
Pawel Kuczynski is a Polish artist who creates thought provoking satirical artwork about the political, economic, and social controversies that are often ignored in our society. He uses his paintings to expose the cruel reality and to try to make people face the issues that are occurring in the world. One of his paintings called Women’s Career illustrates the issues of unfair treatment that some women face in the workplace. Some women can be subjected to sexual harassment when seeking promotions or advancement in their career. Kuczynski’s painting depicts this theme using elements such as the bug’s-eye view shot, the color schemes, and personification.

The bug’s-eye view shot of the man’s legs, ladder, and desk in Women’s Career affects the perspective in which the viewer sees the painting. The woman is painted small, which makes the woman look powerless and vulnerable. On the other hand, the man’s legs and ladder that is attached to the desk is painted largely, which makes them look intimidating and imposing. The differences in the size show the difference in power that women and men hold in the workplace. These differences in power can lead to some women being treated poorly compared to men, and even can go as far as sexual harassment. The small woman is looking up at the ladder in between the man’s legs that leads up to the desk, which indicate that in order to get to a higher position in her career, she must first climb through the man’s legs to get to the desk. In other words, this woman must experience sexual harassment along the way in order to achieve success in her career. Since women are sometimes seen as weak and vulnerable in the workplace, they are often times taken advantage of. In society today, we usually see more men in higher positions than women and that can be due to the fact that women have a harder time getting to the higher positions because of the unfair treatment they receive. Kuczynski’s use of this shot helps viewers see the overall theme of the struggles that some women face. 

Kuczynski successfully utilized the appropriate color schemes in order to reinforce the dark and serious mood of the painting. The color scheme in Women’s Career is very gloomy and somber. The red and orange color of the background and the brown desk do not contrast with each other because they are tertiary colors. The color red gives off a threatening and dangerous vibe. The gradual dark to light shading of the orange from the top of the painting to the bottom also creates a depressing mood. One website states that “Most of his illustrations are described as gloomy, representing the absurdity of our world” (Our World Stuff).  The colors significantly help the painting appeal to our empathy and make us personally reflect on the fear and concern for all women in this controversial issue. 

In Women’s Career, we see the use of personification. The desk is given human qualities because the man’s legs are attached to the bottom of the desk. The man’s torso and head is essentially the desk itself. Also, the way the man has his pants down is very provocative and concerning. Kuczynski created this abstract representation of a man to symbolize the man’s authority. The painting depicts the idea that since the desk is the man’s head, the man is the “head” of the job. The controversial issue we face today is that some men use that sense of power they have from being the head of the workplace to do whatever they want. There is also an issue with double standards. Even though the woman’s attire is professional, she may not be given the same opportunities and chances to get a job compared to the man because more often than not, men’s appearances and manners are not as criticized as women’s. Kuczynski wants us to stop turning a blind eye to these social issues regarding the double standards that women experience.  

Viewers of Women’s Career are exposed to the harsh reality of what some women face in professional careers. Pawel Kuczynski created an image that reveals the issue of sexual harassment and double standards that women experience. With the use of the bug’s-eye view, color schemes, and personification, he is able to show the differences in power and standards that women and men hold in the workplace, as well as set an appropriate mood that reflects the seriousness of the issue. 
