Pauline Boty

In the mid-1950's Pauline Boty became the founder of the British Pop Art movement. She used her talent to rebel against the overly masculine world she lived in, by turning heads with paintings that empowered a woman's femininity and sexuality. Boty's paintings put into question the social norms that had been created for what a woman was expected to be like. However, the most profound paintings I've found by Boty are those that include political content. Towards the later years of her life, after being inspired by Clive Goodwin, she began to draw images about critical events that were occurring during her lifetime. She in essence, through her art, became a social activist- that is still remembered today for being a feminist and raising questions about gender equality. My two personal favorite pieces are: 

"The Only Blonde in the World" was Boty's expression of owning her sexuality as a woman. Marilyn Monroe always caused commotion, specifically by men and so in this picture Boty praises Monroe's assertiveness in the Hollywood scene in an abstract form. In between abstract lines, Marilyn is the only blonde woman in the world- the only one to dictate what she chooses to do with her body, words, actions; etc. This is a painting that lets women embrace their femininity without worrying what others will think/say. It's a powerful statement for a time where females were usually depicted as the everyday housewife. 

"Countdown to Violence" highlights the assignations of two iconic presidents, John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln along with the deaths and sacrifices made during the Birmingham marches and the Vietnam War. With this, Boty was allowing her audience to jump into social issues that were momentous in molding the future's international relations.