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Global Issue: The impact of sexism on women of all ages.

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Global Issue: The impact of sexism on women of all ages.

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My illustration.

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Version of my illustration as a magazine cover.

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Chosen BOW - Anita Kunz's Cover Illustrations

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Chosen BOW - Anita Kunz's Cover Illustrations

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I chose illustrations that tackled different Global Issues to gain a broader view on the artist's work.

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doctorate of fine art from ocad university

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Artist, Anita Kunz, Paintings, Officer of the Order of Canada, O.C., akunz@anitakunz.com, Illustrator, Fine art, Doctorate of Fine Art from OCAD University

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This illustration had an impact on me because I consider myself a fan of the portrayed artist and after reflecting on this it struck me how much we can venerate someone without even knowing them personally.
"The implicit purpose [...] is to express the issue of why venerating humans is wrong..."

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Link to my latest blog post.

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Are you a man? Then I am 47% more likely than you to suffer severe injuries in a car crash. Why - you may ask? Because I am a woman, and safety features are designed for men. This is not the only case where we are in disadvantage: the entire world's safety features are designed for men. Ever since we are born, women are trapped with significantly less opportunities and significantly more complications. This is why the body of work that I made reflects: how much women suffer and undergo simply because they are women. I knew this beforehand, having experienced it since I am a woman myself, but while researching facts that did nothing but support the previous statements, I realized how outrageous the situation really is. Gender inequality affects everyone all around the globe, every single second that passes.

For my work, I was inspired by that of Anita Kunz, a Canadian artist who was the first woman and first Canadian to have a solo exhibit at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Her illustrations are expressive, non-verbal, meaningful and sometimes satiric. I decided to use the tools that her work provided to express something that affects everyone: gender inequality. It starts the second we are born. And sometimes, it even ends there. In China, for example, there has been a practice of female infanticide for over two thousand years. They value more having sons because they are the ones who traditionally provide support and stability, and due to overpopulation one child per family is more than enough. This means that having a daughter is baggage, and some try to get rid of it. But lets pretend that doesn't happen. Lets pretend girls are born and allowed to grow up. If this were the case, they would be exposed throughout their entire childhood to subliminal messages like toy kitchen sets that subconsciously tell them that's where they ought to be while their brothers are playing with legos and science kits. Even if this was not the case, if women were not linked with housework instead of science and they got to the field, they would not be payed enough. For every dollar a man makes in the United States, we make 0.81. More than 1 in 5 woman are raped during their college experience. Not including sexual harassment, 35% of women suffer sexual violence by a non-partner. 137 women are killed by a member of their family every day. According to UN Wome n, "Adult women account for nearly half (49 per cent) of all human trafficking victims detected globally. Women and girls together account for 72 per cent, with girls representing more than three out of every four child trafficking victims. Most women and girls are trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation". The gender gap is more than clear. Therefore, I was inspired to create art that reflected both this global issue and Anita Kunz's work by working with the temperature of the image, making it cold to represent the lack of happiness and also trying to find a way to show the inequality without showing text given that Kunz does this.

I am targeting multiple audiences (anyone who may see the illustration). The explicit audience are women that will feel identificated with the picture and the purpose is to let them know that their struggle is seen, that they are not alone. The implicit audience, however, are men who are in denial to the oppression that they cause and the purpose is to make them understand that they are metaphorically putting women in chains by opressing them on the day to day lives.

My work contains a group of hue, value and chroma that is mostly blue and dark. This is an allusion to the cold shoulder that women's opression is given. The hints of warmth and light that we can see in the woman's body, on the other hand, are to show the humanity in this. The form generates depth to simbolyze sinking and the texture is soft yet rough, creating an allusion to the softness of the woman yet the roughness the world has on her. Her gaze is towards the floor, yet her eyes are closed. She is tired, her body is relaxed yet she is not. She is nude because her chains have the symbol of men, who tend to be the ones who sexualize her. Her body is for everyone to see. There is nothing but a blanket covering her legs, she is not shown respect and has no way to escape. I intend for the audience to notice the hue and facial expressions first, generating a sense of concern. Afterwards, they will notice the form of the chains and realize that the global issue being tackled is sexism and the effect of gender inequality.

I was not sure on how to approach this issue. I tried to make it satiric yet drawing a scared cis heterosexual man in a mini skirt would not be funny. Why inverse the roles if what equality is looking for is for no one to suffer? I then realized that I had to draw a woman, and she had to be suffering. It is our reality, sadly yet truly. I did countless sketches and did not like any, so I looked for ideas here and there. It was sad because a woman in handcuffs is seen as a sexual fantasy rather than as the terrible reality that it is. Yet this only proved my point once again. I am tired. We all are. It is awful that I know understand why my mom wouldn't let me sleep over at my friend's house, walk home alone or take a cab. I saw my brother doing all these things and being naive I could not understand yet now that I do it is because all the times that I have walked alone I have been catcalled. For the person doing it? Mere entertainment. For the victim? Pure horror. Why do we have to walk with our keys in our fist, ready to fight and run away? Why do we have to send our live location every time we go out? Why do dads earn more money? Why do moms teach us to cover our drinks all the time? We are exhausted. We need this to stop. We just want to walk alone at night and not be terrified that the person behind us will be the last person we see.

