Women and non-human animals have both been belittled to their body throughout history. I created this painting with duel meanings, but both equally important.
The painting can be viewed as a depiction of Lilith and Lucifer (who is often depicted as a goat in religious imagery). Depending on what religion you look at these characters from, there are many different interpretations about how they came to be. A common story is that Lilith was the first wife of Adam, who left the Garden of Eden when Adam did not treat her correctly. She was banished by God, similar to Lucifer, who is also known as the fallen angel. Lilith is thought of as feminist icon by many, for she refused to subjugate herself to Adam. So by looking at the painting through a feminist lens, I wanted to convey the equality between Lilith and Lucifer, symbolized by their matching eye levels.
The painting also has another significant perspective, the mutual objectification of women and non-human animals. Speciesism is defined as “the assumption of human superiority leading to the exploitation of animals”. Manhood often coincides with animal exploitation. Hunting and eating meat are two examples of “masculine” activities that result in the harm of animals. Female bodies have been exploited throughout history, as shown in many other Kresge projects as well. If looking at the paintings through this lens, of animal and human equality, the characters eye level also show that equality. Furthermore, as the female figure holds the hoof of the goat, showing her understanding of his pain.
If you would like to know more about speciesism and animal agriculture as a whole, I recommend watching the documentary Dominion (dominionmovement.com/watch), however I will warn that it is very graphic. If you are interested in the relationship between speciesism and feminism I recommend reading the book The Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol Adams.
