Dissecting The Western Woman Artist; An Artist's Dialogue by Amy E. Fraser
Chapter 11 Skeleton
The Matrilineal Legacy of Feminine Knowledge
The final segment of the internal examination is an inspection of the subject's skeletal structure. The skull vault is opened using two saws, one in front and one in back. The top of the skull is removed and the brain is carefully cut free of its attachments from inside the skull. At this point in the autopsy, the brain is set aside until the inspection of the skeleton is complete. Although the subject's bones appear to be strong and healthy, I suspect they may be hundreds of years old. This finding is especially surprising considering the youthful appearance of the subject's external body. The bones appear to be behind the cause of Amy E. Fraser's art.
Physiological Aspects of The Female Skeleton
The female skeleton has a distinctive shape from that of the male. Her bones are usually smaller and lighter than the male's and the female pelvis is shallower with a wider cavity. These sexual differences begin to develop in the skeleton before birth. The width of the sciatic notch of the pelvis increases faster in females during fetal growth. Through infancy, childhood and into adolescence, sexual dimorphism becomes marked and methods of recognizing sex from skeletal remains becomes more accurate.I specifically chose to represent the female skeleton in my works because I am a woman. The female skeleton's pelvic structure is different from that of the male for a very specific and important reason, the woman's ability to have children. This sex difference also alters our natural abilities for speed and strength. Women are distinctively and inescapably female 'to the bone'.
Anthropological Aspects
The ancients believed the earth herself was responsible for taking her children back into her womb. Earth became the womb in which the body was laid to rest. Mother earth reclaims the bones of her children. Ancient burial rights were clearly meant to reflect birth; we left the earth in the same manner in which we entered. The ancients knew that people that died and were buried, eventually came back into the light, transfigured, reborn and possessing new life.In older religions where ancestral worship was practiced, bones were recognized as agents for calling spirits, the skulls being the most salient part. The skeleton was the last remains of their loved ones, to be lived with and displayed. These people believed that the bones of the skeleton retained a special and timeless knowledge of the community's dead. Our ancient ancestors viewed the body (in all of its forms) as religious and sacred, to be loved, cherished and respected. Prehistoric people kept their dead close to the living, in house floors, in cache pits or fire pits, inside homes, in village plazas, in ceremonial earthworks and rock shelters. The ceremonial processes of ancient burials are fascinating and much too involved to discuss here, however, the point to be made is the lengths these primitive cultures went to preserve the dead and assure a fulfilled afterlife illustrate their strong attraction to and stimulation by death. Most felt that death was not to be feared, but anticipated. They had difficult lives filled with suffering, so, they believed that death was a time of rest, sleep and peace. Death was the prerequisite for an eternal state of bliss; no one came back to tell them otherwise.
The Symbolic Significance of The Female Skeleton
The world has been made of the same basic elements since the beginning of time. Although innovations in science and technology have improved human living conditions and introduced new substances, the basics, the needs, thoughts, fears, hopes, dreams, and desires have not changed much from the days of our ancestors. That is why the image of the female skeleton holds eternal meaning; she marks the passage of time as a striking and persistent reminder of our origins and a strong visual connection to the life, death and rebirth process. The skeleton is the last of our embodiment.
The female skeleton stands as the matrilineal legacy of knowing. She preserves female tradition and lives backward and forward in time simultaneously. She teaches us that death is always in the process of incubating new life, even when one's existence has been cut down to bare bones. She helps us to see the archetypes of Death and Life are of one, whole, integrated being, and together they maintain nature's balance.
The symbol of the female skeleton is a remnant of a time when death was believed to be a spiritual transformer. The skeletal woman was understood to be the carrier of destiny, Harvest Maiden, Earth Mother and Creator. The bone woman contained direct knowledge of seedlings and rootstock. She had dominion over all things dwelling in the mud and evolving from the dark. She stood as protector and guardian of the ancients, possessing all of the magical forces that flow from the Great Mother. She is the inevitability of what must be.
