This Girl is on Fire
Woman as Goddess
Curated by Emma Krasnopoler

Roy Lichtenstein, Crak!, 1963

Besides the fact that fire is actually present in this painting, the woman at the end of the fire is the real force of nature. She is a soldier, not just a pretty face. She commands the petits to fight for their country as she sets off the rifle. She seems motherly, calling what we assume are other soldiers "petits," yet she embodies the youthful excitement of patriotism in wartime. She is unfazed by the war, a fighter among the weak. Unlike many of Lichtenstein’s pop art images of crying and submissive women, this woman takes charge and takes all the shots, literally.

In an age of modern feminism in the 60s, this woman is like the modern Rosie the Riveter. She plays her part in the war with ferocity and fervor. Both she and the rifle are capped in red -- fire. There is no story, no explanation. She is just a soldier, wearing a red beret and flawless makeup, and she is going to give her all to the frame. As the world hurled through the 20th century, women’s movements were progressing towards equality with more momentum than ever. Strong women were everywhere, not just in the comics.