Special Feature #1 — Women and Art
Here and there we'll be touching on issues in our newsletters that some people may consider controversial. We at A&CNet have determined to be an unfettered fresh voice for the average participant in our Industry and the art lover or craft enthusiast looking in from the outside.
Society is forever evolving. No one would argue that values seem to change with time. However, fundamental rights and freedoms never should. The Art Community rightly makes a big deal about "freedom of expression". The question is whether that freedom and opportunity really exists for all? Our past history doesn't necessarily indicate so, but are things really changing? And what might we do about it?
This article is written by a concerned art student. It's also a view shared by many within the Industry. It touches on the ever-present highly emotionally charged issue of "Women and Art", and the numerous inequalities that exist between the sexes.
Women and Art
In almost any discussion of men and women, the issue of "gender inequality" inevitably arises. The fact is, inequality of the sexes still exists. Even in the Art world it is all too apparent. In reality it doesn't live up to its own high value of what "true freedom of expression" is really about. Does that 'freedom' exist equally for all within the Art world?
The term "Masters", which we use to describe artists such as Michelangelo, da Vinci, or Picasso, is an inherently male word, or at least so it appears by how it's normally used. We study these "Masters" in art classes, books, and see their work in the most famous galleries in the world. But, what about the women "Masters"? We know there are some; where do they exist? Are they getting 'equal billing', so to speak?
There are many female artists who should receive the same distinction. When one thinks of an art "Master", the likes of Rembrandt might come to mind, but what about renowned artists like Emily Carr or Georgia O'Keefe? Are they not also "Masters"? Who decides the meaning and to whom it should be applied to? Take for example, the debate on "what is art"; is its definition in the "eye of the beholder"? Or is today's Art world leadership dictating what the beholder is supposed to see?
When I think back to art classes in grade school, we studied the works of Michelangelo, Van Gogh, or Picasso. I don't remember ever having studied artists such as Mary Cassat, or Frida Kahlo, for example. Would it make any difference to this article if I said I was a man? Or a woman?
Not only is there an obvious gender bias, in terms of traditional art history, but also there is a male domination in the part of the powerful in the Art world, the influential and outspoken people providing some of its leadership such as the curators, collectors, dealers, and juries, art historians and critics and so on.
As acclaimed artist, feminist, and writer, Judy Chicago, stated, "There are less than 5 percent women in the permanent collections of [most] museums. And in the major exhibition programs of the major museums there's not anywhere near equitable representation of women."
The advent of the feminist movement of the 1970's brought with it a new awareness for women artists regarding their role in the Art world, or lack thereof. Throughout history, there has been a deficiency in female representation in the arts, and it hasn't been due to a lack of female artists.
As the National Museum of Women in the Arts has stated, "[As] an outlook and a set of values rather than an art movement, feminism brought protests against the unequal representation of women in major art schools, publications, museums, and galleries with strikes, marches, and open letters; and women began to produce art from a specifically female point of view."
The mainstream Art world is and has generally always been a very elitist one; a small segment of Art society that determines what is art, and who will become famous. The elitism is an ongoing problem, but even more so, the people in these positions of leadership and power tend to be men. The irony here is that many in the Art world, the very people who view themselves as forward-thinking and liberal-minded, are the ones that are purporting this discrimination against women artists. Many are very traditional 'old school' thinkers, questionably in-tune or out-of-tune with today's grass roots artists.
Having spent some time myself studying at a prestigious Canadian art school, I experienced much of the elitist attitude that is rampant in the Art world, and much of that by men. Not to say that I haven't encountered equally arrogant women artists; neither gender has a monopoly on potentially unbridled pride in the Art world. But by and large, the elitist attitude is perpetuated generally by men.
Just like the world of academia, the world of art is still greatly encumbered by bureaucracy; it doesn't take much observation to quickly see that it's a male dominated bureaucracy. Nonetheless, art as a whole, has evolved significantly in regards to female recognition. There was a day when a man was credited for a woman's art or when she couldn't sign her work, or make a profit from it.
There are more and more galleries and museums that are dedicating themselves solely to the propagation and education of art by women. The National Museum of Women in the Arts is one such place that exclusively shows works by female artists globally. They also publish a magazine called, Women in the Arts, the only magazine in the US dedicated to women in the arts.
