Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Gender And Fluid: A Reconsideration Of The Stain In The Painting Of Helen Frankenthaler, Michael F. Hogan

Theses

This paper explores the stain technique of Helen Frankenthaler through a reconsideration of its novelty and innovation. Recent scholarship has assessed the technique and its critical acceptance through a primarily feminist lens, focused on either assessment of the gendered language utilized by critics or application of a uniquely feminist approach in determining its meaning. The singular focus applied in recent criticism is consistent with past approaches that have typically isolated a particular methodology – formalistic, technical, comparative, or historical – to the exclusion of broader consideration of other methodologies. Moreover, prior critical efforts frequently limited analytical consideration to her groundbreaking …