EQUALITY

Watercolor Painting

Presenter: Madelyn Brandt

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 20-21

Semester: Spring

Faculty Mentor: Sakina Bryant

Department: Philosophy

Funding Source/Sponsor: SYRCE Symposium

Screenshot URL: https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1gWd4tNiZvqI-jmEKz7Yhqf1DcR0Md1j-

Abstract:
For my SYRCE final project, I decided to combine my hobby of painting and the topic of feminism in the 1980s. I was inspired to do this piece when I heard the stories and events of how feminism was in the second-wave feminist movement through Charlene O'Rourke's lectures. Not only did her passion and storytelling make me feel empowered, but she also mentioned struggles that related to a novel we read in PHIL's seminar class. The novel is titled The Handmaid's Tale and it brought into a deeper level of gender oppression and how complacency towards such oppression can be dangerous. I wanted to convey the emotions I felt when I heard stories of how women were treated and how the second-wave feminist movement is both similar and different to the feminist movements of today. The focal point of the watercolor painting is the wall this goes straight across and I decided to paint it like that to show how men were "risen up" as if on a pedestal and also to symbolize the Wall that was also a part of Handmaid's Tale. It struck a lot of fear into people's hearts in the novel, but to show that women were not afraid to stand up for whats right and to openly say what they want, I put one of the most important quotes of the novel on the painted wall. Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum.