Women, Aging, and Art: A Crosscultural Anthology

The physical markers of aging, even implications of death or the nearness of death, make many of these images of old women haunting. This book provides a frank examination of old women, from medieval "old wives" to contemporary reimaginations of shamans and witches and empowering self-portraits. It explores works from medieval Europe to colonial-time Polynesia, present West Africa, Japan, and the Americas, in a multiplicity of media, offering fresh perspectives and a dialogue about society's values and preconceptions regarding the "golden years" in different times and cultures.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 28 July 2022
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Old women's physical characteristics, such as dry, wrinkled skin, crows feet, and rheumy eyes, are universally recognized, but their actual images and meanings vary widely. The absence of these women in certain settings reveals both a discomfort with the aged and an ease in their invisibility. This is particularly true in writing about art and often in the art itself. The physical markers of aging, even implications of death or the nearness of death, make many of these images of old women haunting. In the 16th and 17th centuries, they became emblems of anger and avarice, though portraits of known elderly women were often created with a sense of awe and authority. This book provides a frank examination of old women, from medieval "old wives" to contemporary reimaginations of shamans and witches and empowering self-portraits. Works from medieval Europe to colonial-time Polynesia, present West Africa, Japan, and the Americas, in a multiplicity of media, are explored. These studies of varied representations of "old women" offer fresh perspectives and a dialogue about society's values and preconceptions regarding the "golden years" in different times and cultures. Images of old women may be the very opposite of what one considers the ideal, but this discussion makes these often overlooked images seem fresh and highlights their many positive associations.

Weight: 518g
Dimension: 153 x 230 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781501379390