Blake Botelho, Ricardo Pinnock, Jordan Scott
Faculty Sponsor: Rosaline Kyo
Art can depict many aspects of how a society functions, such as what professions are considered upper class. Royalty and other elite can use artworks to demonstrate their prowess by building large or intimidating structures. They may use expensive mediums to build artworks or simply exemplify their elite status through the penmanship of their calligraphy. Artworks may sometimes be used to illustrate the day to day operations of someone in a high court. In general, the upper class tends to portray itself in a stately manner, with an upright, confident posture and a proud gaze angled above the onlooker. More belongings often suggests a greater social status. In particular, one can see the status that elite women held in society. Elite women enjoyed the prosperity of their high social status, but were often constrained by the patriarchal societies from which they came. Despite the discrimination they faced, artworks from Japanese and Chinese cultures show women overcoming these obstacles and serving in court, among other typically male dominated professions. Additionally, female artists from China and Japan took the depiction of women into their own hands and used the opportunity to show women beyond the normal scope.
