Art Feminine / Feminist Art

[Madalena Lobao_Tello]

Why we do not know great women artists in the History of Art? Are there differences between male and female artists? How women have been imposed in this men world, in this sexist and hierarchical art and creation? How have expressed their visions of women, feminist and how they have helped to revolutionize the concept of art?

If we do not know the name of great women artists is not only due to the fact that the History of Art has been written by men. We can not forget that the domestic role, traditionally reserved for women, has prevented him to access to a comprehensive arts education, and also the opportunity to be a creative paid active in the art business.

In front of the invisibility of historic female artists, the first strategy of feminism was to develop lists of great forgotten women artists, to show equality between the sexes and denounce this intentional omission.
During the 70s, when came the second wave of feminism and the "called" radical feminism, the women artists protested to achieve equal rights in museums and academies, organized exhibitions, proliferated self-artistic projects and began to break down the structures, from denouncing the universal male gender condition attributed to the art.
During that decade, the work of artists like Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro strengthened the idea of the existence of a distinct artistic sensibilities of women. These were based on biological processes such as menstruation and motherhood, inspired recurring themes of his early works. Did not take long to appear critical voices in this feminism that assumes a substance common to all women, stemming from its biological constitution. Artists such as Faith Ringgold, reported in his book that alleged female subject "universal" was fictitious. This guy was wrong, not only because it excluded women who did not fit the parameters of white woman, Western and heterosexual but because also was based on a biological determinism.
Since the eighties, dismissed the idea of a universal female art, influenced by the postmodern vision, dominated the constructivist theories of sexual identity. They bet on the gender understood as a cultural process that is built through certain social processes..

The figure of woman artist - woman activist continues revolutionizing the concept of art and denouncing the conditions of insecurity and the difficulties of being a paid creative and active in the "glamorous world of creation ".

Women artists are still encouraging facts, feelings, knowledge and imagination, to give the world a supplement of being and understanding ...

So... the question is:
- Art Feminine
- Feminist Art

It may seem that it is the same thing, but it is not.
A woman artist makes art feminine but not all women artists make feminist art ( is an art in the service of the feminist struggle, a combative art, an art committed ...)
In the feminist art, art is a means to an end.

Are recognized as the major contributions of feminism:

* The notion that gender is socially constructed and is not "natural".
* The revaluation of art forms that until then were not considered part of the "high art" such as crafts and video.
* Questione the cult of "genius" and "greatness" of the artist by the standards of the history of Western art.
* The awareness that behind the alleged "universality" is a series of personal and diverse perspectives. The belief that everything that was considered "universal" is really the point of view od macho and male dominance and has to do with the male experience not female.
* The development of new theoretical positions and new categories of aesthetics, from the experience of women.
* The opening of the artistic horizon to racial issues, sexual and to social problems.
* The idea that the art that we find most attractive is that whose creator has more in common with our experiences.
* The emphasis that there must be a dialogue between art and society, between artist and audience, among women artists of the present and the past.
* The importance of women's participation in social protest, simultaneously struggling against the class struggle, racism and sexism.

Reviews and criticism of feminism

Thirty years after feminism has been reviewed and are accepted:

- That there is not something like "a female point of view";
- That not all art made by women is feminist, not even art make by feminists themselves.
- The question of whether being a woman in any way affect the style or artistic content, is one of the fundamental questions of criticism of feminism of the 70s, so from the 80s began to question whether there something like a "feminine sensibility."
- Currently women still is doing feminist art, but in ways that differ from the feminists of the 70s.
- Many women artists do not like the stereotype of "feminist artist" because it concerns an essentialism, that is to believe that all women share something (sensitivity, experiences, tastes, etc.).
- On the contrary: it is now recognized that the "femininity" is a social construct and thus is not a reality stable and that the creative process of women is not necessarily different from men. There is no art of women differently from men but there are so many artistic proposals as creative personalities.

