Nia Horton
AH1750 T/Th
Reading Response to Nochlin’s Essay
The question “Why have there been no great women artists?’ implicitly suggests that female artists that display substantial talent are nonexistent. Contrary to the belief of previous art historians and academic institutions, women artists do exist and have always existed. Due to double standards and fallacies developed throughout history, women artists have not received the recognition they so rightfully deserve. Not only does this subject lack a feminist’s point of view but it also lacks an activist’s sentiment. The ceasing of unequal opportunity and deprivation of recognition should not only be pondered by women artists and feminists, but by every aesthete. Nochlin
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Nochlin's answer is twofold: first, the myth of artistic genius, which has been a part of art writing since Pliny, makes it seem that anyone with true artistic gifts would naturally make themselves known as a genius, preferably to some famous teacher, and then quickly surpass the teacher in skill. The inherent genius inside these great artists always refuses to be kept hidden, despite their own lack of fortune or common …show more content…
Aristocrats have a long tradition of being involved in the arts and being trained in the arts, but there are no great artists who are born members of the aristocracy until Toulouse Lautrec--and he abandoned his ancestry to become a bohemian. In other words, the question of women artists is not, in itself, a question of women artists at all, but one of art production. To answer it, we have to look at a much wider scope than women, to the web of reality--not the linear legend--of how artists become artists. I think an expanded version of that is true of many subjects in women's studies--the study of women, and the issue of women, is not always just about women--it's about men, too, and institutions and families and societies, and all the other things that make life
The male artists portrayed women as a projection of their ideal woman. The artist’s often overlooked the women’s identity’s and personalities in favour of creating aesthetically pleasing art for themselves and other superior males to view and enjoy. This was especially harmful because the more popular the art grew to be, the more often women were categorised as objects rather than people. The art contributed to gender construction by creating these gender roles and reinforcing that in all situations, men were superior to
Prior to the 20th century, female artists were the minority members of the art world (Montfort). They lacked formal training and therefore were not taken seriously. If they did paint, it was generally assumed they had a relative who was a relatively well known male painter. Women usually worked with still lifes and miniatures which were the “lowest” in the hierarchy of genres, bible scenes, history, and mythological paintings being at the top (Montfort). To be able to paint the more respected genres, one had to have experience studying anatomy and drawing the male nude, both activities considered t...
Women no longer have to follow a given path of a domesticated life lived behind her husband’s pant cuff. So one would wonder why the increase in women composers has not happened as did in other areas such as literature and the visual arts. According to Kerry Andrew of theguardian.com, there is a decline in confidence in teenage girls to compose and the issue must be addressed with education and “if girls are presented with examples of successful female creators in all genres, they might view composition as a viable profession for themselves.” The promotion of composition as a profession and the use of women examples in curriculum will serve to foster this change.
Until the middle of the twentieth century, females were in an inferior position to males in all aspects of society. Women who wanted to deviate from the norm were often restrained by males and isolated in a sphere of society’s “perfectly submissive housewife”, a stereotype which women of the world eventually shattered. Kate Chopin accomplished this through her realist piece, The Awakening.
Throughout history, women have struggled with, and fought against oppression. They have been held back and weighed down by the sexist ideas of a male dominated society which has controlled cultural, economic and political ideas and structure. During the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s women became more vocal and rebuked sexism and the role that had been defined for them. Fighting with the powerful written word, women sought a voice, equality amongst men and an identity outside of their family. In many literary writings, especially by women, during the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s, we see symbols of oppression and the search for gender equality in society. Writing based on their own experiences, had it not been for the works of Susan Glaspell, Kate Chopin, and similar feminist authors of their time, we may not have seen a reform movement to improve gender roles in a culture in which women had been overshadowed by men.
I believe viewers are more likely to communicate upon the works of the Guerrilla Girls with one another in society when they take on a more comedic approach. This investigation has examined the Guerrilla Girls through direct connection to the inequalities of power over women in the art world. Several themes were highlighted within society that reinstated these cultural norms of gender and sex within the institutions of art. With a variety of forms used by the Guerrilla Girls to redefine women's identity in history, they were able to break down such barriers that stood in the way which denied the prosperity of female artists.
...field women had that power is in domestic arts. Women admire sharing their talents with an audience in different ways, whether it is theater, performing a song, ballet dancing, conducting an orchestra or being on television. Eileen Marie Moore shows discipline, excellence and success in her all-age field today. Amy Beach was the first woman to compose a symphony and Clara Schumann was the first woman be publicly accepted as a woman musician. These women opened doors for aspiring and existing women composers and performers to gain recognition, regardless of the culture. A tribute for Amy Beach, Michael Anthony quoted “Being a woman hadn’t held her back as a musician.” The confidence these women portrayed for music was tremendous. Determined to succeed in male dominance category is a challenge, but having the resilience and purpose to keep going, is what counts.
