Formal Analysis Writing

Tommy Savransky
Three Faces of Man By: Judy Chicago
1!"
#n this $iece %y Judy Chicago& a single man is $ainted in re$resentations of three different
visceral emotions: cra'ed e(citement& de$ression)ho$elessness& and anger* This $iece +as meant to
sho+ the im$risonment of the male $ersonality in the society of today* The %ars %ehind +hich they
have all %een $laced %y the use of gender stereoty$es* This $iece is stating that it is the %ain of man to
%e classified into anger& cra'ed hate& or desolation*
Created +ith acrylic and oil $aints on a ,-./0 ( - canvas& this $iece of art immediately 1um$s
out at the audience as soon as one-s eyes come across it* Three large face suddenly $o$ out from the
+all& filled +ith intense emotion& +ith no +ords or e($lanations of +hy they feel the +ay that they do*
The first thing that the audience is meant to feel +hen seeing this is a com%ination of confusion and
fear& as they are left +ondering& +hat could& if anything& $lace such a domineering looking man into
e($ressing such a set of com$romising and com$le( emotions* To see such ra+ adverse emotions such
as these is meant to $ut the vie+er off& make them feel uncomforta%le& and make them %egin to ask
2uestions of +hy3 Why is this one man feeling these three radically different things3 Why these three
emotions3 And %y use of these 2uestions& the $iece calls the vie+er to engage in intros$ection as the
only information they have a%out the $iece is +hat they themselves infer from it* #t challenges them to
look for ans+ers as to +hat makes this $iece meaningful and +hy it e(ists at all* As soon as the fact
that the artist is a feminist comes to light& and that this collection 4called 5o+er$lay6 focuses on the
male e(ercise of $o+er in society comes to the vie+ers attention 4given to them in a small descri$tive
sign ne(t to the $iece6& they suddenly have all the tools necessary to come to $aradigm shattering
conclusions*
7ach of the faces is meant to %e an ideal re$resentation of the emotion that it is trying to
$ortray8 yet are realistic enough that the audience com$letely %elieves that this is a face that could
a$$ear in real life* #n the first $iece& the man is e($ressing a feeling of elation* A feeling so intense that
the vie+er is uncomforta%le looking at it& %ecause they can-t imagine from +hat a $erson could derive
so much $leasure* By itself& this face could %e 1udged as more or less neutral on the scale of good and
%ad* #t does not %etray any greater meanings and +ould not %e a%le to e($ress to the audience e(actly
+hat made it so e(cited* But +hen taken into conte(t +ith the other faces and the +hole idea of the
$iece& it 2uickly %ecomes a$$arent +hy this face is so ha$$y8 it is elated %y the mindless violence it
sees in front of it* Much like a fren'ied +arrior in %attle& this man seems to %e ecstatic %y +hat is
ha$$ening in front of him* The only thing missing from this face that +ould give the $iece even more
gravity is s$ecks of %lood on his face* #n order to %ring across the a%horrence of +hat is %ringing him
so much $leasure8 there should %e an addition of literal %loodshed* This face is meant to sho+ one very
im$ortant facet of the stereoty$ical male $o+er hold* #t re$resents men like Stalin& 9itler& and even
do+n to :oman 7m$erors +ho delighted in +atching their gladiators die in front of them for s$ort* #t
re$resents those men +hose greatest legacy +as the the amount of %odies that +ere left in the ground in
their +ake* #n my o$inion& this is the most terri%le face of the three& as it sho+s man transformed into
an animal& $ast the conscious& sane mind that humans consider the ideal mind* 9e is made into a
creature akin to the demons in hell and $ut into the real +orld as an e(am$le of +hat $o+er can turn a
man into* The +orst factor is& as much as the audience tries to deny that this man could ever come to
%e& there are countless e(am$les in history +here it +as this demon that rose to $o+er& and left his scars
u$on the +orld forever*
The second face is one of intense suffering and $ain* This $iece signifies the defeat of man8
+hat ha$$ens +hen everything is taken a+ay from him* When the audience looks at this $iece& e(actly
+hat the face is e($ressing is immediately a$$arent& as des$air such as this is one of the fe+ facial
e($ressions that are identical +orld.+ide* ;o matter +ho looks at this& they +ill feel the t+inges of
$ain in their hearts as they see +hat is essentially one of their fello+ humans %e in the +orst throes of
suffering that they have ever seen* This face is e(tremely im$ortant in this $iece as it is the only one
that garners any kind of sym$athy at all* When one looks at this face they do not try to look for an
e($lanation of +hat the man did to feel this +ay& or ho+ it is his fault* #nstead& they look for reasons for
