Renée Cox, Hot-en-Tot Venus, 1994, photograph

The piece is not a traditional representation of a ‘Venus’ because the woman is black and the breasts and buttock are emphasized by plastic. She bought these body parts from a Halloween shop. People did not think these body parts were offensive until included into the ‘Hot-en-Tot Venus’. Black women in previous pieces would have been portrayed as slaves and would have never been the central figure. This strikes a very high contrast with other previous ‘Venus’ pieces, which makes this piece appear very shocking to the general public. Additionally due to the piece being a photograph, its realism conveys a message more strongly. This piece challenges views in society concerning race and gender. The key focus when you first look the image is the breasts and buttock. She has done this purposely to show how women are portrayed in society. The stereotypical meanings behind this could be that the woman is a sex object. Therefore, the piece is trying to express the exploitation of women through the context of race and sex.

Cox is reacting to the under representation of black people in European Art history and also by extension of European history. For example, the fact that West African Moors brought toilets and building technology to the Visgoths of Spain is generally overlooked. So she takes the iconic “Venus” figure and augments the breasts and buttock. She may well be emphasizing the stereotypical attributes of African women through the device of the “Venus”. She is saying that these “hot-en-tot” proportions are just as desirable as the more traditional European Venus. Her straight gaze from the women looks asserting and she is suggesting that African women should be proud of their bodies. Therefore, this piece has a very strong effect which would probably change people’s opinions in society in the 1990s.

Bibliography

Renée Cox: A Taste of Power

Video of the Week: After Hot-En-Tot: Two conversations with Artist Renée Cox