Description
This thesis analyzes two works of female self-portraiture: Artemisia Gentileschi’s Self-Portrait as a Lute Player, an oil painting made in 1614, and Amalia Ulman’s Excellences & Perfections, an Instagram performance—largely composed of selfies—made in 2014. Through the lenses of the (Neo-)Baroque, Judith Butler’s theory of performativity, and the concept of the mise en abyme, the analysis reveals similarities in the seemingly contrasting artifacts. By interpreting both texts as having baroque qualities, a foundation is laid on which to compare them. The analysis demonstrates how each text acts as a tool of manipulation for its maker in the network of power. Taking Judith Butler’s statement “[Woman] is a permanently available site of contested meanings,” the examination highlights the ways each artist constructs and projects the illusion of a stable self while participating in an endless abyss of meaning. Ultimately, the thesis demonstrates how both artifacts are current sites of meaning-making and reflect each other like an endless series of mirrors.
