Deconstructing Feminist Art and The Evolution of New Media

Feminist artists during the second wave movement wanted to gain the same rights as men in a historically male-dominated art world, a world that was being influenced more and more by modernist ideals. It was during this precise moment that postmodernists helped transform art, in addition to the fields of literature, music, architecture, law, and philosophy. The synthesis between postmodernism and feminism helped art evolve in non-traditional ways. In this thesis, I seek to answer the question: "How did postmodernism influence feminist artists from 1970-1982 to create the adaptation of new media?" Evidence of this influence is seen in the evolution of new media such as performance, decorative arts, video, photography, femmage, and collage. As I examine the synthesis between postmodernism and feminist art, I will also show evidence of how second wave feminist movement influenced the evolution of postmodernism, and how the mixture of postmodern and feminist ideals influenced these women artists.