Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
Examining agency in self-portraits by selected black female artists
Dissertation (MA (Visual Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2024.
Saved in:
| Other Authors: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of Pretoria
2025
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867613541451694080 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Lauwrens, Jenni |
| author_browse | Lauwrens, Jenni |
| author_facet | Lauwrens, Jenni |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
| description | Dissertation (MA (Visual Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2024. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/100509 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:37:45.339Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/100509 Examining agency in self-portraits by selected black female artists Lauwrens, Jenni nanzi.yanta@gmail.com Yanta, Nandipha Nthabiseng Liziwe UCTD Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agency Feminism Black women The oppositional gaze Self-love Self-definition Feminist art Humanities theses SDG-05 SDG-05: Gender equality Dissertation (MA (Visual Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2024. Global feminism and global black feminism are central to this study as I investigate the agency of (black) women in the Western art canon because it shows how women's empowerment has developed over time. Feminist art is a crucial part of this study because it shows that female artists have navigated and challenged a traditionally patriarchal industry. This is explored through artists like Judy Chicago from the United States of America (USA) as well as Penny Siopis and Sue Williamson from South Africa, alongside critical perspectives of theorists like Marion Arnold (1996), Brenda Schmahmann (2015), and Karen von Veh (2006; 2019). In recent decades, there has been an apparent shift in the representation of black women in visual culture with global artists like Mickalene Thomas, Amy Sherald, and Wangechi Mutu expressing themes of assertiveness, confidence, and beauty in their art. By examining the works of artists like Jean-Marc Nattier and Edouard Manet, I also trace the evolution of black women’s representation in the Western art canon. I examine self-portraiture as a feminist strategy, analysing the works of famous self-portraitists like Amrita Sher-Gil, Frida Kahlo and Cindy Sherman who have challenged gender stereotypes along with Carrie Mae Weems and Renee Cox who convey black female subjectivity in their artwork. My primary objective for this study is to show how selected prolific black female artists, namely Mary Sibande, Zanele Muholi, Billie Zangewa, and Zandile Tshabalala assert agency in their self-portraits through different (black) feminist strategies such as the oppositional gaze, self-definition, and self-love. Visual Arts MA (Visual Studies) Unrestricted Faculty of Humanities SDG-05: Gender equality 2025-02-04T13:16:48Z 2025-02-04T13:16:48Z 2025-04 2024-10 Dissertation * A2025 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/100509 https://doi.org/10.25403/UPresearchdata.28296185 en © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | UCTD Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agency Feminism Black women The oppositional gaze Self-love Self-definition Feminist art Humanities theses SDG-05 SDG-05: Gender equality Examining agency in self-portraits by selected black female artists |
| title | Examining agency in self-portraits by selected black female artists |
| title_full | Examining agency in self-portraits by selected black female artists |
| title_fullStr | Examining agency in self-portraits by selected black female artists |
| title_full_unstemmed | Examining agency in self-portraits by selected black female artists |
| title_short | Examining agency in self-portraits by selected black female artists |
| title_sort | examining agency in self portraits by selected black female artists |
| topic | UCTD Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agency Feminism Black women The oppositional gaze Self-love Self-definition Feminist art Humanities theses SDG-05 SDG-05: Gender equality |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/100509 https://doi.org/10.25403/UPresearchdata.28296185 |