Unhappily Ever After, Deconstructing the Bride, An Exploration of Cultural Constructs and Performative Features of the Wedding Dress

Katie

Musgrove

Brides face tremendous strain by the wedding industry to conform to traditional societal perceptions of femininity and beauty. Clothing has been demonstrated to have a significant psychological impact on people by influencing their self-perception, actions, and mental state. The bridal gown is more than just an accessory of clothing; it embodies tradition, society, and cultural expectations, generating negative beauty standards and unachievable notions of thinness, youth, and common feminine qualities. The dissertation presents the works of three female artists to challenge these portrayals of femininity: Jenny Saville’s 1992 The Bride, Maria Lassnig’s 2007 The Illegitimate Bride, and Paula Rego’s 1991 Bride. They confront the societal production of the female body through their art, questioning conventional views of what a woman ought to look and act like. These contemporary artists attack the conventional trope of the obedient bride, these artists want to confront the stereotypes that limit women’s potential and promote conventional gender stereotypes. Through their intriguing and frightening illustrations of brides, they offer a disturbing critique of the prevailing narratives and ideals that characterise our cultural perception of weddings and marriage. Displaying unconventional and frequently unsettling wedding figures, these artists oppose the conventional notion of the submissive, young, and conventionally beautiful bride. Art has the power to challenge and subvert traditional constructs of femininity, as well as to create room for alternative depictions of women’s bodies and identities. This dissertation contributes to the ongoing debate in contemporary art about gender, femininity, and representation.