Kristin Kiley

Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Art Business

First Advisor

Matthew Nichols

Second Advisor

Agnes Berecz

Abstract

This thesis examines the evolution of Lisa Yuskavage’s female nude. Drawing on theorists such as John Berger, Lynda Nead, and Laura Mulvey, this study explores how varying perspective dictates the very meaning of nudity in conjunction with sex. Through a deep analysis of Yuskavage’s oeuvre, tracing her progression from the submissive, Kewpie-like sex babies of the 1990s to the introspective multi-figure compositions and studio scenes from the 2000s up until the 2020s, the audience discovers that their ultimate discomfort with sexually engaged women positions them as antagonists in Yuskavage’s candy-colored world. From the 1980s to the present day, this thesis reveals how her models initially succumb, but later resist, the expectations placed upon them. By imbuing her figures with self-absorption, fantasy, and sex, Yuskavage resists conventional narratives, instigating societal uproar that initially rejects her sex-filled, fantasy-fueled models, and ultimately demonstrates the impossibility of a neutrally existing nude: in Yuskavage’s work, sex is always present, always intentional, and always in conversation with power. Her paintings construct a new narrative in which the female nude exists in deliberate ambiguity, neither innocent nor illicit, but suspended provocatively between both in a world where nudity, agency, and pleasure unapologetically coexist. A world depicted in paint on canvas, yet ultimately more realistic than the audience imagines, exposing not only her characters’ vulnerabilities but also our own.

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