Women in the art world need balls to get ahead
Although the status of the work of female artists may seem like a simple case of discrimination, in reality, the problem is much more complicated. Before I begin looking at the more complex issues behind the problems facing female artists, I thought it would be interesting to look at some facts and statistics so that the discrepancies can be put into perspective. In November 2007, the New York Magazine did some calculations and published some rather revealing figures relating to the number of female artists represented at several major art institutions. At the time, only 15% of the artists whose work was on show as part of the permanent collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art were female. The 2007 Venice Biennale could only manage a 76% male/24 % female split while Art Basel Miami Beach managed slightly better with a 73% male/27% female split. Worst of all was the Frick Collection which had a collection that was a mere 1% female artists.
well this is depressing and sobering.
I came from a boyz club as you know. working in IT as a Project Manager I had to have my own pair of balls safely ensconced in my purse (and sometimes displayed on my desk). I was the perfect corporate-female from my powerbun to my suits- trying to never let a whiff of femininity (read: weakness) show.
you would think that the art world would be about the art, you would think it would be above such petty things in it’s long and glorious life. but no. I covered the discrepancies in the Guggenheim back in 2006. it seems that little has been done since. I look forward to reading the rest of the series and may touch back on it.
oh and don’t worry abut me, I am used to playing in a boyz club. I still have those balls around somewhere and I am not afraid of a challenge- especially one presented to me for the paltry reason of my gender.
“I am Bi, Female and Proud. I want no god who is disappointed in this”
The open Bible is a central part of Made in God’s Image, an exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art (Goma) in Glasgow. By the book is a container of pens and a notice saying: “If you feel you have been excluded from the Bible, please write your way back into it.” …
…Third, the comment I quote in the title for this piece falls into that category of topics that really begin to open up possibilities for any religious thinker not hellbent on regurgitating the same old line and truly interested in seeing Christianity reach a new generation:
One writer has altered the first line of the Old Testament from “In the beginning God created Heaven and Earth” to “In the beginning, God (me) I created religion.” Another has written “The Gospel According to Luke Skywalker”.
Whether the Church likes it or not, these sentiments (that man created religion and that morality lessons come to us via Pop culture more these days than via the Bible, and perhaps that’s OK) are the context in which the Church must today demonstrate its relevance. Those genies are out of the bottle, and only through the most draconian of measures could the Church get them back in again without addressing and discussing them openly.Fourth, the sponsors of the exhibition are indicating they plan a highly disturbing response to the criticism:
Last night the producers of the exhibition indicated that the most offensive pages would be removed….
Really? Who decides what’s offensive? Some would say the entire concept is offensive, others would say censorship is even more offensive. This is a very bad idea in my opinion. If you can’t take the heat, close the show. Don’t edit it on the fly. You’re never going to find that happy middle ground in this.[From Edward_ Winkleman]
This post by Edward Winkleman is a delight to read like many of his posts. between discussing the literary content of the Times article and listing it’s deficiencies one by one he has outlined more about the exhibition and it’s intent than the original article.
I find the concept rather interesting frankly, I would like to read the changes, funny and not, that people have written and see what others have to say. I hope that if it is censored the creators will consider making it an online project that people worldwide can contribute to. I hope that some priests and reverends take the time to read the comments to add relevance to their sermons and to draw in people.
The indication to me of this project, is not one of “lawlessness” (what laws have been broken?) but one of people crying out for help. obviously some of the messages are inflammatory or not intended to be serious- and that, too, is part of free speech and should not be ingored. I think that those in the pulpits would to well to heed the cries and try to tend their flocks.
I am not religious, but I find religion deeply fascinating. frankly in these times I think more and more people probably need the comfort and solace that religion often brings to those who believe. but without relevance they will be losing people, I remember listening to sermons bored because I couldn’t see how any of it applied to me. without answers I went looking for something else, I actually studied religions and different texts and ended up taking a bit of a hodgepodge of different faiths and forming my own basis of belief around my life experiences and bits and pieces of everything. it works for me. it’s relevant.
anyway,
I think if the gallery had been concerned as to the backlash they could have shown a similar project on the same topic, asking artists and writers to re-write sections of the bible (I see pretty illuminations too but I’m that kind of person) to make them personally relevant. that too, would have been interesting and more controlled, probably less offensive – but probably would be less raw and real.
Edit: I completely forgot to mention that the title of this post was one of the additions made during the exhibition.
Posting schedules be damned!
Kneeling by Jennie Rosenbaum
do you know what? my brain doesn’t work to a schedule. I want it to.. but it doesn’t. so I get so many ideas for posts and I never write them down, why? because somewhere I came under the belief that I needed to adhere to a posting schedule of some sort. I am not the sort to can a post for later, so it never gets written, and then I forget about it when it comes time – so I don’t even adhere to my schedule anyway! it’s enough to make you crazy- or at least it’s enough to make me crazy as the two constantly battling hemispheres of my brain go at it once more, warring over the need for structure and schedules and the need to be spontaneous and creative.
