Women, Art and Gender: A History
An old New Yorker cartoon depicts a group of prehistoric women painting images on the wall of a cave. One of the women suddenly pauses in her work and asks: “Does it strike anyone as weird that none of the great painters have ever been men?” (Heller, 1987) This, of course is a parody of the long-held assumption that all prehistoric art was created by men. Why should we assume this, when we don’t even know why this art was created, much less by whom? It is because for many centuries, we have been taught that all great art was the product of men, and that art created by women was merely an attempt to copy the masters that came before. For many, many hundreds of years, women struggled to gain recognition as artists, and for the greater number of these years, they remained obscured due to the constraints of patriarchal society. Recently, however, in the feminist movement of the seventies, women have found a voice and a face and recognition in the world of the arts followed. Yet women today are finding that they have yet another battle to fight, one that demands that they be looked at as more than merely women artists in the light of feminism. They are individuals who create art in the context of their identities, which include “ethnicity, personality, life stage, religion, class, and politics” (Norwood, 1987 p. 4), as well as gender.
Since antiquity, women have created art and not received recognition for doing so. It is difficult to obtain a proper history of women in art because many records have been manipulated, and a great number of works by women have been credited to their male teachers or relatives, as it was believed that no truly great art could be created by a woman. (Heller, 1987) A large number of artists from antiquity remain unknown, and many are of the opinion that perhaps “anonymous was a woman” (NMWA, 1998, p. 1). We know that women were creating art during this period through discoveries of unaltered records and images of women artists working, yet there are relatively few known female artists of this time. Hypothetically, if not in truth, we may conclude that works were better received with artist unknown, rather than to be attached to the name of a woman.
The company chosen for this project is the United Parcel Service (UPS). UPS was started in 1907 by Jim Casey, under the name American Messenger Company (AMC), in Seattle, Washington. In 1913, they changed their name to Merchants Parcel Delivery (MPD) when they acquired their first Model T Ford. After making their first expansion to Oakland, California, in 1919, they once again changed their name to what it is today: United Parcel Service. In 1981, UPS bought its first aircraft and in 1982, UPS obtained a portion of the Louisville Airport for use and began operations from the Louisville International Airport’s air hub ("UPS: About UPS", 2014).
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...
Nationalism at this time was seen as a tool used by those in power to control a nations. By this time, Paul and his friends are “seduced” into the army by the nationalists ideas. They have also realized that their enemy really isn't the others, its the men who had power in their OWN nation. This shows how Paul and the others have indeed themselves involved in the spread of their nationalism which regards to thinking of right and wrong. As the boys continue through the rough training given by Corporal Himmelstoss, they realize what they have gotten themselves into. In training, Himmelstoss's ideas and drills drag on to make the boys despise him. Even though Corporal Himmelstoss made the boys do horrible things as to stand out in the cold risking frostbite, and gruesome practices and training, they boys have realized what Corporal Himmelstoss has only done the things to make them stronger and without the training, there would be no way they would have made it through the brutal war. But, by the end of the novel, Himmelstoss tries to make amends to the boys, and yet they have realized what Himmelstoss has done for them is what still kept them alive.
In her, “Modernity and the Spaces of Feminity,” Griselda Pollock questions the representations and myths of modernity in Paris during the nineteenth century. The Impressionist movement, dominated by a masculine perspective, represent Paris as being the new place for recreation, leisure and unrestrained pleasure. But, what about Impressionist women painters? what was their point of view? Pollock argues that a historical asymmetry, which is a social and economical difference produced by a social structuration of sexual difference, determined both what and how men and women painted. Therefore, in order to analyze female Impressionist, we must take into consideration that they share the same social system produced by a sexual differentiation, hence,
In the book All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque illustrates the picture of World War I to the reader. This book is the story of Paul Baumer, who with his classmates recruits in the German Army of World War I. This anti-war novel is an excellent book because through the experiences of Paul Baumer, I am able to actually feel like I'm in the war. It is a very useful piece of literature, which increases the readers' knowledge on how the war affected the people at the time setting. By reading this book, one is drawn into the actual events of the war, and can feel the abyss of death. I believe this piece is very well written. It is entirely simple, lacking any bias remarks, or false patriotism. In this book, Remarque just gives the reader the impression of the war. His great details and way of wording things is incredible. In this book, Remarque is able to portray the nightmare on European battlefields.
