Allen Jones
In a painting by Allen Jones, he shows the blurred lines within gender. Using his art to create a message, his artwork highlights a nuanced aspect of gender while he also suggests there are aspects of the male and female in everyone.
Looking at the artwork I have chosen, I have linked it to painting. Looking at the name of the painting ‘Hermaphrodite’ (“an organism that possesses both male and female reproductive organs during its life”), initially showing the theme of combined or blurred genders.
This artwork was published in 1963, making Jones 58 at time of publication, it is displayed in the Walker Art Gallery. Although there is no direct information on who the artwork was made for, Allen Jones art is always subject to discussion, creating artwork on controversial topics. Somewhat suggesting that his artwork is made for everyone in order to get his messages across and to create discussion.
I think the way he uses abstract figures combined with bold colours and shapes expresses a joyful depiction of gender. The main aspect of the artwork that captures my eye is the fact the image isn’t initially what you view as it shows a messy blurred image, yet the more you study the image, it shows aspects of the two genders. In addition, the way he uses a bold black colour to separate the two genders while they are also very much intertwined, suggests the blurring in between them both, they are not two separate things yet more of one thing with characteristics of both. Overall showing identity and gender reimagined as one thing rather than two.