Critical Art Expression - Susan Bee

Rasin in the Sun
by Susan Bee

I consider myself not being very artistic. In fact, I chose this class to bring to light an artistic side of myself that I hope to discover by the end of the semester. While searching for a painting that spoke to me, I came across Susan Bee's artwork that portrays the social and cultural issue of stereotypes.

Her painting, Rasin in the Sun, presents one of the most common stereotypes that is socially and culturally accepted throughout the world which is that "men don't cry". Bee artistically shuts down this stereotype by painting a man that is crying in a woman's arms. To me, the woman looks like she's wearing a superhero's eye mask which I interpret as Bee symbolizing that this woman is the man's hero. Bee disturbs this stereotype by having this woman comfort this man as he cries which is something that is typically the other way around. I admire this painting because it brings out a different kind of view that is not typically seen and sometimes not accepted.

- Margori Mendoza