Research Project

Jacqueline Valore
Dr. Davidson
Gender and I.D. in Visual Art

Brian Jungen: Blanket no. 3, 2008. Blanket no. 7 2008. Professional

Sports Jerseys, 53X51 inches.
This piece has been created out of professional jerseys, creating a masculine textile.

Raises one question:

Is woman the only gender offered the
option to sew or weave because of her
gender role within her society or culture?
Its [2011] we are all far too welleducated to think that womens work and
mens work and the difference between
them still exists. [And] the fact is, some
stereotypes still existbut not
surprisingly people have certain ideas
about certain mediums.

Materials:

Although the materials used are often

assumed to be masculine, because
sports jerseys are more often worn by
men, the craft of weaving is most
commonly considered a female gender
role, and while trying to motivate
males to do craft activities may benefit
them academically, many men do not
take up such crafts.

Acting Out

This piece empowers the thought that

hand weaving and craftworks are not
only feminine acts. It interrupts the
stereotype that these actions are
supposed to be strictly feminine,
because of the thought of genderappropriate crafts.

Forming: Unity

BUT! By using the multiple jerseys Jungen

forms them as ONE piece. The individuality
of each jersey is lost, combining them in
such a manner that allows a blurring of
the lines. This action allow him to
represent his crossing into a boundary
often occupied by women, breaking the
culturally influenced assumption that one
person must be a woman in order to sew,
weave, knit, crochet, etc.

Late Adolescence and Retired

Years: 22-55yrs

[Throughout] a
mans midlife
passage a man
develops a sense of
community, looking
for meaningful
relationships. Nearly
all develop a passion
or hobby. These
hobbies tend to
revolve around useful
projects for home.

And the man

begins to
integrate and
enjoy the
creativity of more
female qualities
[closer to
retirement age].

Artwork vs. Craftwork

However, Jungens piece is considered

an artwork and NOT a craftwork. Are
his blankets viewed in such a manner
because he is a man? By weaving he
seems to have popularized the craft of
weaving. After all, if a woman was to
weave in the same fashion it may gave
not gained the recognition and
admiration as Jungens had.

Culture: Gender Roles

This is because out culture has already

assigned women a role of being a
craftswoman. Our society assumed a
woman must be crafty and when a man
steps out to complete a task such as
weaving it is new and out of the
ordinary. Therefore Jungen has
exploited a womans craft to better
himself as an artist.

Conclusion:

Nevertheless, certain crafts are

regarded as being either male or
femalethe fact that we still think like
this, [and] that we still buy into the
whole gender roles mindset, is
frustrating as a whole. Its time to get
past these old-school notions of gender
roles. Lets move forward!

WORKS CITED:

www.ssww.com/docs/resources/2005_51
18.pdf
Etsy.com/blog/2008/a-dudesperspective-men-who-craft/
Smithsonianmag.com