[Madalena Lobao_Tello]

Judy Chicago

[maryse]

i saw the dinner party in 1080 when i was 16....it changed my view of art and womens art . thank you for putting these photos up...love her work.....wow.....

[Madalena Lobao_Tello]

Miriam Schapiro

[Madalena Lobao_Tello]

Faith Ringgold

[Madalena Lobao_Tello]

Someone, I say, will remember us in the future.
Sappho

The history of all times, and of today especially, teaches that... women will be forgotten if they forget to think about themselves.
Louise Otto-Peters

This is so good, you would not know it was painted by a woman.
Hans Hoffmann about his student Lee Krasner, 1937

[Brajanne]

Mada,

Very interesting topic. Thanks for sharing.

[Thom Roslan]

Hi Mada.......

It's me Thom......My insight to this question is based on Religious persecution from the Catholic Church in Europe through hundreds of years. The Church's Hierarchy deemed all women to be "lesser".....look how they "butchered" the Bible, leaving out many of the women close to Christ especially Mary Magdalene. They did that also with women in Art......many women who were talented did do "finishing" work in many of the church's gallery workshops in back. Also, I heard of a few women gaining some recognition being "students" of a few MASTER's of Art in the 18th & 19th Centuries. But none were allowed to gain any recognition.......I believe because they were "afraid" of the women's talents and interest in the Arts.

But, there isn't any difference in male or female Art .....we all use the same brushes, paints and canvasses......we all paint or draw in all mediums and in many of the same styles......I still believe it's the position of the "Hierarchy" today that still diminishes women 's talents.......a few future thinking galleries and Museums do hold women forums and retrospectives.....But they're still afraid.......Women have had the right to Vote for over 90 years here in America and the blacks ONLY 40-50 years and look who running for President......That should tell you that the powers that be are still AFRAID !

Ars Gratia Artis,

Thom

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

Let me tell you my opinion on this subject. As you know I am separating ancient art (before 1860), modern art (before 1980) and current art (from 1980). Ancient art was as much made by workshops as by individual artists. Women had a little part in it, although some of them had success (Gentileschi, Moillon). In modern art, women were much helped to reach glory if they lived with a renowned male artist (Morisot, Goncharova, O'Keeffe, Taeuber-Arp, Delaunay-Terk, Laurencin, Saint-Phalle). Valadon was a mother. Even Kahlo would remain unknown unless her now legendary life with Diego. Below (in terms of position on the market) some sculptor women succeeded by themselves (Richier, Nevelson, Hepworth, Bourgeois - I did not check their biographies, but I have no male name coming in my memory for them). Not to forget abstract painters such as Mitchell, Agnes Martin, Riley, but for Martin and Riley I feel that being a woman helped to push them to the top (?). Cassatt needs to be revisited.

A I see from the market, current art is very difficult for women. Aesthetics quickly disappear for top price artworks in favour of gigantism and shocking. Hirst, Koons, Murakami, Gormley are at the top because they behave as company managers as much as artists. I do not see artist women in this trend for the time being.

[Madalena Lobao_Tello]

Pierre
This is a very good analysis.
You are very well informed!

[Magali Gómez]

I think women have entered the world so actively that there's no need to be a feminist to be femenine, art is art weather it comes from the creation of a woman or a man. I try to escape from extreme proposals. there's a center where the Universe gets its balance and we have to find our own balance within ourselves, in peace and harmony with God's creation. Every living being has a value to be sheriched and admired, being respectful to others makes your spirit grow bigger and bigger! May be my point of view is too simple and I may ignore the efforts a woman has to do to succeed in the world of arts!

[Madalena Lobao_Tello]

Magali
My center as person is in recognize me as a woman and as an artist.
The largest portion of the female population in the world continued to be marginalized and live in inequality.
As this is a site of art I analize the role of women in art, but the same situation occurs in all profisiones.

[maryse]

Oh i saw Judy Chicago the Dinner Table when I was 16, it impressed me very much. I have been wanting to remember her name for years, and here it is. thats honestly back in 1980.. thank you