Miss Van: The Female Form Reclaimed chronicles and explores the work of French street artist Miss Van. Since the late 1990’s, Miss Van has been painting controversial portraits on the streets of Europe. These works, which she calls “poupées”(a French term for doll), are generally semi-nude women in various poses, often with masks, animal companions, or a combination of the two. While every poupée is unique, each is painted in Miss Van's signature style; their pouty lips, seductive eyes, and buxom bodies are always instantly recognizable. While feminists have criticized Miss Van's depiction of sexualized females, Reclaimed argues that Miss Van is making a commentary about the depiction of the female body throughout the history of art, as opposed to simply buying into a patriarchal view of female desirability. Her work is very informed with regard to art history; several works seems to satirize the works of revered male artists like Edgar Degas. Since most viewers (scholars and passersby alike) do not expect street art to be particularly academic, I believe this aspect of Miss Van's work has been overlooked. However, as argued in the thesis, ultimately, such engaged and educated art making will eventually make Miss Van an integral part of the story of art - not only in the street, but the gallery and museum as well.
