A Feminist View of Psyche
Meagan martin
May 20th, 2024
Major: Engineering with Industrial Design
Genre/Medium: Oil on Canvas
About the work: “A Feminist View of Psyche” is an oil on canvas painting that features a representation of the goddess Psyche under the dome of the Psyche asteroid, surrounded by some of the many inspirational women of NASA. The four women featured are Katherine Johnson, Sally Ride, Margaret Hamilton, and Mae Jemison. The four women are surrounded by technical equipment as well as iconography representing the four mythological trials of Psyche, dually representing the four women’s substantial challenges as they paved the way for women within the space program. Their representations visually build up to Psyche’s standing form, which is reaching down to a child to give a gift of three stars, a symbol of the goddess. The image of the child is based on a picture of my mother, whose love of space first introduced me to its wonder. All the figures are set again, an abstract view of space. The work hopes to acknowledge the many women who paved the way in the space program as well as notes their impact on following generations; a thank you to all women who inspire and encourage others to follow their dreams even if they are found in space.