(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2006) Muldoon, Dara Anne Hartman; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: N. R. Pope
My work is informed by the cultural construction of the ideal woman, i.e., a
pretty, tidy, clean, little package; and by the women close to me, the women I encounter
from day to day, and the representations of women throughout history. To this end, I
want the representations of the female figures I create to possess a goddess-like quality,
to show the beauty that all women possess, and to portray the reality of feminine
struggles in a society obsessed with constructed images of beauty. I want to reference the
idea of the male gaze and the objectification of the female body through the use of the
torso but to also bring the viewers attention to the perceptions a woman may have about
her own body. My intention is to place the object in front of the viewer in an effort to
provoke, educate, and compel the viewer to think differently about the complexities of
the female body.
