Martha Wilson: A Portfolio of Models

Guest blogger Saraphina Masters is a Smith College student, class of 2017, majoring in Classical Studies and Art History. She was the 2013-2015 STRIDE Scholar in the Cunningham Center for Prints, Drawings, and Photographs.

These photographs are featured in the exhibition Women’s Work: Feminist Art from the Collection, on view until January 3, 2016. Martha Wilson will be speaking at Smith on September 30.

Martha Wilson is regarded as one of the pioneering feminist artists of her time, and rightly so. Working in multi-media that prominently features digital work, Wilson has spent the greater part of her career exploring the female body and what it is to be feminine within the confines of society. She studied and taught in Halifax, Nova Scotia before moving to New York to be more expressive as a young, female artist. Wilson’s origins are in textual and language based art, and though she is best known for her physical, performance art, the presence of the written word is still visible and relevant. This potent combination can be seen in her work entitled A Portfolio of Models. This collection of six images, each with their own accompanying text, is prefaced by a separate written introduction that reads:

“These are the models society holds out to me: Goddess, Housewife, Working Girl, Professional, Earth Mother, Lesbian. At one time or another, I have tried them all on for size, and none has fit. All that’s left to do is be an artist and point the finger at my own predicament. The artist operates out of the vacuum left when all other values are rejected.”

— Martha Wilson, August 1974

In her series of six photographs, Wilson portrays six separate women, all of whom exist in highly disparate spheres of society and are presented as the six archetypes of femininity. As she is the only model, Wilson modifies her appearance in order to cast herself as each character. Clothing, hair, and makeup, as well as pose and posture, all comprise the woman whom Wilson is meant to represent. The miniature character analysis that is paired with each image examines the women in relation to their place in society, their intelligence, and their sexuality.

dark studio backdrop, woman with short dark hair posed in long silk pants and shirt with proper right shoulder toward viewer, head on chin, serious expression, proper right hand on proper right leg which is forward and proper left hand on hip; there is text below image which reads: "The Goddess Her presence is felt by both men and women, and every member of society past the age of five is aware of her. She is the fashion-model archetype, an implicit image of reference. She always looks perfect. She also smells wonderful at all times. She has "sex-appeal." However, she is asexual. We look but don't imagine. Whether she is intelligent is irrelevant."

^{Martha Wilson. American, born 1947. The Goddess from A Portfolio of Models, 1974–2008. Gelatin silver print with typewritten text. Purchased with the Dorothy C. Miller, class of 1925, Fund. SC 2011.27.2.}

One fascinating aspect of these women and their textual biographies is that each woman’s paragraph relates her in some aspect to the first woman depicted: the Goddess. The Goddess is presented as the perfect woman: relevant and attractive to all members of society. Wilson casts herself as the Goddess by wearing a silk suit that emulates quality and striking in a dramatic, sensual pose with an impassive look on her face. Her appearance and even smell is perfect, and though she is attractive, she is too far removed from reality and thus asexual. Interestingly, Wilson states clearly that the Goddess is “an implicit image of reference”. The other portraits in this series support that statement in that the Goddess is mentioned in all following descriptions and exists as a constant model to be imitated.

light grey backdrop paper; woman in short hair wearing a tweed skirt, striped blouse and sweater with heeled shoes, standing with one foot in front of the other, proper left hand on the back of a side chair, proper right holding a coffee cup, she is smiling and wears a wedding ring; the text below the image reads: "The Housewife This woman aspires to goddessdom, but she is compromised by some everyday realities: she can't spend all day on her face because she has to feed the kids. She can't starve herself bed-slat thin because she has to keep her strength up. Sex is a routine part of her life, whether it be an exciting one or an unpleasant one. If she wants to be kinky, she might swap. She is intelligent, but has convinced herself that she is fulfilled."

^{Martha Wilson. American, born 1947. The Housewife from A Portfolio of Models, 1974–2008. Gelatin silver print with typewritten text. Purchased with the Dorothy C. Miller, class of 1925, Fund. SC 2011.27.3.}

The Housewife is, physically at least, the opposite of the Goddess. Conservative clothing, a poised stance, and a frozen smile paired with a cup of coffee give the impression that this is a woman who expresses few of her true emotions. Wilson notes that the Housewife “is intelligent, but has convinced herself that she is fulfilled.” This could be a commentary on the sacrifices that Wilson perceives full time mothers and wives to be constantly making. The Housewife aspires to be like the Goddess, but the realities and practicalities of her everyday life, such as feeding her children, limit her.

light grey backdrop paper; woman with curly blond hair, in short pleated skirt and short sleeved, low-cut floral blouse seated on a side chair, proper left hand on hip, proper right rests on crossed knees holding a can of beer, she is smiling at and has black high heel pumps one dangling on the toes of her proper left foot, the text below the photograph says: "The Working Girl She can only approach goddessdom insofar as her budget permits. She works very hard, and is given no credit for any brains she may or may not have. She relieves the drudgery of life by having a riproaring time in bed."

