Allie Bernhard
The Three Wise Women
A Feminist Parody
A sculptural representation of female equality and wisdom in historically male-dominated spaces and depictions.
Designed as part of a sculptural transformation and digital transformation project.
Designed as part of a sculptural transformation and digital transformation project.
A sculpture influenced by feminism, Adoration of the Magi paintings, and the Greek goddess, Athena.
When asked to transform a pre-existing sculpture of Athena into another meaningful sculpture, I sought to apply the topic of gender equality (influenced by my simultaneous Introduction to Women and Genders Studies course).
In doing so, I meshed the biblical story of the Three Wise Men (traditionally pictured in the Adoration of the Magi) with the Greek Goddess of Wisdom to parody an equivalent female counterpart to their said wisdom.
Thus creating, The Three Wise Women.
This idea focused around Wisdom and its male-dominated depiction throughout history.
Research and Concept Development
Therefore, I began by researching different variations of Adoration of the Magi paintings.
This is because Adoration of the Magi paintings traditionally depict the Three Wise Men— the three kings who travel to meet Jesus after his birth.
Gentile da Fabriano, 1423
Giovanni di Paolo, 1450
I thought about how these men were specifically named the “Three Wise Men”, and how women would not (or would rarely) have such a title bestowed upon them during an equivalent time in history— a case of underrepresentation...
I thought to change that!
Design
Using the original statue of Athena, I duplicated the statue two more times.
Then, I layered the three statues of Athena in a consecutive, profile formation using Autodesk Meshmixer.
This positioning was drawn from the observed positioning of the Three Wise Men in the Adoriation of the Magi paintings— often one behind the other, waiting in line to meet Jesus.
Side View (Right)
To allude further to the Three Wise Men, the
decrease in size from left to right creates a purposeful sense of inline depth, as the Magi are often depicted one after the next in Adoration of the Magi paintings.
decrease in size from left to right creates a purposeful sense of inline depth, as the Magi are often depicted one after the next in Adoration of the Magi paintings.
Production
The final form was then sliced to fit into the dimensions of the CNC bed (using Rhino 3D).
From there, the the file was sent to the CNC to be routed out of pink polystyrene foam.
Assembly
Then I sanded the compound cement to highlight the sculpture’s details and to smooth out sculpture irregularities.
I repeated these compound cementing and sanding steps three times.
Once dried, I painted the statue gray to create the appearance of antiquity, much like the original statue of Athena.
New York, NY