+hy some%ody must %e forced to suffer like this& +ithout any kind of kno+ledge of the circumstances*
The conte(t of this $iece s$eaks to human em$athy that e(ists +ithin every single $erson* The focus of
this entire $iece is the stereoty$ing of men in $o+er& yet in this instance& the audience is set to not react
+ith cynicism& %ut instead +ith $ity* 9ere& every $erson gets to e($erience a very acute feeling of
com$assion as they $ity first instead of 1udge* This face e(em$lifies a $erson-s $ro$ensity to look for
the good in $eo$le as& even though this man is a ruler and most likely has done something to garner this
$ain& that still& he deserves to %e freed from it* 7ven in.%et+een insanity and aggression& no man
deserves to suffer so* #t is the only face actually marked on the outside +ith scars* Because in this
e(am$le& he has %een %rought to his knees& and %een forced to e($erience $hysical torture as +ell as
emotional8 an e($erience to +hich very fe+ rulers ever fall*
The third and final face is one that the audience +ill %e most familiar +ith8 the face of anger and
aggression* This face is the most im$ortant in this $iece %ecause it is not the most e($ressive& nor the
most intense8 it is not the one that stands out* This is the face that holds the $o+er of relevance& and its
strength is in that as soon as one sees it& one understands it fully and entirely +ithout needing to think
t+ice* This effect that it has on the audience makes this face the one that makes this $iece stand out in
e(cellence among all the other e(hi%its on the floor* This is the face that gives the most critical satire of
the society in +hich +e find ourselves today* #f a $erson takes the e(tra ste$ in looking at this face& and
instead of 1ust looking at it and understanding that it is sho+ing anger& %ut instead asks themselves +hy
they gras$ the conce$t so fully so 2uickly& the real meaning of the face-s e(istence comes to light* The
reason +hy the face is so relevant is %ecause it is the face that re$resents our glo%al society-s
relationshi$ +ith $o+er as it currently stands* #t is the face of $oliticians fighting to gain more
influence& striking do+n moral and ethics standing in their +ay* #t is the face of those fighting for
e2uality +ho have %een thrust do+n and cast out %y society +hen they have no+here else to turn %ut to
violence* #t is the face of a %usiness man %eing told that his deal +ill not $ass and decides that it +ill&
no matter the cost* The $o+er of this face is ho+ real it is& ho+ much every single $erson has to deal
+ith this face& +ithout ever even reali'ing it* This reali'ation shocks the audience so severally that it
can do nothing else %ut leave a lasting im$ression* This face re$resents those in $ositions of $o+er +ho
use their $o+er for 2uiet& yet no less ruthless& evil* <ne critical feature that this face holds is its
a$$arent insignificance& %ecause it is e(actly that a$$earance that allo+s it to $ermeate the +orld* #t is
said that the devil-s greatest +ea$on +as to convince the +orld he never e(isted8 here& it is the $o+er.
hungry-s greatest +ea$on that they have managed to condition all of us to acce$t this anger& this
aggression& and think nothing of it* This face should %e feared among all the other ones& for it is the one
that causes the most real damage& as it never goes un$unished* And it is a $erfect fit to this collection
as& it is a vast ma1ority of men in such $ositions8 men +ho sho+ a +onton a%use of their $o+er& men
for +hom the ends 1ustify the means*
This single art $iece in +hich three different faces are sho+n is an e(tremely com$le( e(hi%it
and s$eaks to the very heart and soul of humanity* 7ach of the emotions that are $ortrayed are
understanda%le to all& yet& at a dee$er glance they each reveal something very $ersonal and dee$ a%out
the human $syche* The vie+ers a%ility to $arse out these significant truths allo+s them to %e overcome
%y this $iece& and have it hit them all the +ay do+n to their core* #t forces the vie+er to re.evaluate
their o+n $reconce$tions as to +hat all these faces mean and their $lace in the modern +orld* But the
most significant thing that the vie+er +alks a+ay understanding in this $iece is that it is the littlest
things that every%ody must $ay attention to& %ecause only %y looking $ast it can evil ever come to
fruition* #f men have held $ositions of $o+er for all these years& and still currently hold the vast
ma1ority of them& then +e must +atch them carefully and cannot allo+ them to 2uietly commit
atrocities under our very noses* But it is the res$onsi%ility of all of us as human %eings to make every
single one of these faces %e considered as terri%le as the last* For they are all the faces of evil& and
+henever any one of them is u$on a $erson-s face& it is im$erative that +e %and together to fight it and
overcome it*