Brianna Holcomb
Arts and Entertainment Editor
Often, a woman’s body is never really her own. She is accused of not sharing it with the world, but also persecuted for over-sexualizing it. Kathleen Deiner has taken back the meaning of a woman’s body in her gallery “Bare.”
In Deiner’s paintings she captures the different aspects of a woman’s nude body. The gallery displays all aspects from a woman’s knees to her bare breast. Not one of these features is displayed sexually; they are shown for what they are: An aspect of the human body.
My favorite photo in the gallery is the portrait of the woman sitting and holding her knees. The portrait is a profile view of the woman sitting – her hand is holding her arm and hugging her knee loosely to her chest. It is a very simplistic painting and a position that many women find themselves in.
The painting technique used made the woman’s skin appear soft and delicate. The soft texture helped to keep the body form looking over-sexualized. This, combined with the forms of light and color, promoted the soft nature of a woman’s body. It was neither crude nor derogatory toward the female anatomy.
“Through abstract self-portraiture, ‘Bare’ explores the contours of the female form. Ignoring the sexual stigma associated with female nudity, the paintings highlight the ethereal nature of the figure through light and color,” said Deiner.
Deiner does an excellent job portraying the female body as a work of art instead of a sexual representation
One of the portraits shows a woman’s naked body including her breast. A woman’s naked chest is not shown or is covered in some strategic way in many media outlets. When a woman’s breast is shown it is overly sexualized. In this painting neither of those things are taking place.
Her chest is fully exposed but there is nothing sexual about it. Her painting represents the naked body in its truest form without the harsh judgments and standards that are typically associated with a woman’s body.
Although many of the pieces of the portraits may feel taboo, like the breast, Deiner does feature other aspects as well.
A painting of a woman’s belly button is presented in the gallery. This painting is focused on the center looking right at her belly button.
The painting comes off as though she is standing in a spotlight. Although you cannot see anything above or below her belly button, besides her stomach, the painting seems to glow like one would after taking a shower and standing in the fluorescent light of a bathroom.
Deiner does a wonderful job capturing the beauty of the female body without sexualizing it. The use of light and color help to portray the softness and beauty that is the female body. This gallery is feminine beauty at its finest.