Media Analysis Essay

             On a bright, tropical afternoon two women rest, silently watched by a shadowed religious statue. Another woman, in another time, contemplates small acts of rebellion through poetry, while she obediently pays her rent and refrains from swearing in the street. Paul Gauguin’s Reclining Tahitian Women, and Jenny Joseph’s “Warning” share a common purpose but differ widely in how they communicate their messages.

            Paul Gauguin painted Reclining Tahitian Women in 1894. Gauguin was intrigued by Tahitian culture and daily life, and used bright colors (often unrealistically so) to communicate the Tahitians’ colorful and decidedly non-European perspective on life. Jenny Joseph wrote the poem “Warning” in 1961, taking a humorous look at society’s expectations. Both artists use color to symbolize a rebellion against traditions or obligations. Gauguin paints nature with gaudy, unrealistic colors. Joseph suggests rebellion by wearing “purple/With a red hat that doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.” Though the women of both pieces live (or wish to live) free from the constraints of being a European lady, their obligations to tradition and society remain. In Reclining Tahitian Women, a shadowed idol observes the women as they recline, while in “Warning,” Joseph writes that “now we must have clothes that keep us dry/And pay our rent and not swear in the street.” Despite all that these colorful, rebellious women have in common, there are numerous distinctions between the two works.

            Though both works were created for an audience of Europeans, they communicate their messages in vastly different ways. “Warning” uses humor, listing the various indulgences that the woman speaking currently doesn’t engage in, but probably will soon (just so her friends are prepared for her old age.) Reclining Tahitian Women, on the other hand, shocked and confused European audiences, provoking many with its references to exotic notions of womanhood and pagan religions. The image of two women dressed so differently, living in an unrealistic and blatantly non-Christian world, made a much more extreme statement about women’s lives than the poem did. In addition, the creators of the two pieces frame the world in dissimilar ways. Gauguin, as he painted Reclining Tahitian Women, depicted the world as a mystical and beautiful place, a place where nature, women, and pagan idols all held a certain power. Joseph’s “Warning”, meanwhile, describes a world of expectations and obligations, but fortunately only temporary ones. Her poem upholds the importance of conforming while one must set a good example for others, even if conformity isn’t any fun. In “Warning”, Joseph only questions the necessity of following such rules, while Gauguin’s painting promotes throwing the rules out the window.

            The radical nature of Gauguin’s work makes it more effective. By painting a lifestyle condemned and actively suppressed by Europeans, he created a much more thought-provoking work of art. His bright colors and unconventional ideals likely caused the viewer to contemplate their own ideals, and to question whether strictly conforming to society’s expectations was the best choice. The women in the painting evidently lived a simple and happy life, despite the lack of Christian religion and a stringent moral code. Through his paintings, Gauguin attempted to prove the validity and worth of Tahitian culture, and by extension all ‘exotic’ cultures. Reclining Tahitian Women is effective because he conveys his message clearly and with emphasis.

            Though Gauguin’s painting and Joseph’s poem deal with their subjects very differently, both address women, and the possibility of rejecting established or imposed tradition. The two works were created generations apart, but each one encourages women to reflect on their lives, and make conscious choices about how they live. While Gauguin’s painting promotes radical rebellion, and Joseph’s poem merely pokes fun at convention, both works share the same purpose.