This image by Judy Chicago, entitled “Snake Arm”, is from a series of glass works by Chicago, “Chicago in Glass.” Chicago is known for pioneering “Feminist Art”, which conveys messages of women’s equality, rights and strength. This entire series of “Chicago in Glass” expresses the power of the human hand and how gestures can show meaning. In order to understand this piece of art, the rest of the series must be acknowledged: hands are used to express various emotions and mind-sets and also stand as a symbol of vulnerability and mortality. Differences in hand gestures are used to illustrate choices made, such as reaching out or pushing away. Glass is used because of the transparency, which allows us to see through to what is “underneath the skin.”
This particular piece of work combines a raised fist with an encircling golden snake. The raised fist is a sure symbol of unity, power and uprising, while the symbol of the snake may have controversial meaning. Often, a snake symbol is associated with feminism and fertility, and also of medicine. In this perspective, the snake would be presented positively. However, the snake has also been known to suggest negativity, problems and evil. In the case of this art, the snake resembles a bracelet that is a reminder of powerful women, such as fertility goddesses, biblical Eve and the Greek goddess Athena of wisdom and war. Gold is a symbol of beauty and wealth, and giving the snake this color creates the idea of beautiful, powerful women. Upon looking at this peace, and with background information on the artist and the series, we can come to a fairly complete conclusion about the piece. Though it is no hybrid piece of art (it contains no text), we gather the message the artist is conveying: women have a very powerful, righteous place in society and need to rise above inequality and gender stereotypes. Because of the awareness of Chicago’s purposes in art, it is easier to understand in interpret. Feminism, the cultural context of this piece, is represented in the artwork. By putting together separate components of the human hand and the encircling snake, a piece of rhetoric concerning feminism is created.
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