Jaylin King

Art 5100

“Curb Your Animal Instincts”: Semiotics

Ilona Granet’s artwork, “Curb Your Animal Instincts,” supports the feminist ideals
of Griselda Pollock and Roszika Parker through the medium used, the images depicted
and through its intended use.
Griselda Pollock and Roszika Parker presented a counter to Linda Nochlins
feminist ideals of women artists gaining equality through equal opportunity. Parker and
Pollock argue equal opportunity for female artists will not gain the same rights and
privileges of male artists. Female art will always be construed as female, different, and
othered as long as it is associated with the idea of woman or women. Pollock and Parker
challenge the historical notion of “woman” and maintain that art is prescriptive not
descriptive. Women artists will always be considered on a different level than male
artists as long as their art is read as distinctly female and othered. Illona Granet’s work
supports Parker and Pollock’s notions on the female artist and female art in a multitude of
ways. One main aspect of the piece that contributes to Parker and Pollock’s feminist
ideals is the material quality of the piece. This work is constructed of industrial steel
rebar and sheet metal, construction and industrial paint, and mechanical nuts and bolts.
There is no component of basket weaving, quilt sewing, watercolor or any other
traditional female medium utilized. Illona’s work is constructed from materials
classically recognized as belonging to the male domain. Strong, resilient materials
intended for hard use, length of life, and large scale construction as opposed to smaller,
crafty, and genteel materials intended to create delicate works of decoration.
Another contributing factor to this pieces support of the notions of Parker and
Pollock is the type and style of imagery used. The piece is composed of combined text
and figural qualities, there is no traditional female landscape or flower imagery that
would convince viewers that this piece was designed and created by a woman. The
figural images depicted are hard edged, blocky, and somewhat abstract in their angular
and agitated construction. The figures depicted are active, engaged, and aware. Even the
female figure, with an impressively curvaceous physique, carries herself with an
energetic, dynamic, and self aware energy, there is no suggestion of passivity, docility or
submission. The active and engaged figures are designed as blocky and solid aspects, not
subtle shading takes place, and everything is hard edged, black and white, even the text is
blocky and solidly structural. Every aspect of the visual components of this work, lend
themselves to male artistic ideals.
The final mitigating factor to this pieces support of Parker and Pollock’s feminist
ideals is the pieces intended use or display. The piece was created to act a prescriptive
work of art, which is one of the founding principals of Parker and Pollock’s feminist
argument. Sitting adjoined to a stop sign, Granet’s images suggest not a description of
the world in which we live, but are a prescription for change. Granet created this work
with the intent of altering or changing behavior on the streets of New York, she
understands that her artwork can function to change the construct of society and does not
merely represent it.
 Illona Granets work, “Curb Your Animal Instincts,” is a piece constructed from
traditionally male artistic materials, utilizing traditional male imagery and stylistic
components, and encouraging societal development and change as opposed to accepting
and representing society as it is. As such, her work exemplifies the principals of two
feminist scholars, Griselda Pollock and Roszika Parker, who argue that women artists
will never be equal to male artists, so long as there is a historically understood ideal of
“woman,” and that art is prescriptive and not descriptive.