By taking some earlier art classes in the past; I recognize the “Venus of Willendorf” sculpture. Reading through the article of the art piece gives me a more in depth picture of the time and cultures of the era in which it was made. Measuring at about 11 centimeters (4.3 inches) high, the “Venus of Willendorf” figurine was discovered around Willendorf, Austria. It is dated around 24,000 to 22,000 B.C.E. Its image and reputation is somewhat controversial due to its shape and representation of women. By using the term “Venus,” people are given a preconceived notion of what a female figure would look like.
The term “Venus” is defined as “a beautiful woman.” “Venus” is also linked to the Roman Goddess of Love; she also goes by the name Aphrodite. By giving the statuette the name “Venus of Willendorf” we are now associating this image with beauty and love. The way Venus is interpreted is nude and slightly covering her breasts and pubic region. The way the “Venus of Willendorf” is made is of a woman who is completely nude, with bulging breasts, large stomach and thighs, and a clearly visible pubic area. The image of Venus has been made to resemble a fairly attractive “curvy” woman. With the slight covering of breasts and privates, our culture and society dub this as art and beauty.
Without breaching the line of vulgarity and abrasiveness, the Birth of Venus and Capitoline Venus both show the subtle art of nude posing and sculpting. When compared to the “Venus of Willendorf,” many major differences stick out like sore thumbs. One being the obvious body shape of the woman; her obese figure is emphasized with a bulbous stomach, thick thighs, large buttocks, and hefty breasts. In our society, larger, more obese women are not considered physically beautiful; therefore when we see “Venus of Willendorf” we do not think she is a beautiful woman. Instead, the women we see, for example, in the Birth of Venus are what we would consider a beautiful woman.
I see this being problematic, especially for our society and culture, because it gives us a “one-way” viewing on what we consider beauty. With the way our society has grown into the idea that beautiful women must be thin, tall, long hair and big breasts; our young women see it fit to go to any measures (safe or extreme) to achieve this certain beauty. We get so fixed on our outer appearances that we begin to lose our own beauty from within. This beauty and sexual attractions are there to impress a male counterpart. Though the interesting thing about this “Venus of Willendorf” is the fact that the sculpture was made by a woman. This shows that this culture was probably matriarchal and do not see the need to label beauty to this sculpture.
The other controversial piece of the sculpture is the obvious genital view of the labia. This is somewhat vulgar to our society as it is not a common thing to see in art and/or visual means. The big topic of seeing this part of the woman anatomy is that “Venus of Willendorf” is a fertility idol made for that society.
I enjoyed beginning with this piece of art for our class because of it controversial meanings and images. I believe by talking about this piece without knowing much about it really makes us dive into the time era and culture that it was created in.
Hi Becca! I also like the theory that this statue might have been created by a woman! Of course, we don't know the exact reasons for why a woman would have wanted to create this kind of statue, but I like the idea that these type of figurines were used as teaching tools about pregnancy and health.
ReplyDeleteI like that you highlighted how the term "Venus" forces the viewer to look at the figurine in a certain way. Really, the word "Venus" causes people to make comparisons between the prehistoric figurines and those produced by the ancient Greeks. I don't think it seems quite fair that the prehistoric figurines should always be judged on a basis of comparison to the Greeks. We should try to appreciate and study prehistoric art on its own terms, without being forced into comparisons.
-Prof. Bowen
The “one-way” viewing on beauty is a great point. With our influences of the media, “Venus” of Willendorf is not considered beautiful in our society. When we look at “Venus” we have to think that this was beauty back in the prehistoric era. We have to understand that beauty is something judged differently by everyone, and we have to be open to everyone’s different opinion.
ReplyDeleteI think your assumption that a woman carved the “Venus” is rather interesting. We have no evidence that shows a man or a woman made it. What points convinced you that a woman carved “Venus”?
I love how you said our society gives us a "one way" view on beauty. This is what I wrote about a lot in my post. America especially these days only really accept one kind of beauty... So when it comes to art like this, it's really good to keep ourselves in check as to natural beauty. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteI agree that as a society we should look at women of all shapes and sizes as beautiful. There is definitely a question of whether women have always been subjected to the kind of societal pressures that we face too.
ReplyDeleteI do disagree with the fact that because she is a larger shaped women she belonged to a matriarchal society. Having a thicker body may have been and probably was the most appealing body of that time period (because it meant she was well fed and was very fertile). Thus, she herself was not going against what was beautiful of that time... she WAS (and still is) beautiful.
I don't think being skinny should be viewed as "succumbing to the pressures of society" and I think women who are thicker should be viewed as the gorgeous women they are.