The visual resistance of the Venus of Willendorf Project 2005–2021

ABSTRACT

In recent years the medical community has used the Venus of Willendorf, also referred to as the “Woman of Willendorf,” as a visual depicting illness to promote diet culture and represent fatness as negative. This article outlines how I as an artist used life experience to respond to the misappropriation of this icon of feminist history, how the Venus informed both my art and my personal recovery from disordered eating and led to increased health and self-respect. The idea of the Venus of Willendorf Project is to turn diet books into body-positive art, to educate viewers about the dangers of dieting, and instill in them a renewed appreciation for the beauty and strength of the Venus.

KEYWORDS:

• Art
• diet industry
• fat
• feminist
• Venus of Willendorf
• eating disorder
• activist

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Brenda Oelbaum

Brenda Oelbaum is a conceptual, multi-disciplinary, social practice artist whose work is deeply rooted in the tenets of feminism. Over the years her work has become increasingly performative and community driven. Inspired by pop culture and current events, she finds humor in the odd juxapositions that inform her art making. After 10 years of service to the board of the National Women’s Caucus of Art: She is once again back in the studio, looking forward to the culmination of her Venus of Willendorf Project. In February of 2013, Oelbaum installed her first diet book maze at Whitdel Arts, Detroit, as a test run, of her proposed “Diet World.” This ongoing project is a physical and visual attack, or commentary on the US government’s so called “War on Obesity” and the multi-billion dollar diet industry. Oelbaum holds a BFA equivalent from Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto, Canada; where she studied painting in Florence, Italy undet the direction of the late Aba Bayefski and received an MA in Gallery Administration from F.I.T. in New York. She worked with such prominent art dealers as Rosa Esman, and Gracie Mansion in NYC. Currently Oelbaum is the representative of the Feminist Art Project for the state of Michigan. She is a avid collector of art, and feels one of the best ways to support women in the arts is to collect their work.