Hannah Thompson, Man in garden, Acrylic on canvas, 11"x14”

     While researching how gardens are used and portrayed culturally and historically through art, I noticed that many garden scenes consisted of women being placed within them. Furthermore, these works were often entitled simply “Woman in garden”, sometimes describing what they were doing such as “Woman sewing in garden”. I found myself bothered by this because these works were no longer about the garden, they were about the male gaze. These women became the focal point of the work, but were not granted a worthy description or any other characteristics other than that they were a woman, making me as a viewer think that the artist thought these women were simple. I am creating a work similar to the ones I have researched but revering the point of view by having a male subject and using the female gaze. 

 

 

     Hannah Thompson is a Senior at Montclair State University. She is a Visual Arts major with a concentration in Secondary Education. She works in a variety of media such as pottery, printmaking, analog photography, sculpture, paintings and digital works. Her portfolio includes subject matter such as animals, works in tribute to her family, and nature.