HIS STUDIO
PALLADIUM COLOR PRINTS
Benevolent sexism is a term i ran across recently. It is a form of sexism that appears positive but is in fact harmful to women, as it reinforces women as inferior.
My dad and I went to an exhibition gallery in Durham during thanksgiving break. I was captivated by these lifesize portraits of women. The paintings had a ton of iconography that spanned both the LGBTQ+ community, as well as women of different cultural backgrounds.
As I walked further along in the gallery i found the studio of the artist. I was shocked at both the inside of the gallery and the artist himself. The studio was caked in pornographic women, collections of swords, alcohol, and other shocking items. I talked with the artist for over half an hour about his process, but i couldn’t be more distracted by his studio and the mixed signal it gave from the gallery right outside.
This man collected women’s intimate stories through his paintings the way he collected his alcohol, retro tec, and swords. They were possessions to him, meant only to reap personal gain and elevate his personal identity as an artist.
As a side note, my Dad was super concerned that I actually liked this mans work, so I wrote all of this for him as well.
