Space perception through the concept of gender in post-1960 art

Spaces have shared a tense relationship with bodies from past to present. Along with the transition to settled life, spaces have started to take shape as a tool of power in controlling and managing bodies. Throughout history, man and woman have been the subject of different disciplines, such as anthropology, metaphysics, psychoanalysis, philosophy, and arts in terms of their gender. From prehistoric times to today's patriarchal society, the relationship between man and woman, and the space they inhabit has also existed in direct relation with power and ruling. Woman doomed to be restricted to a closed space due to her fertility and as a result of the transition to settled life owned her house as a feminine space. However, man has transformed spaces into the indicators of the masculine power by establishing domination over the public space and expanding the limits of domination of the space until today. Therefore, reflection of the perception of gendered space to the art in the historical process has been inevitable. As in many portraits and busts, which are considered to be representations of power and authority, works of art about public spaces, palaces, castles, and war scenes have been shaped on the visibility of a masculine power; however, spaces that are identified with woman such as the interior of the house, especially the bedroom and kitchen, are shaped upon the notions of female holiness or sexuality. Based on the definitions of space, this study determines the relations between the functionalities of space and gender, and works were examined within the scope of the subject through the history of art. Effects of the concepts of gender and space on contemporary art are analyzed through the works of the artists that have been taken as reference.