In both Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple” and Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening”, we see that there are two types of women who arise from the demands of these expectations. The first is the obedient woman, the one who has buckled and succumbed to become an empty, emotionless shell. In men’s eyes, this type of woman was a sort of “angel” perfect in that she did and acted exactly as what was expected of her. The second type of woman is the “rebel”, the woman who is willing to fight in order to keep her creativity and passion. Patriarchal silencing inspires a bond between those women who are forced into submission and/or those who are too submissive to maintain their individuality, and those women who are able and willing to fight for the ability to be unique.
Despite the long history of African American art, many black artists in contemporary society still have a difficult time getting their art viewed or accepted by the masses. Society, in general, tends to look at African art as ethnic, trivial, simple, folk art, perhaps even collectable, but not worthy of true in-depth exploration of fine art accreditation. However, Laurie Cooper and Lorna Simpson disrupt these perceptions in their art.
This is a misconception because every great artist needs to be nurtured and trained. The fact that we don’t have a great Eskimo artist, as Nochlin points out, is not because there is no talent in the Eskimos, but because talent has not been cultivated. When institutions discriminated on the basis of sex, very talented women were excluded from the celebrated art schools. As such, to answer the question “why have there been no great women artists?” the blame lies squarely with societal institutions and the inequities that they promoted. Women artists were very talented but were not given the necessary support and encouragement that they needed in order to
For hundreds of years, women are fighting a war of inequality in the male dominated society. Heather Savigny addressed a very important question in her article, what is Feminism? By definition, “Feminism” is a moment started by women to end inequality in all fields of society. Women in the society started this protest to gain rights that were deprived by the males in the society. A feminist can be a normal person who fights against the discrimination on based on sex, age and gender. The feminist movement is very important in our society, to protect women for sexual harassment and violence. To fight this problem, and to find a possible way to end it, many great writers wrote very influential poems and stories. A very few writers who chose to
...present powerful characters, while females represent unimportant characters. Unaware of the influence of society’s perception of the importance of sexes, literature and culture go unchanged. Although fairytales such as Sleeping Beauty produce charming entertainment for children, their remains a didactic message that lays hidden beneath the surface; teaching future generations to be submissive to the inequalities of their gender. Feminist critic the works of former literature, highlighting sexual discriminations, and broadcasting their own versions of former works, that paints a composite image of women’s oppression (Feminist Theory and Criticism). Women of the twenty-first century serge forward investigating, and highlighting the inequalities of their race in effort to organize a better social life for women of the future (Feminist Theory and Criticism).
In the course of human events, women have been subjected to being seen as far less superior than men. Women through most of history have never been seen as equals to men and seen as pitiful and slave like, but women have tried to change the views of society and become equal. Feminist art was a major contributor in helping women fight these societal views during the feminist movement. Many talented women artist banded together during the 1960-1970s to be able fight the societal view as a woman. Their art was sometimes not accepted by society for exploring subjects that were not accepted for that time. They fought to make their topics they talked about socially accepted. Artists such as Judy Chicago, Barbara Kruger, and guerilla girls helped spark and shaped the feminist art movement by
Women have been an important part of art history since the moment of its creation. While women artists began to emerge from the shadow of their male counterparts, their representation in artwork remained particular to how women were perceived by men and society’s idea of what a woman was and should be. Women have taken great strides in taking the reins on their own lives and their own representations both in the art world and in the general environment. Yet so many names have been forgotten or erased through the trajectory of time and many of their struggles are left unaware. A woman would be more likely to become an artist or have the ability to make art would be if she was related to a male artist and had the materials available. It was highly unusual for a woman to study the subject on her own.
At the end of the 19th and start of the 20th centuries, a series of events occurred that would be known as the feminist movement. During this time, many woman were starting to change the way they thought of themselves and wanted to change their social roles. In his views on feminist analysis Donald Hall says, “Feminist methodologies focus on gender…and explore the complex ways in which women have been denied social power and the right to various forms of self-expression the many perspectives that fall under the heading ‘feminism’ vary wildly”(Hall 199). Since women were denied social power and self-expression, they went against what society saw as acceptable, a patriarchal world. In the stories The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, “Story of an Hour” also by Chopin, and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman we see just how woman’s expected gender roles affect these woman. In The Awakening we meet Edna Pontellier who struggles with her social and gender role. In “Story of an Hour” we see a woman who is glad she is free from her husband. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” a woman fights for her happiness. Through the author’s portrayal of these characters, we see how feminism affects the actions of the characters and how the woman change.