Chapter 4 - The Devil Wore Prada - Pioneer Women Wore Boots

When building a house it is essential that there be a solid, firm foundation if the house its self is going to survive long.



The same is pretty much true with Pioneer Women, at least with their statues.





They all seems to fit firmly into and almost grow out of a fine pair of boots. Laces seem to far outnumber the slip-it-on type, perhaps because there is an element of style in them.



We'll look at roofs later.

Chapter 3 - Pioneer Women sculpture attributes #2

Let's face it. Women in the late 19th and early 20th Century sculpture were frequently a bunch of hussies.



Even angels, easily identified by their wings, on occasion sported the bodies of naked women. Donning a breast plate seemed to actually accentuate the woman's "charms" rather than covering them up.



That these works were largely created by male artists certainly (one of the many words and/or phrases that is used to mean that you are about to read my opinion) surely accounts for much of this. In an era when a "well turned ankle" was considered a bit saucy and a "shapely calf" could drive men wild, when even table legs could not be discussed in polite or mixed company because of the obvious connotation, the art world was one of the few places where the scantily clad, (or less) figure, almost always of women, was considered to be acceptable.




However all that changed when the figure involved was that of the art patron's mother or grand mother. Suddenly modesty in look, dress and demure became the order of the day and provides us with our first attribute. Dress.



It started at the top with usually a bonnet, occasionally a scarf or shawl, but almost always something. Under these outfits the nipple, a standard feature in many previous female figures, completely disappears, despite the fact that the outfits are on occasion quite form fitting.

Dresses are long, flowing and usually extend all the way to the next attribute, a good pair of solid, sensible boots.



There is more research to be done on all of these, but by including a LARGE BOOK, both the important issues of Christianity and literacy were addressed.

A significant attribute, frequently employed was the rifle, suggesting that the Pioneer Women took an active role in the defense of the homestead. More will be said about this down the line in a blog called "Rifles -the male tool, or just a tool?".

This is in no way a complete list of the attributes that identify Pioneer Woman. However it is a start.




Children (mostly sons, at least as the oldest child, when gender can be determined)
rifles
books/Bibles
dogs
bonnets
boots
long dresses
wagons
livestock
modesty in look, dress and demure

(to be cont.)

Chapter 2 - Pioneer Women and their attributes

One of the ways that allegorical sculpture is typically identified is through the use of what are called "attributes." One of the masters of the use of attributes was J. Massey Rhind, a Scottish born American sculptor who created numerous monuments and left a trail of architectural sculpture across much of the United States. A quick look at his work at the Shelby County Court House in Memphis, Tennessee should suffice to illustrate how attributes work.



American sculpture comes into its own around 1850 and from that time onwards, until such time as the Pioneer Woman arrives on the scene, allegorical sculpture, as well as much of the other sculpture produced during the Neo-Classical era, utilized Greek and Roman dress as part of the standard formula. Chitons, robes and generic drapery were the norm.



Justice, arguably (or perhaps not) the most used allegorical figure is also the most easy to identify because her attributes have continued to be used. In Rhind's figure Justice is accompanied by a Sword (the power of the Law) while she holds what appears to be a bowl in each hand. These in fact (one of the words I use when expressing my opinion) make her into a scale, prepared to weigh the pros and cons, merits and demerits of what is presented to her for her judgement. The scales and sword are repeated in shallow relief on the side of her throne. She is blindfolded, because, "Justice is blind" and is crowned by a laurel wreath, making her a victor.



Prosperity holds an urn in one hand and a cornucopia in the other while Peace holds a lyre and a staff that has sprouted leaves in the other. The attributes used here and elsewhere were widely understood by architects and sculptors and a large portion of the general public, though the latter were the first to lose the thread.





When it was decided to celebrate the role of the Pioneer Woman in sculpture it was necessary to develop a whole new visual vocabulary for these works. We'll look at that next. But later.

Chapter 1 Pioneer Women in sculpture

Women have been a subject and/or theme in sculpture almost since the art began. Egyptian sculpture is filled with female images, as deities, queens and slaves and this usage continues through Greek and Roman sculpture, it muddles through the Middle Ages, is revived by the Renaissance and crosses the Atlantic to the New World with Columbus. Well, not quite with him, but very soon after.

By the time the 20th Century rolled around America was solidly set and settled and ready to take a look back at it's own history, and to produce this view in stone. And bronze and a few other mediums. The purpose of this blog is to examine what the monuments were that this hindsight produced, why they took the shape they did and what they tell us about the creators of the memorials, about our ancestors and about ourselves. Life is supposed to be interesting.