On January 12, 2017, the first ‘Nasty Women’ art exhibition opened in the Knockdown Center in Queens, NY. The exhibition featured over 700 female artists' pieces on a 12-foot tall tower of block letters that spelled out N-A-S-T-Y W-O-M-E-N. A Trump voodoo doll, a photo of well-manicured middle fingers, a painting of flaming high heels, and hundreds of representations of vaginas were on display, all for sale at $100 or less. There were reportedly more than 2,200 people who attended the show’s opening night and a total amount of $34,950 was spent on the art, all of which was donated to Planned Parenthood.
The show was bound to happen sooner or later after the political battle that took place at the end of the previous year; though many may speculate that it probably wouldn’t have taken place if Hillary Clinton had won that battle. “It got me fired up and got me to use my skills actively”, 24-year-old calligrapher Carly Russell from Washington Heights said about her handmade “Pantsuit Nation” pins she made after Clinton’s loss. She went on to write, “Art is my weapon of choice in this fight”, on the packaging of her pins. In an interview at the event, ‘Nasty Women’ co-director Jessamyn Fiore said, “This show is a message to Trump and the government that you can’t roll back women’s rights without a fight. I see art as action, an action of solidarity and presence.” What has caused America to feel as though this election has stripped women of their rights? This art exhibit shows the empowerment of women, and their ability to use art as their voice to reach society.
One of the more influential paintings displayed at the ‘Nasty Women’ art exhibition was “nasty women”, by contemporary artist Naoko Tadotsu. In this painting, Tadotsu painted Donald Trump’s face over a women’s. Trump’s face is puckered and he looks very angry. The painting doesn’t show women’s feelings towards Trump, which ultimately was the reason this portrait was painted. By putting Trump’s facial features on top of a woman’s, Tadotsu is trying to show the president who he is speaking against and shouldn’t be slandering. This particular painting depicts the empowerment that women are trying to stand for. That it doesn’t matter the gender, it’s the ability, the power of a person. After the election people came together to rally, hold marches, and art exhibits to show solidarity against the decision that was made, but why was the decision made, is the US society insecure in their cultural identity so much that they fear a woman in power? I see this painting as just that, a showing that gender shouldn’t be the determining factor of choice, but the power of representation a person has.
Women want to be treated equally, should they? How much power do women really have? The truth is that there are few women who hold powerful business positions; positions of highly respected leadership. There has never been a female president before; Hillary Clinton was the closest a female has ever come before to earning that title. Women have started to pursue the opportunity for growth and have begun to climb the social, political, and business ladders. The women’s movement has been slowly, but steadily, growing and has seen a lot of progress since the 19th Amendment was passed, which gave women the right to vote. Women are demanding respect when a lot of them already have/have it. Women don’t need to overcompensate; creating problems where none exist. They need to hold their heads up and continue to stand as equals. Do people need a cause to fight, regardless of validity? The decision didn’t put women back, it clearly showed that women are reaching the equality they fought for so many years ago, women need to stay in the march forward to show society in America not to fear the leadership of a woman.