The female body has always been examined in depth and even worshiped through various forms of art and media coverage, with the hitch being that the vast majority of images we see of women are in some way either created by or approved by men. Artist Andrea Mary Marshall has chosen to challenge that perspective by using herself as a subject, photographer and object in a work called “The Feminist Calendar 2016,” an art project that examines the concept of sexy and inspirational as mutually exclusive.
The work is a bit of a holler back at the Pirelli calendar, a limited edition photo calendar commissioned by an Italian automotive tire company of the same name. The calendar is known for featuring photographs of some of the most famously beautiful women in the world often shot nude. For their upcoming 2016 Pirelli chose to flip the script and decided feature inspirational women who would be photographed clothed by Annie Leibovitz. At first glance one might cheer at the idea of no nudity for the upcoming calendar, but this choice also reflects a subtle yet poignant message that inspirational women can’t be presented to the public exposing any sort of sensuality, especially not nudity.
Marshall’s show opens at Garis & Hahn in New York City on October 15, 2015.
