Work Title: One Month Late
Artist: Rachel Lachowicz
Media: Red lipstick and wax
Year: 1998
Image Link: One Month Late
Exhibition History: http://www.artnet.com/Galleries/Artists_detail.asp?G=&gid=981&which=&aid=9967&ViewArtistBy=online&rta=http://www.artnet.com
Artist: Rachel Lachowicz
Media: Red lipstick and wax
Year: 1998
Image Link: One Month Late
Exhibition History: http://www.artnet.com/Galleries/Artists_detail.asp?G=&gid=981&which=&aid=9967&ViewArtistBy=online&rta=http://www.artnet.com
Curator Comments:
Rachel Lachowicz’s sculpture, One Month Late, is a sculpture of “red lipstick and wax, displaying a single woman in a man’s world” (Lipstick feminist). The overall sculpture is a single pair of red heels surrounded by hanging, red business ties. Also hanging above the high heels is a bent wire clothes hanger. This could be placed there possibly to point out the “sacrifices that women must make in order to compete in a male-oriented work world” ( Rachel Lachowicz's Feminist Art ). It can also signify a symbol of do-it-yourself abortion, because at one time, a sacrifice a woman had to succumb to was illegal abortion.
The choice of making the ties out of female make up mocks the “masculine objectivity” associated with the men’s everyday apparel (McDaniel and Robertson 30). A message Lachowicz wants the audience to understand is about today’s society’s “double standards". “While men are judged by the quality of their work, women are evaluated based on their appearances” ( Rachel Lachowicz's Feminist Art ). Although there are no human forms, it is implied there is a single woman standing among a plethora of working men. The woman is wearing red, sexy high heels—one of the most painful and uncomfortable pair of business shoes one could wear for a work day. This sculpture signifies some of the responsibilities a woman holds that many men feel is most important but do not share—reproduction and being attractive. It represents only some of the pressures of being a woman in world where women are considered “equal” to men around them.
Rachel Lachowicz’s sculpture, One Month Late, is a sculpture of “red lipstick and wax, displaying a single woman in a man’s world” (Lipstick feminist). The overall sculpture is a single pair of red heels surrounded by hanging, red business ties. Also hanging above the high heels is a bent wire clothes hanger. This could be placed there possibly to point out the “sacrifices that women must make in order to compete in a male-oriented work world” ( Rachel Lachowicz's Feminist Art ). It can also signify a symbol of do-it-yourself abortion, because at one time, a sacrifice a woman had to succumb to was illegal abortion.
The choice of making the ties out of female make up mocks the “masculine objectivity” associated with the men’s everyday apparel (McDaniel and Robertson 30). A message Lachowicz wants the audience to understand is about today’s society’s “double standards". “While men are judged by the quality of their work, women are evaluated based on their appearances” ( Rachel Lachowicz's Feminist Art ). Although there are no human forms, it is implied there is a single woman standing among a plethora of working men. The woman is wearing red, sexy high heels—one of the most painful and uncomfortable pair of business shoes one could wear for a work day. This sculpture signifies some of the responsibilities a woman holds that many men feel is most important but do not share—reproduction and being attractive. It represents only some of the pressures of being a woman in world where women are considered “equal” to men around them.
Bibliography:
"Lipstick Feminist – Rachel Lachowicz." Feminist Themes. 30 July 2009. Web. <http://feministhemes.com/rachel-
lachowicz/>.
Paglia, Michael. "Lip Schtick." Denver Westword Calendar. 12 Feb. 2009. Web. 25 Apr. 2010. <http://www.westword.com
/2009-02-12/calendar/lip-schtick/>.
"Rachel Lachowicz's Feminist Art." The Lady Finger. 9 Jan. 2009. Web. 25 Apr. 2010. <http://www.theladyfinger.com
/2009/01/rachel-lachowiczs-feminist-art.html>.
Lachowicz, Rachel. One Month Late. 1998. Photograph. Web. 28 Apr. 2010. <http://feministhemes.com/wp-content
/uploads/2009/07/lipstick1.jpg>.
"Lipstick Feminist – Rachel Lachowicz." Feminist Themes. 30 July 2009. Web. <http://feministhemes.com/rachel-
lachowicz/>.
Paglia, Michael. "Lip Schtick." Denver Westword Calendar. 12 Feb. 2009. Web. 25 Apr. 2010. <http://www.westword.com
/2009-02-12/calendar/lip-schtick/>.
"Rachel Lachowicz's Feminist Art." The Lady Finger. 9 Jan. 2009. Web. 25 Apr. 2010. <http://www.theladyfinger.com
/2009/01/rachel-lachowiczs-feminist-art.html>.
Lachowicz, Rachel. One Month Late. 1998. Photograph. Web. 28 Apr. 2010. <http://feministhemes.com/wp-content
/uploads/2009/07/lipstick1.jpg>.
