Yakshi is a name for the Mauryan Spirit representing the productive forces of nature. The first Yakshi image here is the one I originally saw in the textbook. This statue was created in the 3rd century,
All the images I find of the Yakshi are extremely exaggerated portrayals of the female figure. The majority of the figures seem organically unattainable, from my understanding of the female anatomy. I don't know what they were feeding women in the 3rd century, but without plastic surgery, I don't think they actually looked like this. This is an idealization. These figures look as if you cut and pasted different female figures together to, using the best parts of each, to get the "perfect body". A part of me is disgusted by these images because they are portraying something that's not real. People sexually interested in women may look at this at it makes their body image expectations of women to be ridiculous. While some women may look at this series of statues and wonder why they don't look this way, and may start to believe they're undesirable themselves. I have news for you, there is no such thing as a perfect body. You will never attain Yakshi status. No matter how much you work out, or diet. This figure is not attainable organically. The female figure is beautiful in plenty of different shapes, you can't generalize what an entire culture finds attractive. I think most women would be happier about their body image, if this Yakshi-Style body image didn't brainwash our minds since the 3rd century.
You have made an interesting assertion - I had not thought about the struggle to be the perfect body type (even in Greece) since nearly the beginning of time. Since people always struggle with body image, it is interesting that we set such high standards with art. I do love the fluidity of line, especially in your second piece.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with your statement that such figures were not attainable. I live in India and have also studied the yakshis. All I have to do is look at all the beautiful living women around me, who are incredibly succulent and voluptuous who do have the bodies which the yakshis depict, to realize that the images you showed here were created from actual humans. Not everyone is born with such a body, but those who were were considered to embody a certain type of divinity, which the artists of the time indulged in capturing, and did so with acute precision.
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