Software: Adobe Photoshop + physical screen printing

I. A dive into Gustav Klimt and his portrayals of femininity

Gustav Klimt

Austrian painter and prominent artist in the Vienna secession movement
Noted for his paintings, murals, sketches, and objets d'art (ornamental works of art)
Numerous inspirations, including Egyptian, Minoan, Classical Greek, Japanese and Byzantine inspirations, for his work
Uses symbols to convey psychological ideas and to emphasize "freedom" of art from traditional culture and norms

Gustav Klimt

Influential females in Klimt’s life

Klimt's father and brother Ernst died in 1892, with Klimt assuming financial responsibility for their families.
Klimt lived with his mother Anna Klimt for his whole life. She died in 1915, and Klimt died three years later.
In the early 1890s, Klimt met Emilie Louise Flöge, an Austrian fashion designer who was his companion until he died.
The Kiss (1907–08) is thought to portray Flöge and Klimt as lovers, painted five years after Klimt's full-length portrait of her. Flöge produced and modeled many of Klimt’s clothing designs.
Klimt developed intimate relationships especially with his upper-class models. He was considered to be progressive for his time as he “allowed women an active role in sexuality.”

Anna Klimt

Emilie Louise Flöge

Klimt’s female portraits

One of the most common themes Gustav Klimt used was that of the dominant woman, the femme fatale.
The female body was Klimt’s primary subject, and numerous Klimt pieces depict eroticism.
Each female portrait was accompanied by a multitude of pencil studies, which were used to develop poses and refine individual details like hand positionings for his models.

Sonja Kips, 1897/1898

Early portraits in the 1880s/1890s demonstrate a high degree of realism, based on portrait photography.

Fritza Riedler, 1906

Portraits in a sfumato style from around 1900 were followed by portraits utilizing precise and sharp contours through 1905 at the latest, differing from earlier works.

Portrait of Friedericke Maria Beer, 1916

The female portraits painted after 1910 feature many decorative elements, but no longer used geometric patterns. Klimt preferred to use organic elements as forms of decoration instead, such as floral motifs.

Seated Woman (Amalie Zuckerkandel), 1917

Judith und Holofernes, 1901

Klimt's 'Golden Phase' was marked by success. Many of his paintings from this period used gold leaf. The first prominent uses of gold were Pallas Athene (1898) and Judith (1901).

Mäda Primavesi (1903–2000), 1912/1913

Additionally, figurative motifs from Asian art emerged as decorative elements in Klimt’s work.

Female portraits in Vienna

Klimt’s many patterns + motifs

Different images of femininity

The femme fatale
a. Judith und Holofernes (1901)
b. Portrait of Friederike Maria Beer (1916)

2. Lovers and companions

a. The Kiss (1907/1908)

b. The Bride (1918)

c. The Embrace (1907/1908)

d. Adam and Eve (1917)

3. Maternal figures

a. Mother with Two Children (1909/1910)

b. The Three Ages of Woman (1905)

4. Mythical beings

a. Beethoven Frieze (1902)

b. Water Serpents I and II (1904-1907)

5. Representations of beauty

a. Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907)

b. Emilie Flöge (1902)

6. Vulnerable humans

a. Hope I (1903)

b. Death and Life (1910-1915)

c. The Virgin (1913)

d. Danaë (1907-1908)

“I am less interested in myself as a subject for painting than I am in other people, above all women.”

- Gustav Klimt

How might I be able to portray different layers of femininity in the style of Klimt?

II. Floating signifier

Applying different images of femininity

The femme fatale, leaders

a. “Judith” pattern

b. Blue (mystery), green (success), purple (royalty/glory)

2. Lovers, companions

a. “The Kiss”pattern

b. Red (romance/desire), orange (friendship), yellow (joy)

3. Maternal figures, nurturers

a. “Three Ages of Woman” pattern

b. Light pink (gentleness), peach (gratitude), deep pink (admiration)

Skirt patterns

Questions to consider

Is this a decorative object? Does it operate in the same way a painting does?

No to both, my skirt is meant to be worn and interacted with, unlike many decorative objects that do not offer function and unlike paintings that are meant for viewing.

Is it a poster? A flag? Does it connect to something outside of itself (a point of view, politics etc)? Are any of these things mutually exclusive?

While not a poster or a flag, my skirt does connect to something outside of itself, that is, the many different images of femininity it aims to portray. These images are meant to be recognized and appreciated, but also contested and questioned by wearers and viewers.

Location/situation

Where and how should this live?

I want my skirt to make the concept of femininity tangible in everyday life, physically connecting wearers/viewers to the ideas it aims to represent. Therefore, the skirt should live in “normal” places, the places its wearer would typically go in a day and interact with.

How does its situation affect our understanding of it?

Situating the skirt in normal, everyday activities and wearing it the same as other clothing suggests the skirt and what it represents is “common” and ordinary. These images of femininity are constantly revealing themselves to us without effort in the course of daily life, so the skirt should be visible and accessible to demonstrate our ability to engage with these images and find their human representations in our lives (i.e. these images are real and living).

Form

Does this stay as more of what we consider a two dimensional surface? If it expands into other dimensions, which and how?

The skirt is three-dimensional; it is meant to be picked up, examined, touched, worn, carried, shared, etc. It obviously has width and height, but also depth in its multiple layers and patterns. While these patterns themselves may be two-dimensional, they come together to create something that is meant to be given life/personality.

Does it stay static or change?

The skirt’s appearance changes based on the wearer. Each wearer can focus on a different side of the skirt to project a particular image, and can style the skirt as they wish.

How do I make the concept of femininity “tangible”?

How do I take advantage of the skirt’s wearable form to connect wearers to the ideas it represents?

Documentation (wearable)

Documentation (non-wearable)

Documentation

Video link

“Scene” breakdown

The “lover” image

a. Sitting in the park, writing postcards

b. Talking on the phone on a bench

c. Making dinner

2. The “leader” image

a. Riding the train

b. Walking around the Belvedere, examining books

c. Answering emails

3. The “mother” image

a. Getting coffee

b. Shopping in Stephansplatz

c. Swimming in the Danube

Film order

3

6

8

2

5

7

1

4

9

Analysis

By wearing my skirt around Vienna doing typical, everyday activities (getting coffee, riding transit, sitting in the park, shopping, making dinner, talking on the phone, etc.), the skirt is presented as informal and easily accessible, much like the ideas they represent.
Presenting these images of femininity in a way that is familiar to viewers allows them to contextualize these portrayals and encourages them to think about how they are reflected in their everyday life.
Images (and short film) shows three different versions of myself wearing the skirt to show how femininity is multi-layered, personal, and intersectional.
Non-wearable documentation (original idea) is meant to show these portrayals of femininity can stand alone and have their own personalities (laying down, sitting, tossed aside, etc.).

Feedback

Feedback from my peers showed me that rather than portraying three different girls in my video, I was instead showing three different sides of myself, all of which shape my experience with and perception of femininity.
While capturing different images of femininity with different girls is something that would have been possible with my classmates, I felt that it was important to site my work independently to effectively show how these distinctive “personalities” of femininity exist simultaneously in one person (in this case, shown by me wearing different outfits for each side).
This documentation isn’t meant to show the images of femininity, but rather my embodiment and personification of the concept (something that is ever-changing and malleable).