This is affecting my artwork too, I think and I plan and I schedule and I get in my own way and trip over my own need for organization. some planning is good, my artwork is definitely showing that, but I need to stop planning so much and getting everything perfect and just Go For It I need to recapture spontaneity.
this posting schedule is driving me crazy, it’s adding to my stress levels and it’s actually preventing me from posting. so it’s gone! I will still post Friday Nude Quotes but apart from that I think I am going to just let the posts fall where they may, there may be none in a week and then 10, there may be 2 one night and none for the rest of the week. I don’t know, but I need to give myself a break and write when I want to, not when I feel that I should.
friday nude quotes
Red haired teen: Aw, they’re sold out! We’re not gonna get to see the naked people!
Mom: Don’t worry, honey, we’ll see them another time.–Outside Al Hirschfeld Theatre
Nude of the Week – Recurve
Oils on Canvas
5×7 in
$100
The second piece to match Extend. Did I do them intentionally as a bit of a diptych? not really, I came up with the poses as the same time and became a bit fascinated by this color palette and backlighting. I also wanted to see if I could do something this complex on such a tiny surface. it turns out the answer is yes, yes I can. I am very excited by these two pieces, painting at the moment is enthralling because I never have any idea what is going to emerge. with each piece I learn a little more and get a little better.
I chose this title because her pose reminds me of a bow being pulled, she is taught and tense but ready. ready for what? I have no idea.
friday nude quotes
She had nude photos everywhere from freaky-deaky to plain arty, some of her girlfriends showered there
- as you can see Amsterdam’s a party
How comic books shaped my life – In the Beginning…
I thought it might be interesting to take a look back at my influences. make no mistake, I am an art history nerd, but I am also an out and out geek. so, while my inspiration was partially due to great traditional artists I must also give credit where credit is due. Comic books.
During a time in my life when I was feeling particularly powerless, confused about my sexuality, buffeted on all sides by the …roughness of boys pretending to be men, and caught up in the attempts to be all things to all people, comics were a ray of light and a symbol of hope. strong women who could take down their aggressors, fight off their fears. strong women with curves I didn’t have yet, and found so compelling in so many ways, strong women who were unashamedly themselves and didn’t have to fit a mold.
I did not read superhero comics. mainstream superhero comic women of that time period were idealized insipid creatures designed to need a mans help. I didn’t want that. some costumed creature who had to hide behind a mask and create an alter-ego to fit everyone else’s expectations, an image of insecurity. yes I know wonderwoman threw off those shackles eventually and became a hero girls could look up to, but at the time women were undergoing a rather pathetic era in comics, designed to be weak copies of their male counterparts. in many cases they were worse for body image than barbie!
nor was I into the underground feminist comics of the time. I was interested in the female form, and beginning to be aware that my interest was not entirely ..usual. At that time I tried to hide it by pretending to be boy crazy – something which backfired horribly I might add. so I enjoyed comics with these magnificent curvaceous women. swelling breasts and hip-crests, rounded thighs and buttocks. I fell in love with Betty and Veronica and with Dawn. I started haunting news agents and second hand book stores that stocked comics and started building a collection. I sought out the women in control of themselves, the ones who were confident with who they are. It wasn’t until much, much later that I realized what an impact all these comics had on me.
Nude of the Week – Extend
Oils on Canvas
5×7 in
This piece is one of two that I sketched up late at night, I’ve been sitting on the 3d versions for a while now and looked at them the other day and went.. yeah! lets do it! I am really happy with the level of detail in this tiny piece, I’m getting better and better at shadows and details.
at the moment I am fascinated with the shape and movement of hips, the attitude in them and the gravity in buttocks. it sounds strange but there is a lot of attitude in a pair of hips that are thrust forward. I am also obsessed with backlighting and of the different temperatures in lighting and the way they interact with skin. my 3d program really allows me to play with light and shadow and color, I love that everything I see translates back into art, it makes the whole world a magical place.
friday nude quotes
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Genesis 2:25
Pigeon Holed
I have felt pigeon holed lately by my writing. I am building a reputation for myself as a nude activist. Someone who stands up time and again to state that the nude is not porn and is not always about sex. I don’t believe the nude is necessarily sexual but i also think that there is a place for sexual expression in art without it being porn.
i have felt as though i am bound by this stance. it has stopped me from writing about certain topics, even from painting more explicit works. I feel like cannot write about my own sexuality or artists that I admire who do create sexualized nudes for fear of diluting my message or scaring off readers. but, do you know, there also comes a time when I have said almost everything there needs to be said on a particular subject, I don’t wish to repeat myself, I want to keep my blog fresh and new, rather than rehashing the same old tired arguments every time a nude is censored.
and what if a week or two go by without any censorship of nudes? what do I write about then? this blog was started initially to be a journal of my evolution as an artist and my developing career. but it started to get away from me, as writing often does, and take on it’s own life. I think there is room for both, I think there is room for a whole gamut of topics.
I have been thinking for a while now on the direction of this blog. I really enjoy writing, but lately I have suffered from the bane of all writers, writers block. so, in an effort to kick start my ideas and hopefully re-energize my blog, I am going to turn the question over to you, my readers – what would you like to see me write more about?
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