Judy Chicago, has spent the past thirty years paving the way, for women artists everywhere. In 1971 she co-founded a feminist art program for the California Institute of the Arts and organized one of the very first feminist art exhibitions, the ''Womanhouse''. According to Chicago, "There have been many great women artists and they have been erased. In fact, there's so much art by women it can't be brought into a system that only allows for very few women artists. And that will not change until we change it. We have to reach critical mass and we have to build enough power, enough resources… And I think it's very important to reverse what's happening now, which is the erosion of women's opinions, our own voices, our own outlooks, our own bookstores and newspapers. We've got to reverse that because otherwise we will discover that we have been erased. And we will have to start all over again."
The Guerrilla Girls are one example of a group of women artists and arts professionals who use art as a way of combating discrimination in the Art world and society at large. "The conscience of the art world" (Guerilla Girls), they consider themselves to be the feminist counterparts to the mostly male tradition of anonymous do-gooders like Robin Hood, and the Lone Ranger. Their method of speaking out about discrimination is through posters, billboards and presentations that they give around the world.
The origins of Guerrilla Girls came about after a group of women viewed an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City entitled "An International Survey of Painting and Sculpture." The exhibit was supposedly an authoritative historical timeline of significant contemporary art worldwide. Of the 169 artists on display, only 13 were women; all the artists were white, and either European or American. What further outraged many women was a comment by the curator, Kynaston McShine who said that any artist who wasn't in the show should rethink "his" career. Others who had also heard about the exhibit joined together with the women and gathered in front of the museum with picket signs to protest the discrimination against women and people of color in the Art world.
Discouraged by the lack of media attention the protest had garnered, the women decided to take matters into their own hands. They decided to find out how bad the discrimination really was, and asked the questions, "Why is there a lack of female representation in the Art world? Who is responsible, and what can be done about it?" After doing some research, their answers were revealing. "…the most influential galleries and museums exhibited almost no women artists." (Guerrilla Girls) The group then decided to use their artwork to expose the level of discrimination present in the Art world. Since 1985, the group has received much attention, both positive and negative. They have appeared on such shows as, CNN, CBC, and in publications of The New Yorker and The New York Times. They continue to be outspoken about issues not only within the art world, but within society as well.
For those on the front lines trying to make a difference, it's an ongoing emotionally-charged issue. Although the Guerilla Girls have been taken to task on some aspects of their approach, such as their newsletter subscription rates that are higher priced for men, than for women, the group has managed to bring to the public's attention, issues of discrimination within the Art world. With humor, cynicism and satire, Guerilla Girls are making a statement.
It is important that women are given equal representation in all facets of life, including their involvement and opportunity in the Art world. By learning about the past, and women's part in it, or lack thereof, we can continue to make changes for the future.
As historian Gerda Lerner said, "Men develop ideas and systems of explanation by absorbing past knowledge and critiquing and superseding it. Women, ignorant of their own history [do] not know what women before them...thought and taught. So, generations after generation, they struggle for insights others have already had before them, [a] cruel repetitiousness that forces women to continually repeat efforts made a number of times by other women. [This] cruel repetition [is] not only a symbol of women's oppression but its actual manifestation."
It really all gets down to this: as in all aspects of the history of women's fight for equality, women need to take control, and assert themselves, speak out, and be heard. In the Art world, as Judy Chicago says, women need to also be the ones to, "build the museums, endow the museums, run the museums." Thanks to the efforts of many women and men, it is easier these days to make it in the world as a female artist than it was fifty or a hundred years ago. It is, however, still a struggle. Change will only happen when sincere men and women do their part to bring equality into every aspect of society.
Works Cited:
Brock, A Lisa. Post-Feminism? Ridiculous! The Minnesota Women's Press, 2000.
www.judychicago.com
www.nmwa.org
www.guerillagirls.com
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Janny Stratichuk is a young artist currently enrolled at Selkirk College in Castelgar, B.C., pursuing a career in Art Therapy. She's been a student of the Kootenay School of Art and has worked in many art mediums over the past 5 years, creating works in acrylics, watercolors, gourds, felt, pottery, and mixed media. She sells her art at various local fairs in the Kootenay region as well as Idaho. She's also done the artwork for a wonderful Children's Storybook, "The We Hug" as well as some websites. You may email Janny at at janny@the novelproject.com |
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