Yes, this is an illustration of a woman in chains. But there is so much more to it. Those chains are what holds us back from actually living and enjoying the moment, from getting rewarded fairly for our hard work, from feeling safe with our male peers. You, as a man, have the key to set us free from these chains. You can make us feel safe by respecting us, by demanding equality at home and in your workspace, by calling out those who hurt us. Are you the key, or are you another pin link?

- Marianne Borit

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Women in chains, a reflection on gender inequality as a global issue

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Are you a man? Then I am 47% more likely than you to suffer severe injuries in a car crash. Why - you may ask? Because I am a woman, and safety features are designed for men. This is not the only case where we are in disadvantage: the entire world's safety features are designed for men.

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Blog Post on My Personal Inquiry Project

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Blog Post on My Personal Inquiry Project

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Early stages.

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I chose to work with a series of illustrations by Anita Kunz, a Canadian artist that was the first woman and first Canadian to have a solo exhibit at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Kunz works with many different global issues and topics and portrays them in an expressive and complex way, having learned her technique in OCAD University. The selected illustrations all have very different meanings and are expressed differently, covering numerous topics and global issues, including politics, literature, child abuse, and others. The main body of work that I have decided to analyze is an illustration of Harry Styles, a singer and song-writer, being represented by Kunz as a religious figure to venerate. I chose this body of work because I believe that it holds a lot of truth and depth to it - more than what appears at first sight. None of Kunz's illustrations are shallow and she always finds a way to explicitly express the actual situation, and this body of work is not an exception. It also reflects my personal interests because I enjoy the portrayed artist's music and have considered myself a fan of his for almost ten years, and therefore I have seen the way media and the audience have reacted to him and the impact that he has now a day and can understand the reasoning behind Kunz to illustrate him as a divine being, as funny and as slightly ridiculous as it may seem.

Conventions and features of the chosen body of work:

Hyperlink of the illustration: Inspiration Text - Harry Styles by Anita Kunz

This illustration has the explicit purpose of humorous portraying of a mainstream celebrity as the god of a new religion followed by people who idolize celebrities. The implicit purpose, on the other hand, is to express the issue of why venerating humans is wrong because all of their actions are seen as admirable even though they might not even be good or ethical. The explicit purpose are all of Styles' fans who will excitedly look at the illustration of their idol while the implicit audience are those who know those fans who lose themselves trying to be more like someone they do not even know in person, this implicit audience may reflect on the image and realize the issue.

1. Kim Jong-un by Anita Kunz

This illustration is of Kim Jong-un, the Supreme Leader of North Korea, portrayed as a toddler playing with weapons. Its purpose is to raise awareness and the explanation can be self explanatory with some of his numerous quotes on the subject: "The entire United States is within range of our nuclear weapons, and a nuclear button is always on my desk. This is reality, not a threat", "The military might of a country represents its national strength. Only when it builds up its military might in every way can it develop into a thriving country.". It is more than clear that Kim Jong-un does not handle weapons with half the seriousness it requires, he is like a kid with toys. The intended audience are those who visit satiric and political sections in magazines and news paper intending to be aware of actual issues.

The illustration shows now former President of the United States, Donald Trump, being styled with someone blowdrying his hair and applying makeup on his face. The purpose of this text is to show that Trump is a built character treated like a celebrity, giving unprofessional opinions and generating drama and controversy to be on the media. The intended audience are both his supporters and those who criticize him.

3. Child Abuse by Anita Kunz

The illustration shows an infant desperately holding on to an adult hand's finger, which is crushing them. Its purpose is to raise awareness on child abuse and how harmful it is. The intended audience is as many people as possible, specially those close to a child that may be suffering from this.

4. Global Warming by Anita Kunz

This is an illustration of the planet Earth sitting desolated in a sauna while melting. Its purpose is to raise awareness on global warming and climate change. The intended audience are all those who do not believe in it and/or do not take action to recycle and clean the planet.

5. Little Red Riding Hood by Anita Kunz

The illustration shows the character Little Red Riding Hood wearing nothing but the red hood while riding the wolf who has blood in his teeth. The purpose of this text is to show a different version of the well-known tale, like Carol Ann Duffy, and empower the woman in it. The intended audience are sexist people so that they know that women are beginning to be more empowered and realizing their strength, fighting against oppression.

6. Christmas and the Military by Anita Kunz

There is a soldier portrayed sitting sad on a bed while holding a Christmas card and counting the days with sticks that form a Christmas tree. He appears to be in a cell. The purpose of this illustration is to show sympathy for those in the military that are on duty serving their country and cannot spend the holidays and other special events with their families and loved-ones. The intended audience are those who know them so that they know that they are thinking of them and also authorities so that they will let them spend the holidays at home.

7. Modern Hieroglyphics by Anita Kunz

The illustration is of a man calling a cab and it is in the style of hieroglyphics. Its purpose is to show that future history, when portraying our daily activities, will show work, stress and money instead of peace-fullness. The intended audience are workers who might not spend enough time relaxing and being with themselves and their loved ones.

By Marianne Borit

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I chose to work with a series of illustrations by Anita Kunz, a Canadian artist that was the first woman and first Canadian to have a solo exhibit at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Kunz works with many different global issues and topics and portrays them in an expressive and complex way, having learned her technique in OCAD University.