In 1989, New York feminist collective The Guerrilla Girls dared to ask the question, ‘Do women have to be naked to get into the Met?’ Citing statistics that revealed less than five percent of artists represented in the Museum’s collections were female, while more than 85% of artists’ models featured in the works on display were women, the question was clearly satirical, but highlighted a contentious issue for female artists.
Is the Art World sexist?
You’d think things had changed since 1989, but apparently not. The Guerrilla Girls went back to look at the issue last year, and found that little progress had been made. Check out the Guerrilla Girls’ Art Museum Activity Book for their take on how museums can become more inclusive.
Despite the talent and persistence of women artists of all disciplines, their representation in major collections continues to lag far behind their male counterparts. The reasons, of course, are many and complex, and the problem goes back far beyond 1989.
For centuries, women were denied the opportunity to participate in public life, and the art world was no exception. Passionate women artists struggled to find environments in which they could express themselves and explore their work.
Often the only opportunity for early women artists and writers came through a life of sacrifice and devotion to God. Convents and religious cloisters provided a sanctuary for creative and intelligent women in which they could explore and indulge their art, and express themselves freely, largely protected from the oppression that was the lot of their contemporaries.
There are several recorded instances of women artists and writers producing works based on their religious beliefs at a time when devotion to God was the only reasonable alternative to a life of devotion to a man. Possibly the earliest example is contained in the Old Testament, the Book of Ruth.
Other examples of early women writers and artists, from ancient days through to Renaissance Europe, can be found at Georgia College’s online resource Women in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds.
The earliest recorded female playwright, Hrotsvit von Gandersheim, was a cloistered nun who lived in Germany in the 10th century. Despite the taboo on women’s writing at the time, Hrotsvit was encouraged to write by her abbess, and produced some of the finest examples of medieval religious drama extant today.
It was to be another 700 years before the English language produced a female playwright. Aphra Behn was one of the most prolific playwrights of the Restoration, yet her works are rarely produced today, and she remains largely unknown outside academic and artistic circles.
At the same time as Behn was producing her works for the English stage, female visual artists were beginning to gain notice in continental Europe. Italian Artemisia Gentileschi, a contemporary of Michaelangelo, is recognised as an early feminist, whose life was controversially explored in the 1998 French film Artemisia.
Other notable women artists of the 17th Century are explored at the Women’s Historywebsite.
Joan Altabe addresses the issue in detail in her essay Old Masters: Overlooked Women Artists.
Early women writers also struggled for recognition, which is often only coming centuries after their deaths. Even the relatively high-profile women writers of the Victorian period require special attention.
These women were working and producing art centuries before the advent of feminism, and the work they produced is testament to their tenacity and talent in the face of hostility and derision.
Surely, though, the situation is different in the 21st century? With the rise of feminism, and the progress of women in business and public affairs, the environment for women artists must be more supportive – right? Wrong. Although we might expect the art world to be more progressive, and lead the way in the recognition and support of women, the opposite seems to be true.
For proof, one need look no further than Britain’s premier modern art award, the Turner Prize . In the 21-year history of the award, only three women have won.
The fact is that women artists are still a marginalised minority in the art world. They’re forced to band together, creating organizations and networks that offer support and encouragement to women engaged in the frustrating business of finding and audience and market for their work.
Indeed, we’re still in the position of needing dedicated institutions to showcase and celebrate the work of women artists. The National Museum of Women in the Arts is dedicated exclusively to the exhibition, preservation, and acquisition of works by women artists.
Modern women writers, too, are forced to devote time they could be putting into their own work to create resources and networks to justify their very existence and bring their work to international prominence.
As long as this situation exists, the subversive work of groups such as the Guerrilla Girls is essential – and can provide some humour in the most depressing and frustrating times for women artists! Their summary of the ‘advantages’ of being a woman working in the arts says it all.
The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist:
1. Working without the pressure of success.
2. Not having to be in shows with men.
3. Having an escape from the art world in your 4 free-lance jobs.
4. Knowing your career might pick up after you’re eighty.
5. Being reassured that whatever kind of art you make it will be labelled feminine.
6. Not being stuck in a tenured teaching position.
7. Seeing your ideas live on in the work of others.
8. Having the opportunity to choose between career and motherhood.
9. Not having to choke on those big cigars or paint in Italian suits.
10. Having more time to work when your mate dumps you for someone younger.
11. Being included in revised versions of art history.
12. Not having to undergo the embarrassment of being called a genius.
Other useful links and resources
