Sub Genre of Choice

After almost an entire semester of assigned subculture genres we were given the task of finding our own subculture aesthetic to explore. The last 5 years of my life have been very focused on pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding and everything else that comes with mothering. It is to be expected that somewhere along the way I discovered Lactivism . This sub genre felt like a good fit for this assignment. Most self-proclaimed lactivists wish to promote acceptance of public breastfeeding and ensure legal protection for breastfeeding mothers. So who are they being protected from? Anyone who is offended by a woman feeding her child. When we think of the sexualized images of women in our society it is ironic that breastfeeding can be considered offensive while skimpy swimsuits, lingerie ads and mudflap girls are so mainstream. I intended this piece to subtly challenge that irony. I created this image using color pastels. No black, white, brown or gray were used--only the full spectrum of colors.

The idea of a breastfeeding mudflap girl is not mine alone. As Paul Gauguin once said, "Art is either plagiarism or revolution". I saw a similar image on a shirt once and it really made an impression. Putting it on a mudflap on the back of a truck was my way of making it my own.