Rachel Ungerer - Viva La Vulva

Acrylic painted on stretched canvas 40" x 30". A woman and child, painted in vibrant color stand in a group of people painted in grays. The mother is holding a large canvas in front of her child. Painted on the canvas is an image that appears to be both the Virgin de Guadalupe and a vagina surrounded by red roses.
Artist: 
Rachel Ungerer
Year: 
2017

Medium
Acrylic Paint on Canvas

Description
“Viva La Vulva” A large crowd of people is represented with gestural blocks of grey colors. In the center of the crowd proudly stands a young latina woman with her baby. She is carrying a large canvas sign that is painted to represent both a vulva and La Virgen de Guadalupe. The combination of the vagina and this classic Catholic Mexican symbol stretches the ideas of what feminism can represent. This march broke down stereotypes of who feminist people can be. At Woman’s March feminist could be a Christian, a mother, or even a pro-abortionist. Vastly different political views could not divide people that day. They each knew who they were marching for and were all proud to have the support of those around them.

Describe Style and Technique
I enjoyed using gestural brush strokes while I painted to capture a dynamic fleeting moment in my paintings. This painting was inspired by a numerous photographs that I captured during Women’s March in Oakland. I marched, while in chronic pain,and I took as many pictures as I could of all of the powerful people who marched that day. I noticed that people from all different walks of life and political backgrounds were joyfully walking together. For that reason, these paintings are best viewed as a series. Only a large series of paintings can capture the multitude of voices that rose up that day. I used washes and large blocks of color to give a sense of being noticed in a large crowd.