The patriarchy's encyclopedia
L’Encyclopédie beauté bien-être, edited by Anne-Marie Seigner in Paris in 1964, represents an institution of patriarchy—a system of society or government in which men hold power and women* are largely excluded, along with gay, lesbian, bisexual, travesti, transsexual, transgender, queer, and intersex people.
This encyclopedia is part of a larger collection that includes: L’Encyclopédie de la maîtresse de maison, L’Encyclopédie des parents modernes, L’Encyclopédie des cuisines régionales et étrangères, and L’Encyclopédie de la décoration.
In this project, I intervene in L’Encyclopédie beauté bien-être by inserting the work of feminist artists into the institution itself. On the one hand, I aim to expose my critical perspective on the representation of women in relation to patriarchal cultural ideals of "beauty." On the other hand, I seek to provide important missing information in the chapters dedicated to sexuality—La vie sexuelle—specifically regarding female genitalia and the concept of female pleasure, which are entirely absent.
The five artists I have included—Lynn Hershman Leeson (USA), Ellen Gallagher (USA), Christy Singleton (USA), and Lori Malépart-Traversy (Canada)—are all women*, feminists, and work with themes related to gender identity, racial stereotypes, and sexual taboos. Their work also contains a distinct touch of irony.
In this intervention, all the artworks are added without removing or permanently covering any original page of the encyclopedia, allowing the viewer to see them in their original context and clearly understand my perspective. Additionally, to present each artist and their work, I appropriate the encyclopedia's own visual language—its colors, fonts, aesthetics, portraits of women, etc.—so that the viewer may find it difficult to distinguish between my intervention and the encyclopedia's original content. This approach is meant to challenge perception and encourage critical thinking, while introducing irony into the reading experience.
The first chapter of the encyclopedia is titled Le visage (“The Face”): “Soins de la peau, des dents, des cheveux. Maquillage: yeux, bouche, oreilles, front. Coiffures - Chirurgie esthétique. Esthétique et élégance de l’homme.” This chapter is entirely focused on the female face and the treatments a woman is expected to undertake to meet patriarchal beauty standards—including makeup and plastic surgery. The chapter ends with a section titled Esthétique et élégance de l’homme (“Men's Aesthetics and Elegance”), which implies that a woman’s face is not sufficient as it is and requires enhancement through makeup and surgery, while men are inherently aesthetic and elegant by default.
In this chapter, I insert the work of three American women artists who explore the complexities of identity construction and transformations of the female face.
The first intervention begins with pink paper inserts containing the biography of Lynn Hershman Leeson. As mentioned earlier, I imitate the visual language of the encyclopedia while adding new information.
On the left, a page from the encyclopedia shows detailed sketches on how to use eye correctors.
On the right, my intervention on pink paper introduces the artist.
Lynn Hershman Leeson is an artist and filmmaker from the United States. Her work blends art and social commentary, especially concerning the relationship between people and technology. From 1974 to 1978, she created a fictional persona and alter ego named Roberta Breitmore. The creation of Roberta involved not only physical transformation through makeup, clothing, and wigs, but also the development of a complete personality, sustained over time, with verifiable existence through documents like a driver’s license, credit card, and letters from her psychiatrist.
On the left, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Masked Roberta. Roberta Breitmore Series. 1975.
On the right, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Roberta’s Construction Chart 1, 1975, archival digital print and dye transfer, 58.4 x 43.2 cm. Both artworks framed in the institution's visual language.
On the left, Roberta’s Construction Chart 1, 1975, archival digital print and dye transfer, 58.4 x 43.2 cm.
On the right, the Encyclopedia's make-up description page.
Next, I present the work of Ellen Gallagher, another artist from the United States whose media include painting, collage, film, and video. Through interventions like covering models’ faces or altering their eyes, she addresses issues of race, gender, and patriarchal beauty standards. Her collage work, combining disparate model images with exaggerated hairstyles, creates unsettling contrasts. In this encyclopedia, all of the women depicted are white and Western. Gallagher’s work introduces a necessary critique of racial exclusion.
On the right, Ellen Gallagher’s artist description.
On the left, and right, Ellen Gallagher, DeLuxe serie, 2002.
On the left, Ellen Gallagher, DeLuxe serie, 2002.
On the right, another Encyclopedia's page talking about the women's face and hair traitements.
The third artist is Christy Singleton, a feminist sculptor from the United States. Her oversized busts—resembling parade masks—are impaled on polished poles and blend issues of vanity, appearance, and female disempowerment. Her sculptures exaggerate the notion that to be “more beautiful” is to be “better.”
On the right, Christy Singleton’s artist description.
On the left and right, Christy Singleton, Silicone Valley, 2007. Brooklyn Museum.
On the left, Christy Singleton, Silicon Valley, 2007. Brooklyn Museum.On the right, the Encyplopedia's page talking about Plastic Surgery. ("Le chirurgien d'esthétique").
These images are placed next to encyclopedia pages on plastic surgery (Le chirurgien d’esthétique).
The following chapter, Le corps (“The Body”), addresses the human body. But instead of providing information about how the body functions or how to stay healthy, it focuses entirely on how to lose weight and maintain hegemonic beauty standards. The female body is objectified, and once again, there is no mention of genitalia.
On the left, the Encyclopedia instructions on how to slim down the waist. ("Pour aminicir la taille"). On the right, Hannah Wilkes' artist description.
Here, I include the work of Hannah Wilke (1940–1993), an American painter, sculptor, and performance artist who explored themes of feminism, sexuality, and the female body.
On the left and the right, Hannah Wilkes, S.O.S Starification Object Series: An Adult Game of Mastification.
1974-1975.
On the left, Hannah Wilkes, S.O.S Starification Object Series: An Adult Game of Mastification. 1974-1975.
On the right, the Encyclopedia's description about how to improve the hips. ("Pour améliorer les hanches").
These works are paired with encyclopedia pages about improving hips (“Pour améliorer les hanches”).
Finally, the last chapter of the encyclopedia addresses sexual life (La vie sexuelle): “Puberté: beauté, santé de l’adolescente. Frigidité: causes physiques et morales. Attendre un enfant en beauté. Ménopause: ses troubles - vieillir jeune.”
This chapter, supposedly about sexuality, once again fails to mention genitals or pleasure. The cover image for this chapter features a pregnant woman. The contents include: puberty (discussed only in terms of how a mother should explain it to her daughter), frigidity (framed as a problem in marriage), pregnancy (with a focus on remaining beautiful while pregnant), and menopause (with the contradictory advice to “grow old while staying young”).
To intervene in this chapter, I include the short animated film Le Clitoris by Lori Malépart-Traversy, a filmmaker from Montréal, Canada. The hand-drawn film offers a humorous yet informative historical and scientific overview of the clitoris, narrated in voiceover, which enhances its charm. The opening line—“Women are lucky: they have the only organ in the human body used solely for pleasure—the clitoris!”—sets the tone. The film reclaims the clitoris's rightful place in our cultural consciousness, where beauty, pleasure, and autonomy intersect.
The film plays on an iPad placed directly over the image of the pregnant woman, reclaiming space for female pleasure and critiquing the marginalization of women’s sexuality in patriarchal discourse.
On the left, the Encyclopedia's page about the sexual life. On the right, the Ipad with the Lori Malépart-Traversy's short film about the clitoris, placed on top of the pregnant woman image.
Parsons School, Master degree in Design and Technology. Art installation. Paris, 2018. Social Design Project.