Marilyn Minter (b. 1948, Shreveport, LA; lives and works in New York, NY) creates photographs, painting, and videos that offer nuanced representations of women. Well known for her meticulous technical mastery, Minter’s details often highlight natural corporeal qualities that are omitted in mass-media depictions of women, such as body hair and stretch marks, which she deems not only authentic but also beautiful. In her early work, Minter explored erotica—most often images created by men for men—and created new versions of erotic images solely meant for female consumption as a means of reclaiming female sexuality and desire. This revolutionary act was met with serious criticism from leaders of the feminist movement who questioned the ability to reclaim such exploitative images. Nevertheless, Minter has unabashedly continued to advocate for women’s rights and reproductive freedoms, a stance, which for her, always includes women openly expressing their sexuality and desire—reclaiming the female body and subverting the historical objectification of women from the male gaze.
In addition to her commitment to challenging the historic portrayal of women through images, Minter’s work also reveals true mastery of her mediums. Her training in both photography and painting make her working process unique: for each painting she begins with a photograph or series of photographs, which serve as the basis for her larger compositions. Minter replicates the photograph in paint but makes subtle formal adjustments by altering the “focus” of the image, increasing the density of elements such as frost or steam through the use of layering thousands of colors, applying the photographic tenet of focus to the painting process. Likewise, Minter applies painterly approaches to her photography. She physically obscures the pictorial plane, skillfully introducing abstraction into the image. Through steadfast progressive values and a rigorous, time-consuming studio practice, Minter continues to reveal and revel in the exquisite reality of women’s bodies.
