For example, this could be any type of housework, salon work, cooking, birthing, nurturing, and many more. What is not women’s work? Anything that is typically associated with men. For example, musical engineers, mechanical engineers, auto mechanics, construction workers, you get the idea…

What does “Women’s Work is also Art” mean?

“Women’s Work is also Art” means that women’s work is something that is distinct from any other type of work out there. Women’s work invokes expressions of strong emotions. Women create other women and men in which strength and power is involved. This can be seen as art as the gift of life is something that cannot be done without women, which is a beautiful thing. There are also many other ways in which women’s work is also seen as art as it is something that is unique to other forms of work.

What is “Art?”

Art is a way of expressing how one feels. Art is somewhat correlated with emotion. Art can portray weak or strong emotions, and that can be a disastrous or beautiful thing. Art doesn’t have to be “pretty” to be classified as art.

Mierle Laderman Ukeles cleaning the steps of an art museum and Richard Serra flinging molten lead against the walls of an art museum are different in certain ways. For example, Ukeles is performing something that can be appreciated by people who truly value art because she is cleaning the steps to an art museum. On the other hand, Serra’s performance represents something that is destructive, which can really take a toll on people who value the art museum. They are the same in the way that they are trying to portray a strong message. Ukeles clearly has this special relationship between herself and art. She is portraying how important it is to preserve the beauty of the art museum. Serra also has a strong message similar to Ukeles, although he portrays his relationship with art in a different way. It shows that he likes to portray art in an unconventional and moving way. I believe that both represent art, because they both invoke emotion and it is how they chose to express their feelings, which is beautiful.

Yes, I believe that Mierle Laderman Ukeles’ Maintenance Art was definitely art due to the fact that it was in front of an Art Museum. This is because it shows her way of expressing her passion for keeping art monuments clean and beautiful, which I believe is different from a janitor cleaning at a factory. Janitors clean to get paid, Ukeles cleaned the steps to express her emotions towards art. Therefore, I feel that an act of art is driven by strong emotions that allows one to express it in an abstract, unconventional, or traditional way. In my opinion, an act of art is supposed to portray a message to its audience.

Depending on the intrinsic property or medium, an object can or cannot be art. I believe that it depends on the intention of the person who is performing the act as well. I do feel that all paintings on canvas are art, but not because canvas’ are used in art museums, but because any painting on a canvas, whether it’s unattractive or not, is art. Painting a house a regular color is just getting the job done to protect the outer layer of the house. However, if someone decides to paint a house in a special or unique way, for example, having polka-dots or stars all over the house, then that would be art. There is a difference, again it is because of the strong emotion and passion being put into it.

As I was performing maintenance art in the area around the USU, I felt like I was participating in a good deed for Long Beach and the art community. It made me feel nothing less and nothing more than good.

Mierle Laderman Ukeles and Jennifer Lopez has not noted anything new about “Women’s Work” to me. I believe that “Women’s Work” is work that is based off of stereotypes of women. For example, housework, cooking, beauty salons, etc. When we think of a “doctor and a nurse,” what gender would you associate with each profession? You might have associated the doctor to a male and the nurse to a female based on gender-blind sexism. I feel that “Women’s Work” can be art if you make it art. It is a beautiful thing to see women bring life into our world, and I feel that that is a work of art. Of course not everything a woman does is art, but women are just as powerful as men and they shouldn’t be limited to what society makes of them.

I would get down on my knees to clean Walt Disney’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It’s simple, without this man, we wouldn’t have Disney or the happiest place on earth, Disneyland. He created my childhood and the legacy will continue on to many more generations. Respects to you Mr. Walt Disney.

Finger Painting

What was the experience like?

It was a really fun experience! I got to get messy with all the paint and I felt like a little kid again. It was a very nostalgic experience that I decided to do at 10 p.m. inside my dorm, which just means extra emotions and a beautiful disaster.

Was it easier, harder, or different than you expected?

Believe it or not, it was harder than expected. I personally got so overwhelmed with all of the colors mixing together and I am somewhat of a perfectionist, so this painting was hard for me to digest. But that is the whole purpose of abstract art, it isn’t supposed to be perfect!

How was the experience of making a painting with no subject? Confusing & Frustrating? Liberating & Inspiring?

The experience was liberating but confusing at the same time. I actually had different phases in my finger painting project. First it was a dragon-like figure, or Mushu from Mulan. However, after messing around with it a lot more, it had turned out to be a beautiful mess that brought a lot of confusion on deciding whether you saw a dog or two footsteps somewhere within the painting.

How does this compare to other paintings you have seen?

This art project compares to other paintings that I have seen before because it is based off of freedom! You never know where a finger painting art project is going to go because it can go in any type of direction. I feel that other types of art that are not abstract are limited to rules and perfection. I like how abstract art can be anything you want it to be, which is a beautiful idea.

The different phases of my finger painting. Top photo is the Mushu or dragon look-a-like phase. Middle photo is my finger painting with flash. Bottom photo is my finger painting without the flash.