Lady death is not something to be feared, she enfolds the already dying, easing pain and providing comfort. Life and death are an ever-turning wheel. Death is where we begin the journey of rebirth. We can not refuse the lessons of death because it is the fate by which we are all bound. The forces of creation must be balanced by the forces of destruction. Every menstruating woman knows life is transformation and change. We cannot outrun the death aspect of life. Death is nature's teacher because, without her, there are no lessons to be learned and nothing is of value. Death is not the end, but a new beginning and at the darkest moment comes rebirth.
Death, Religious Beliefs and Attraction
Some believe that upon death, the electricity of the body escapes from its embodied state and joins the energy of the sun. Others believe that the heat of the dead body remains in the earth, and may be used again for the creation of new life. These explanations of death may explain human attraction to and worship of the sun, as well as mysteries of the earth's molten core. There are thousands of theories for what happens when we die, but, the fact remains, death will continue as life's greatest mystery until we experience it.
In addition, I have also been drawn to places dug out of the earth. I am intrigued by the underworld in which daylight does not exist. I see graves, pits, cellars, caves, tunnels, burrows, and other holes in the earth as places of beauty. This attraction may be part of woman's collective unconscious. Practices of goddess worship were literally driven underground by patriarchal leaders' fear of female power. Rituals celebrating the goddess had to be hidden in order to survive. This may explain why these avenues to the underworld became the primary locations for goddess worship.
Modern Day Perspectives On The Skeleton Symbol
Today, in Western culture, the image of the skeleton is seen as a commercial product of Halloween. It is a popular icon, sold to the Western public as scary or campy images used by groups such as the Grateful Dead or heavy metal bands. The skeleton is perceived as a symbol of Evil, used to express the resulting ugliness of our culture's fascination with violence, murder and mayhem. The symbol of the skeleton is used by bikers to instill fear, and by pop culture to be enjoyed and consumed as an expression of horror. From childhood, the skeleton is forced upon our psyche as the dreaded symbol of death, an evil messenger and the grim reaper. The skull and crossbones are portrayed as the international warning symbol for poisonous or explosive substances as well as a dangerous warning on pirate ship flags. Westerners also associate the concept of the skeleton with embarrassing, shameful or damaging secrets, usually referred to as 'a Skeleton in the closet'.The Female Skeleton In Relation To My Own Art
Many believe the image of the skeleton in my works is a frightening or campy symbol of death. I disagree. The viewer may ask, knowing all of the negative associations the skeleton evokes, why do I insist on incorporating it into my works? Do I want these negative associations implied into my works? I want to say that the answer is no. However, I can not deny that I am aware of culturally imposed messages hidden in the viewer's mind.
The fact remains that the image of the skeleton itself is entirely neutral. It is the responsibility of the artist to bring these ancient and universal symbols, objects and images to life and infuse them with a consciousness of their own. The proper portrayal of a sacred image (like the female skeleton) can aid in spiritual development, the growth of self knowledge and inner wisdom. I choose to incorporate the ancient image of the female skeleton in my works mainly because it is the most basic and fundamental aspect of the human body, therefore, the symbolic core of humanity in general. We are all contained in the human body and, as such, we all have the same basic parts. The skeleton is the human form reduced to its core, base or foundation. It's powerful image reveals the truth that inside we are the same; only our thoughts, skin color, hair, body types and sex that vary. The skeleton is a simple, basic and straightforward symbol of all human existence.
Incorporating the powerful and mysterious image of the skeleton into my works is an attempt to connect women across the centuries. By reclaiming and reinterpreting this symbol I revitalize an old icon that speaks of our ancestral history and heritage. My work expresses to women that we are important and worthy of our own history and heritage.
It is my strongest hope that people will approach my works with an open mind and dig deeper within themselves to their collective unconscious and discover the true and ancient meaning of this powerful symbol. I have faith that the intelligent viewer can overcome common Western conceptions, and view the image of the female skeleton in a new, revitalized feminist context.
For more Art and Information on Amy E. Fraser go to Aefraser.com All images and text from "Dissecting The Western Woman Artist: An Artist's Dialogue" copyright Amy E. Fraser. All rights reserved. Amy E. Fraser's Master's Thesis. Original Publication by Dartmouth College 2000.