Across Europe, between 1400 and 1650, there were women present in all major styles of time. They worked along side of great artists and were developing new techniques and styles. Women also played a very important role in the Renaissance. Although not as well documented as their male counterparts, women worked along with the other great masters, were just as innovating, and were key in developing new techniques.
...witty comical banter helps spread the understanding of the underlying themes behind the humor. It makes it easier for the artists to connect with the audience about feminism without an aggressive and hostile approach to the work. 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 compliance 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.
Gender credo has signified political and cultural values in Greek and Roman era. In particular women representation in artwork has pondered and reinforced the values of their times. In the articles, "Parthenon and Parthenoi: A Mythological Interpretation of the Parthenon Frieze" by Joan B. Connelly and "The Muted Other" by Natalie Boyment Kampen, the Parthenon frieze, the Ara Pacis: Imperial Family frieze, and Cornelia: Mother of the Gracchi, are pieces depicted to characterize women in their implemented roles.
Gill Perry’s writing “Women in Disguise: Likeness, The Grand Style and the Conventions of Feminine Portraiture in the Work of Sir Joshua Reynolds” deeply explores the construction and meaning behind the female portrait paintings done by Joshua Reynolds. Joshua Reynolds was a renowned portrait painter and Founder and President of the Royal Academy of Arts. His artistic life consisted much of full length portraits of many men, women, and children. His most significant work, however, was his portraits of women. Gill Perry analyzed his works and has come to the conclusion that the art created by Joshua Reynolds often aimed to be equal to literature, particularly in his feminine portraits. He created non conventional feminine portraits by means of disguise and distinguished ladies with looks of power, which is an unheard of means for feminine portraits of this age.
The Feminist Art Movement raised women’s status and the world’s awareness on gender equality through artworks that reflect women’s lives, feelings, and value. Through creativity, feminist artists invited the audience into their daily livings, to understand their strengths and efficiency, and to consider their needs and feelings. The movement expanded the traditional female role in society, such as housewives, to individuals with talents including artists, writers, the working class, and professionals. The female artists used media ranging from traditional techniques, like painting, to non-traditional art forms, such as installation art, performance art, conceptual art, and sculptures to share with the audience their new perspectives.
Sweet Briar College History of Art Program. Web. The Web. The Web. 27 Feb. 2011. http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/images/women/papers/stebbinsathena/athena2.html>.
There is a long history of gender roles in society. The expectations of gender roles continually shift; however, there is not a time when women and men share the same equalities simultaneously. The idea of how men and women should act is instilled in us at a young age. I think it starts really young with girls and boys being told what they can be and when they see what they are expected to be, they abandon parts of them which society deems as undesirable. We don’t acknowledge how much pressure we put on men and women to conform to the ideas of gender roles but it is apparent in our media and in the history of our art. One of the most influential things about figurative art is that it has the ability to capture society’s concepts of how men and women are expected to be during that time period. One thing for certain about gender equality is that it has historically and predominantly been a women’s movement. This sculpture, entitled Portrait Bust of a Woman with a Scroll, stood out to me in particular. It is is made of pentelic marble and dates back to the early 5th century. The sculpture shows a woman with a restless face, clothed in a mantle and head piece while holding a scroll. This sculpture reflects the women’s intelligence and capabilities being overshadowed by her gender and
The author's main theme centers not only on the loss of innocence experienced by Paul and his comrades, but the loss of an entire generation to the war. Paul may be a German, but he may just as easily be French, English, or American. The soldiers of all nations watched their co...
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
Ever since ancient times, humanity has created pieces of art that involve the sexuality of both men and women. The interest of sexuality in art started from the cave paintings of the first Homo sapiens in Europe 40,000 years ago, which illustrated the unique sexual desires at the time, and has evolved to modern day art, which shows a deeper meaning behind sexuality. It is very intriguing how sexual interest and discussion in art has evolved over time.