Ep. 34 Mother Hubble & Nude Lady Trouble

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Today BFFs Milena and Megan cover the first Chinese woman to bridge Eastern and Western art styles, Pan Yuliang & Nancy Grace Roman, American astronomer and mother of the Hubble telescope.

Pan Yuliang

Last episode we explored the theme of female agency within painting the nude form – today we’ve got round two of that. Jumping from Indonesia to China, this ep we cover the life of painter and occasional sculptor Pan Yuliang. Considered China’s first female Western style painter, Yuliang bridged traditional Chinese art styles with modern Western content.

While her life had a rocky start, Yuliang lived to see her work recognized internationally before her death in 1977. We cover the political upheavals, classism and love story that brought it all together.

Selected Work
Some select self portraits, highlighting her traditional ink work and Western style painting
Yulaing painted over 4000 nudes, often depicting women of color. Above are paintings that can be found HERE
While living in France Yulaing was commissioned for portrait sculptures, the above right being René Grousset, a French historian and art curator
  • Qing Dynasty – Last Chinese dynasty, fell in 1912 ending 2000 years of imperial rule
  • 1920’s Shanghai – The New York City of China during this period, a creative and intellectual hub
  • Hong Ye – Neighbor to Yuliang, who introduced her to Western painting
  • Fauvism – Modern art style using rich colors, best example is the works of member Henri Matisse
  • Mao Zedong – Founder of the People’s Republic of China and leader of the Communist party. Under his rule over 40 million people died
  • Cultural Revolution – Took place from 1966 – 76, in an effort to weed out counter-ideologies to the Chinese Communist Party
  • Paul Gauguin – French pervy painter who creeped on Tahiti teenagers, furthering the fetishization of non white women in his paintings

Nancy Grace Roman

Nancy Grace Roman knew her stars. As a kid, Nancy and the other neighborhood children would gather around a telescope and look above to the constellations. As an adult, she was instrumental in launching a groundbreaking telescope that’s allowed us to see into the very creation of the universe – the Hubble telescope. Today we cover the gas lighting she faced in school, her determination to literally shot for the stars and feeling the ever dreaded impostor syndrome.

As always, music by EeL