^{Martha Wilson. American, born 1947. The Working Girl from A Portfolio of Models, 1974–2008. Gelatin silver print with typewritten text. Purchased with the Dorothy C. Miller, class of 1925, Fund. SC 2011.27.4.}

The Working Girl is another departure from the ever-present standard of the Goddess. To portray her, Wilson wears a short skirt and low floral blouse that, paired with a tall wig and a loose high-heeled shoe, characterizes the Working Girl as lower-class and less refined. The artist both implies visually and states textually that this woman is barred from the ideal of the Goddess by her budget. Her intelligence is questionable and her work ethic, though admirable, will never earn her credit or praise. The woman that Wilson presents here is evokes pity as well as resignation.

grey backdrop paper; woman with a serious expression, wearing small fedora, in cuffed wide leg trousers, tie shows, striped shirt and velvet blazer lounges on a tall metal stool with her hands clasped on her lap; the text below the photograph says: "The Professional She plays down her competence to get along. Perhaps she is not beautiful, but she is extremely well-groomed, approaching goddessdom at least by the cost of her outfit. Her sexuality is a point of debate: does her job fulfill her and make her a self-loving person, or does she succeed in her job because she is frigid?"

^{Martha Wilson. American, born 1947. The Professional from A Portfolio of Models, 1974–2008. Gelatin silver print with typewritten text. Purchased with the Dorothy C. Miller, class of 1925, Fund. SC 2011.27.5.}

Wilson represents the Professional with a somber expression that matches the dark color of her masculine pants suit. Her hat hides her hair and the posture of her body on the tall chair indicates confidence and nonchalance. This is a woman who actively participates in the professional world, but according to Wilson, “plays down her competence to get along.” In saying this, Wilson is addressing the place of women in the workforce and the adjustments they must make in order to fit with society and its expectations of them. The Professional contrasts the Working Girl in that the high price of her outfit is the only way she relates to the Goddess. The sexuality of the Professional is questionable in this presentation; it may be her job that fulfils her or she may do her job because she is unfulfilled.

light grey backdrop paper, woman with hair wrapped in crocheted shawl, wearing long V neck dark vine patterned dress and low strap shoes, her proper left hand hangs by her side as her proper right lifts the skirt of the dress, her expression is sober; the text below the photograph reads: "The Earth-Mother She claims she doesn't give a shit about the goddess. Actually, to be such a perfect mirror-reversal of her, in her workboots and braless peasant blouses, she is just a conscious of the goddess as the suburban queen. She flaunts her sexuality, not out of boredom, but because it is a natural function, god-given for us to enjoy. She has shelved her intellect for the time being, deriving fulfillment from working the land with her hands."

^{Martha Wilson. American, born 1947. The Earth Mother from A Portfolio of Models, 1974–2008. Gelatin silver print with typewritten text. Purchased with the Dorothy C. Miller, class of 1925, Fund. SC 2011.27.6.}

The Earth-Mother, both physically and mentally, is the “perfect mirror-reversal” the Goddess. Wilson wears a long, loose-fitting floral dress and a white head scarf, indicating that appearances are not important to this type of woman. Wilson believes that such pointed contrariness from the Goddess is indicative of the Earth-Mother’s hyper-consciousness of that refined role model. She casually regards her sexuality as natural and inherent and her intellect is secondary to her connection to physical labor and the land.

light grey backdrop paper, standing woman with short hair in rolled up jeans, high boots, sweater and shiny jacket, both hands in the jacket pockets, her head is tilted and her expression serious; the text below the photograph reads: "The Lesbian. She hates the goddess, because actually the goddess was invented by the men on Madison Avenue. She alone sees through goddessdom, but unluckily, her sexuality is so misplaces that the rest of society ignores her. Her intelligence is a flyweight issue in light of her emotional problems."

^{Martha Wilson. American, born 1947. The Lesbian from A Portfolio of Models, 1974–2008. Gelatin silver print with typewritten text. Purchased with the Dorothy C. Miller, class of 1925, Fund. SC 2011.27.7.}

The Lesbian is, according to Wilson, the ultimate foil to the Goddess. Wilson as the Lesbian wears chunky boots, a jacket and a firm stance paired with a contrary tilt of the head. This woman perceives and scorns the Goddess as an invention of commercial male minds and “she alone see through goddessdom.” However, the Lesbian’s sexuality deviates from societal norms and thus excludes her from perception and discourse. Likewise, her intelligence is surpasses by her emotional issues. As is the case with all of Wilson’s other women, the Lesbian is reduced to a single defining quality.

Created during the second wave of feminism, A Portfolio of Models physically explores the ways in which women are characterized and defined by society. Martha Wilson uses her own body, transformed with the aid of clothing, styling, and body language, to examine six distinct types of women whom she presents to the viewer both visually and textually. These women are all related to each other and particularly to the Goddess model, whom Wilson casts as the ultimate women. In presenting such clean cut divisions within the female gender, this series creates a space for the viewer to think critically about themselves, women they know (or don’t) and even Wilson herself as a woman and an artist. Wilson declares that she has removed herself from any of these archetypes by becoming an artist and thus exists in the empty space that she created by rejecting these six basic models.

Phenomenal art is marked by its continued relevance and if it provokes thought long after its initial debut. To this day, A Portfolio of Models brings up a great deal of questions, such as how these roles exist then as well as today, and are modern women a part of them? Wilson invites you to examine the six women she became and consider how they relate to you.

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Martha Wilson: A Portfolio of Models

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