Touch Assignment

A Natural History of the Senses: Touch 

By: Diane Ackerman

Pain.
14 x 14 inches
Acrylic Medium on Canvas

"Many women experience extreme pain during their periods each month, but they accept the pain because they understand that it's not caused by someone else, it's not malicious, and it doesn't surprise them; this makes all the difference." (Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses, p.103.)

 Artist's Statement:

Period pain for me was not like how Ms. Ackerman describes, for me it was mean, brutal as if my body was fighting against me and I was being torn apart. I wanted to portray this in my piece, through the work you can feel the pain and feel the anger of one at their own body for forcing them through this war every month. I never accepted pain I questioned why must my body betray me in this way. 

Hair.
14 x 14 inches
Acrylic Medium on Canvas
"From this point of view, which has been popular for ages, a woman grows. her hair long but keeps it tightly controlled in a bun, under a hat or scarf, or with hair spray, and lets her hair down only in private at night."  (Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses, p.86.

 Artist's Statement:

In the quote from Ms. Ackerman, she describes hair as a performance piece almost. A thing which women are expected to hide and maintain until eventually, she'll unveil it for her man to see, inevitably connecting hair to sex and sexual activeness. I wanted to portray a woman just doing a regular day-to-day activity like brushing her hair but show it from the gaze of men sexualizing her hair and expecting feminity in return. The pink symbolizes the rose-tinted glasses of the man gazing upon her and the window to show his perspective. Meanwhile, the woman continues to do what she's been told to do since she was born, groom her hair.