Both a work of art and a force for social change "The Dinner Party" is an installation piece that a female artist named Judy Chicago created with the assistance of other women. The artwork, which is displayed in The Brooklyn Museum in New York City, is dubbed a recreation of the Last Supper. "The Dinner Party" has a triangular table with ornate artwork and crafts at locations marked with the names of 39 female attendees. On the floor in the space in between the tables, another 989 names are written. All of the women depicted are either historical figures or legendary figures. The gist of the art is to inspire social change, encouraging equality between women and men, which is the mission of feminism (Chicago, 2012).
Background
On entry to "The Dinner Party" installation in the museum, artsy banners are hanged on the walls. Each one consists of lines from Judy Chicago's poems. They all represent feministic values (Chicago, 2012).
The open triangular table is equilateral in geometry. Each side measures 48 feet in length. The triangle is a universal symbol of equality and also a symbol of the women species. The equilateral nature of it stresses on the equality that should be conferred on both women and men (Chicago, 2012) (Brooklyn Museum, n.d.)
For each woman's place setting around the table is a gold ceramic goblet, utensils, a paper towel, and a china-painted plate with a motif at the center of a butterfly and vulvar shape. The center represented as hot is described as the center of oneself or of earth and the source of all life. Some place settings depict the rise and decline of women power. Females were the universal early symbols of leadership and remain to date as symbols of benevolence. The place settings were uniformly arranged for all the 39 women to enhance the value of equality even amongst the women (Chicago, 2012).
Each one of the three wings of the triangular table represents a separate era in history. Each wing has places for 13 women, indicating the number of people present during the Last Supper. Wing One starts with the Primordial Goddess to the time Judaism advanced. It moves to ancient geek societies to the Roman Empire, symbolizing the gradual fall in women's power. That is embodied by the place setting of Hypatia. Wing Two is symbolic of ancient Christianity consisting of women who fought for gender equality, such as Marcella and Anna van Schuman. The third wing opens with Anne Hutchinson and is all about American Revolution, the value of Suffragism, and the revolution that promoted women singular creative expression, which has the final portrayal, which is of Georgia O'Keeffe (Chicago, 2012) (Brooklyn Museum, n.d.).
Art and Social Change
Feminism and gender equality are the main themes in this iconic artwork by Judy Chicago. Feminism refers to the advocacy of women rights and encourages equal treatment of the sexes. The artwork's primary purpose is to popularize female power against a male-dominated society. The illustrations, craft, and textual messages that comprise this intricate creation are aimed at granting women confidence in themselves. The work attempts to promote the fallen supremacy of the female gender with the use of female historical figures.
Art is an impactful way of expression that can be used to communicate ideas and emotions, and is sometimes viewed as a universal language. The dinner party is an iconic feminist piece of art that successfully spread and popularized the idea. Feminism and gender equality were less popular in the 1970s than now, but due to the efforts of Judy Chicago and other individuals who have championed women rights, it is currently a fairly common idea in most parts of the world.
The elaborateness of Judy Chicago's work is mind-blowing. Strikingly intelligent detail and hidden meanings are of great quantity and quality. This is supported by extraordinary critical acclaim the work has received. A lot of creative and manual effort went to the piece from all the craftswomen who worked on it. This could translate to the passion in Judy and her numerous helpers in the creation of the representation. Some term it as the first epic feminist piece of art. It took 5 years (1974-1979) to put it all together at a cost of $250,000 (Brooklyn Museum, n.d.)
The work is regarded as controversial. That might be translated to be giving it more fame and impact. Some individuals say that it is vulgar with the dominant vaginal depiction, various errors and inconsistencies, and technical art flaws. "The Dinner Party" has been criticized as disturbing with the overflowing use of vaginal imagery. Some say that in it women are reduced to vaginas, the very opposite of feminist ideals (Brooklyn Museum, n.d.) (Chicago, 2012).
Conclusion
The Dinner party uplifts female accomplishments by women in the Western culture to a status held in reserve for male counterparts. It is inspired by the omission of female figures in recorded history and the notable neglect of the female gender at the time of creating the artwork. The piece has traveled until it was installed at the Brooklyn Museum. It sparked societal changes as it moved and has since granted women more recognition, more leadership roles, and has emphasized the idea of gender equality. Much as it received criticism from those opposed to its essence, "The Dinner Party" has made an impression on many people and is expected to be noteworthy in history.
References
Chicago, J. [. (2012, October 3). The dinner party a tour of the exhibition [Video file]. Retrieved from YouTube: https://youtu.be/9yMtdWxAc60a
Museum, B., & Brooklyn Museum. (n.d.). Components of the dinner party. Retrieved from Brooklyn Museum: https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/dinner_party/home/
