colorful image of woman in bathtub filled with blue water and bubbles, eyes closed, lathering her hair with both hands at R side of image; silver/gray tiles on wall in upper half of image; towel, razer, shampoo bottle on edge of tub toward bottom of image; pigment of tiles and water has iridescent sheen; floating mount in white wood frame

Bather Washing Her Hair, 1974

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On View in Gallery 375expand_more

In this intimate self-portrait, Helen Oji depicted her bathing and self-care routine. Oji came of age during a time of intense feminist activism, and she made this work while she was finding her voice as an artist, as a woman, and as a third-generation Japanese American. Those aspects of her identity reveal the image’s power. In 18th- and 19th-century Japanese prints, women bathers were cast as erotic subjects often intended for the male gaze. Oji’s reclaiming of this subject was an assertion of self-empowerment.

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Details
Title
Bather Washing Her Hair
Artist Life
born 1950
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2023.37
Curator Approved

This record is from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator, so may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

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colorful image of woman in bathtub filled with blue water and bubbles, eyes closed, lathering her hair with both hands at R side of image; silver/gray tiles on wall in upper half of image; towel, razer, shampoo bottle on edge of tub toward bottom of image; pigment of tiles and water has iridescent sheen; floating mount in white wood frame
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