The past year has marked a strange and interesting transition for feminist artwork. In December, Casey Jenkins gained international fame after knitting from her vagina for 28 days, and now taking the lady art stage is 39-year-old Southern Californian Marcey Hawk, who uses only her breasts to paint canvases with colorful, abstract patterns. (Her bra size 30D, in case you were curious about the artist’s toolbox.)
“My art is intimate, erotic, explorative and unique with a hint of whimsy. Chaotic yet contained abstraction,” she explains on her eBay portfolio.
Hawk told the The Daily Mail that she is influenced by Jackson Pollock and Vincent Van Gogh, and that her technique consists of three principal moves: "the whole breast print, nipple print, 'just the tip' method, the 'squish and swirl' and her newest method, the 'titty twerk.'"
“My art is an extension of self & emotion that's unleashed on a canvas in an explosion of colors & movement,” the artist declares on her @BoobiePainter Instagram profile (her feed consists mostly of selfies).
While we hope that Hawk’s work raises funds for women’s health issues (she reportedly donates a portion of proceeds to the Susan G. Komen Foundation), it’s hard to say if this qualifies as feminist art. Is Hawk exploiting her body by focusing on the fact that her boobs make the painting? Would the paintings even be interesting if she didn’t fetishize and eroticize them? Is rubbing a paint-slathered chest on a canvas even art?
The self-proclaimed Abstract Breast Painter Extraordinaire is closing her eBay store as of January 2014 (most pieces are priced under $20 and have 0 bids), but her work will still be available elsewhere, like at her Etsy store, which holds a 5-star review and lists 234 sales. Past clients have included boob-philes like Hugh Hefner, Russell Brand, and Rob Dyrdek.
