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The ratio of male to female artists is unbalanced especially when you consider that art schools on the majority have a much larger female populous. The majority of female artists who have gained respect in the art world have done so by producing work which could be described as being profoundly personal. The choice of media is also significant as women have used alternative media such as stitching, which has historically been associated with women and domestic chores.
Female artists have done this as they felt that they were unable to compete fairly with their male counterparts by using oil paint which has been the choice of male artists for centuries. They are saying that although historically women’s art has been domesticated, so what, look at what we can do with it.
Judy Chicago is an American artist, whose work has influenced many female artists. Judy Chicago was concerned that women artists in the past have not been given credit or recognition for their work in art galleries. Judy Chicago in 1975 wrote down these experiences in ‘Through the Flower’. ‘Because we are denied knowledge of our history, we are deprived of standing upon each others shoulders and building upon each other’s hard earned accomplishments.’ I t was not that women did not create art, as they obviously did, but due to women having to raise children and maintain a home their work was almost exclusively domesticated, quilts, weaving, basketry and pottery, and when they did find time for paintings the scale of these was small.
The Impressionist movement was good for female artists as it legitimised the way women had painted. This gave women the opportunity to have their work recognised and to be exhibited along with male counterparts. Women believed that this changed their status and thus they could now call themselves artists and more importantly, the fact that the general public were buying their work meant that society was also acknowledging them as artists. Women artists now had status they so desperately craved. This feeling can be summed up by the statement made by Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980) on aspects of multi-perspectival scientistic thinking, “I have my foundation outside myself. I am for myself only as I am a pure reference to the other.").
Bethe Morisot who was the first woman to join the circle of the French impressionist painters, exhibited in all but one of their shows, and, despite the protests of friends and family, continued to participate in their struggle for recognition. She painted beautiful paintings depicting every day scenes such as the Julie Manet et son Lévrier Laerte . Mary Cassatt was another example of a very talented female American painter and printmaker who struggled to gain recognition and respect. She exhibited with the Impressionists and also painted domestic scenes such as La Toilette
However this recognition which women artists so craved was superficial and short lived, for example, Bethe Morisot a successful artists, died in 1895 and her death certificate reads, " Mme Morisot was without any profession." By doing this society at that time and the art world, which was male, were saying that it was fine for women to show their work as it suited the style of that time however women have always concentrated on the domestic and painted in this style and are incapable of thinking outside this box. They have no imagination so therefore can never be an artist. Morwenna Griffiths described this attitude in her essay Feelings, Feminism and Philosophy - women are more emotional than men , feel more deeply, more irrational than men, women are enthralled with their bodies, interwoven with their reproductive capacities all opposed to being rational and logical – less able and less mature than men therefore less human. Once again women artists found themselves alienated from the art world.
Judy Chicago founded the Feminist Art Program in 1971. The aim of the movement was to address the above issues . She felt excluded from and prejudiced against within the art world so she decided to work outside of it. She was acutely aware of how powerful a propaganda tool art could be and quickly realized that she could use her art to make a political statement and by doing so bring women's art and feminist issues into the public arena. Judy said that art was a ‘vehicle for intellectual transformation and social change.’
The Dinner Party was a multimedia project created by Judy Chicago and volunteers between 1974 and 1979. She wanted to make the public aware of the plight of women and their repressed sexuality under male dominance. She chose not to ignore the opinions of male artists but to embrace these; in effect she took on board the comments about women being emotional and turned it on its head. Nor did she shy away from the historical view of women’s art being domesticated and used stitching pottery in the work. By doing so she was saying women were more able and more mature than men therefore more human. The piece was not only directed at women but also men, and asked them – why are you so frightened, is it maybe because you know that we are more able than you?
The Dinner Party involved months of research as it was difficult to find documented evidence of women’s historical achievements. The Dinner Party i nstallation consisted of a white tile floor inscribed in gold with 999 women's names and a triangular table with painted porcelain, sculpted porcelain plates symbolic of female genitalia, and needlework; each side set with thirty-nine place settings, representing a historic or legendary woman. In addition Judy Chicago includes a written description of what it is about under each place serving thus emphasizing the purpose of the installation. Thus saying women are important historically, we have the proof, look what others have done before you and if they can do it and with this foundation what more can you do?
This contradicted what was going on in the rest of the art world at that time. Baudelaire said “ Woe to him who studies the antique for anything else other than pure art, logic and general method! By steeping himself too thoroughly in it, he will lose all memory of the present; he will renounce the rights and privileges offered by circumstance - for almost all our originality comes from the seal which Time imprints on our sensations." Judy Chicago knew that this way of working could not benefit women artists who had been denied their heritage.
Judy Chicago was not the first female artist to address female issues. Frida Kahlo was a Mexican artist who painted very personal autobiographical work. Her husband Rivera observed in 1937, “She is the first women in history of art to have adopted, with absolute and ruthless sincerity and, one could say, with impassive cruelty, the general and specific terms which concern women exclusively" ( www.studio-international.co.uk ). For example in her painting “My Birth" she ignores conventional taboos and shows women with covered head and exposed genitalia and blood in the centre of the painting in addition to this she has also incorporated an image of the immaculate Madonna which was seen as blasphemous. Never before had an artist depicted women's issues in such a graphical way and with such brutality. Yet before Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party these images were not widely available to women in other cultures as they were not documented.
Both Judy Chicago and Frida Kahlo have had a great influence on contemporary women artists and set the precedent for the way women work. For example, Tracey Emin is probably the best known contemporary female British artist known for her autobiographical work dealing with unsavory subject matter such as rape and abortion. One example is Something’s Wrong which has clearly been influenced by Frida Kahlo’s My Birth. But unlike Frida Kahlo who chose to paint in oil Tracey Emin has also been influenced by Judy Chicago, as her choice of media is needle and thread. Tracey Emin also like both Frida Kahlo and Judy Chicago looks back and is constantly wrestling with the past. This is also true of both Judy Chicago and Frida Kahlo’s work and yet despite this their work is timeless. She uses written text to emphasise the message of peace as did Judy Chicago.
In conclusion it is obvious that feminism has played, and will continue to play, a major role in modern art, and that it will be instrumental in driving contemporary art forward.
» left by Joy Sommersett from Woodbridge, New Jersey (116 days 8 hours ago.)
Dear Dr. Livingston:
Indeed, I apreciate this opportunity to communicate with you abut yur marvelous work Vision and Art. I've competed undergraduate and graduate work at the City College of New York. I chanced to register for a graduate course, sychology of Perception in the fall of 2008. At first I was concerned about the syllabus. Then, I obtained your book, the required text. Coincidently, I've returned to college to complete pre-med courses. Your text encompasses a number of disciplines that will embelish me with new prospectives. I'm an African-American, outside of the traditional age for medical school admission. Having majored in psychology, it's a tremendous academic exercise to study Visio and Art. I am a church musicians and will consider pursuing some work in perceptions in religious organ music as a topic for a paper in the graduate course. A second topic may be the impressions of others viewing gorgyle picutures in the area of optical illusions and emotional impressions. If you have any comments or references in these areas, I'd be most appreciative. A Gracious Thank You. Joy Sommersett, MS CCNY)
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