¶ … built into the question, "Why are there no great women artists?" First, the question assumes that there have never been great women artists, which of course, is false. The second assumption is that "artists" are different from "women artists." Saying "women artists," in this sense, is like saying "lady doctor." Third, the question uses the term "great" vaguely. Does great mean famous? Or does great mean technically good? Or does great mean something else? Finally, the question itself is broad. Does it refer to women artists in Europe? North America? Asia? The question also neglects the deeper assumption: that the patriarchal society has defined the terms of greatness, and has defined the terms of art. Therefore, the question is fundamentally flawed.
As Nochlin puts it, simply presenting the question is a sign of gross misogyny, and responding to it defensively is exactly the wrong response. An appropriate response is not to start talking about Mary Cassat or Berthe Morisot or Georgia O'Keefe or Frieda Kahlo. "By attempting to answer" an insulting question, we "tacitly reinforce its negative implications," (Nochlin 1).
Nochlin also points out that the patriarchal establishment in the art world has presumed that...
She has to be qualified, singled out for her gender. We do not speak of "male artists," we speak of "artists," and "women artists." Even when their subject matter preferences are controlled for, women and men who are artists are still just human beings. Their approach to art is a product of their geo-temporal landscape, not their gender. "Women artists and writers would seem to be closer to other artists and writers of their own period and outlook than they are to each other," (Nochlin 1). Interestingly, the "feminine" subject matters like women and children are frequently depicted in the art created by men.
It is certainly possible that there are "no great women artists" because a patriarchal social order infiltrates the art world. Women artists are looked down upon, denigrated, talked about as the "wife of so-and-so" instead of he being referred to as "so-and-so's husband." Breaking into the hierarchal, fickle, market-driven modern art world might yield a similar response: the system is rigged. It is a patriarchal world just…
Gender The Impressionist movement coincided with tremendous social, political, and economic changes. Likewise, the movement initiated change by planting the seeds for small but significant cultural revolutions. One of the seeds planted was feminism: the "radical notion that women are people," (Shear, cited by Lord, 2012, p. 173). Nineteenth century France was no different from anywhere else in the world at the time; women were not considered equal. Women lacked the
57). Coker's article (published in a very conservative magazine in England) "reflected unease among some of his colleagues" about that new course at LSEP. Moreover, Coker disputes that fact that there is a female alternative to male behavior and Coker insists that "Whether they love or hate humanity, feminists seem unable to look it in the face" (Smith quoting Coker, p. 58). If feminists are right about the female nature being
Some cultural traditions exist in complete isolation from neighboring regions. For instance, Korea and China do not have the well-developed geisha role for women or the Samurai class of warriors. Japan's indigenous Shinto religion is not practiced on the Korean peninsula or in China. Taoism, an indigenous Chinese philosophical tradition, did not take root in Korea or Japan. Geography is a factor in why Korea, Japan, and China have evolved different
Women's Museums The National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington is a museum specifically focused on bringing a gender-focused study to the achievements of women in the different artistic fields, whether literature, visual art, or performance art. The museum highlights the achievements of women artists by collecting and showcasing paintings and sculptures (the museum boasts a collection of 4,5000 objects created by women), presenting "10 world-class exhibitions of
age of globalized images and new media, including social media, visual culture is universal. Even traditional news media, such as photojournalism, provides a window into multiple worlds and offers an opportunity for individuals from diverse backgrounds to offer unique social and political commentary. The result is a virtual and actual prism: and a prism may be rendered artistically in literal form as with facets of reflective substances like glass.
The concept of gender, as a social construct, varies significantly across different cultures, deeply influencing the roles, expectations, and behaviors ascribed to individuals based on their sex (Bem, 1993). A gender cultural analysis attempts to understand these variations and their implications within the fabric of various societies. Such an analysis critically examines how culture shapes gender roles, the power dynamics, and the degree of equality accessible to individuals (Lorber, 1994). To