{"data":{"id":"9858","type":"artist","attributes":{"id":9858,"topgoose_id":251,"tms_id":9858,"display_name":"Hannah Wilke","sort_name":"Wilke Hannah","display_date":"1940–1993","begin_date":"1940","end_date":"1993","biography":"\u003cp\u003e“I have been concerned with the creation of\na formal imagery that is specifically female,”\nwrote Hannah Wilke in 1976, describing\n“a new language that fuses mind and body\ninto erotic objects that are nameable and\nat the same time quite abstract.” Wilke—\nan innovative artist who worked in sculpture,\nphotography, drawing, performance,\ninstallation, and other mediums—is perhaps\nbest known for her \u003cem\u003eS.O.S. Starification\nObject Series\u003c/em\u003e, from 1974. The performalist\nself-portraits, made with Les Wollam in\nWilke’s studio, depict the artist topless in\nvarious guises, her face and torso adorned\nwith pieces of chewing gum sculpted\ninto labial forms.\n\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith Wilke creating a sensuous pose,\nlooking at the camera over her shoulder,\u003cem\u003e\n\u003c/em\u003e\u003ca href=\"/collection/works/25093\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eS.O.S. Starification Object Series\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/a\u003e(Curlers),\none image from the series, could be mistaken\nfor a women’s beauty advertisement;\nhowever, the seductive nature of the image\nis negated by the unseemly vaginal forms\nstuck to her forehead, cheeks, and chin. The\ntitle of the series refers to both the Morse\ncode distress signal and to the starring\nrole in which the artist places herself as the\nobject of the camera’s focus. It is also a\nword play, a pun on \u003cem\u003escarification\u003c/em\u003e, referring to\nancient tribal rituals and the complicated\nrelationship between pain, disfiguration, and\ncontemporary notions of female beauty\nand power. Wilke’s work gained attention\namid the feminist movement of the 1970s,\nyet it also became the target of feminist\ndisdain. Her highly erotic self-portraits were\nseen by some as reinforcing the very\nobjectification of women that she set out to\nchallenge. In response to the criticisms,\nWilke created a poster featuring a photograph\nfrom the \u003cem\u003eS.O.S.\u003c/em\u003e series framed by the\ntext “Marxism and Art: Beware of Fascist\nFeminism,” which she hung throughout\nSoHo in New York on the opening night of\na solo show of her work in 1977.\u003c/p\u003e","on_view":false,"artport":false,"biennial":true,"collection":true,"ulan_id":"500021825","wikidata_id":"Q254663","created_at":"2017-08-30T15:34:52.000-04:00","updated_at":"2026-04-23T01:32:04.944-04:00","links":{"artworks":"/api/artists/9858/artworks","exhibitions":"/api/artists/9858/exhibitions"}}}}