Diane Arbus: Feminist Icon?
“Whether she fessed up or not, she was a feminist in that she lived a life I think people, women, can relate to now,” quoted Arthur Lubow, who has written a biography on the late Diane Arbus. Arbus, a photographer, best known for her work from 1956 to 1962, has recently been featured at an exhibit curated by Jeff Rosenheim at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Many women today look up to her as a feminist icon, which raises the question of how can Arbus be known to women today as an icon although she did not actually consider herself one? The answer may be found in her photography and personal life.
Arbus had a sense of what was waiting to be discovered in the world. She addressed topics that people are talking about today, except she was ahead of her time by several decades. She was interested in learning about the people she photographed and was trying to portray their lives to those who viewed her work. Some of her favorite subjects were those who society had deemed ‘different.’
“Photography was a license to go wherever I wanted and to do what I wanted to do.” — Diane Arbus
Diane Arbus was born into a wealthy home in New York City, the city which became the background for most of her photography work. Her upbringing gave her the sense of what was prohibited, therefore she found photography to be her way of exploring the unknown. Arbus seemed to live her life how she wanted to, by her dreams, and defying what society classified as normal or traditional.
Her study of women and children was some of her most important works and was often the subject matter of Arbus’s photography. She was a passionate woman, often throwing herself into her work, always excited about capturing and understanding those who were distant from the rest of society just as much as the everyday people that struggled with, and against, traditional roles and expectations of society.
“The world can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation. The hand is the cutting edge of the mind.” — Diane Arbus
The fight against traditional roles and expectations is still a common fight that women face today. Women today can find it hard to figure out their roles in society because of the conflict between what has been expected of women traditionally, and the role they themselves are looking to fill. Diane Arbus is a good role model for women of all ages because of her ability to look past differences, societal norms, and traditional female roles. Arbus was born into a traditional household but chose to do pursue her own dreams and change conventional ideas on women and other minorities of society.
When photographing the women of New York City, Arbus was investigating what it meant to be a woman in her day and age. This led to her also examining her own concerns, struggles, and passions through her photographs of other women. She often searched for women, when walking through the city looking for a subject to photograph, who reminded her of her mother, grandmother, or even herself.
Even though Diane Arbus’s work is seen as iconic to the modern female artists of today, her work was never associated with feminism or feminist art styles. This being said, she still essentially changed the perception of the rules of photography, extending the range of possible subjects and subject matters, all while having a similar belief of feminists today: that all humans should have equal rights and opportunities.
“in the beginning” by Jeff Rosenheim can be seen at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art from now until April 30.
