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FEMINIST ART AND THE AVANT-GARDE.   Term Paper ID:29921 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Discusses emergence of radical feminist art & militant feminist artists of the 1970s.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Discusses emergence of radical feminist art & militant feminist artists of the 1970s. Work of Nancy Ellison, Alice Baber, Judy Chicago. Significant exhibitions including (Women Choose Women. Erotic Art by Women. Sexual Politics). Response & confrontation of the new avant-garde art. Major themes of 1970s feminist art. Political and aesthetic aspects. Paper Introduction: Feminist Art and the Avant-Garde It has been noted that the artist-driven nature of radical art exhibitions that reigned by the late 1960s, when museum and gallery curators were increasingly usurping the role of the impresario, museums themselves were replacing galleries as venues, and formerly subversive artists were becoming “tamed” by a “society of mass consumption" (Altshuler, p. 220). While this statement is undoubtedly true, it is also true that with the emergence of radical feminist art and militant feminist artists in the 1970s, a new spirit of the avant-garde was born. The story of the avant-garde has typically been one of “mutual support among a community and reception of art by a public, all participants enmeshed in systems of personal and economic relations (Altshuler, p. 8). Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. It is no accident that what the show depicted artisticallywas the recurrence of specific forms, line, pattern, and symbols whichsuggests a uniquely female imagery. 77.Joselit, David. Thus, it is impossible to read this work as a simple form ofbiologism. Ellen Lubell (p. Each memberof the panel had the opportunity to nominate the work of five other womenoutside of the WIA. 22 ). Thus, says Lubell (p. 66) Douglas Davis (p. 222-226.Davis, Douglas. Similarly,Ruth Ann Fredenthal's "Untitled," is a warm pink and flesh tone painting inwhich the regular line produces tension and movement among color areas. One suchexhibition was the 1973 "Women Choose Women," mounted at the New YorkCultural Center to raise the collective consciousness of the various artinstitutions in New York City after a confrontation a year earlier betweenthe Women in the Arts (WIA) group and the Museum of Modern Art (Lubell, p.66). The "Sexual Politics" exhibition explored the very real andpersistent tension in feminist art and art history between "essentialist"strategies in which putatively timeless biological attributes are placed atthe core of feminine identity and "constructionist" approaches interpretinggender as a historically specific formation of socially produced norms andideological convictions. Elsewhere, Altshuler (2, p. Stein (in Broude and Garrard, p. 327)Feminist art presented a manifesto and its "central node of (that)confrontation was the exhibition, where artists, critics, dealers,collectors, and the general public met and responded to what the artist haddone" (Altshuler, p. 223), was because "they believed that only trainingin math, the sciences, and history would develop a woman's intellect andcapacity to reason. Amaya proclaimed that the highquality of choices was "truly amazing," but art critic Douglas Davis (p.77) contended that the quality of the work was less relevant than the factthat the exhibition was nothing less than a revolution in political,aesthetic, and consciousness structures and therefore mattered more in formthan in content. For example, Nancy Ellison's "Opening," depicts a cross-section half of a pear, in which the vaginal reference is unmistakable andemphasized by the use of soft mauve and peach flesh tones. Radical feminism in the arts was also made manifest in a 1997exhibition titled "Gender, Fucked," mounted at Seattle's Center onContemporary Art, by Harmony Hammond and Catherine Lord. Feminist art, by its very nature, was a form of confrontation with acomplex social world that had previously denigrated women's contributionsto the arts (Barzman, p. 1 ) haspointed out that some women artists, including Adrian Piper, have begun toapply transcendent, abstract, spiritualized feminist rhetoric andiconography to create a new "meta-art" in which part autobiography andpart expository analysis is present. 66)claims that in addition to the importance of enabling the women to exhibittheir work, the selection process used in constructing this exhibition isof equal historical impact. Less significant today is the question of "who created it"than what the creation means. 223) has pointed out that women artists prior to 193 weremarginalized outside of the parameters of most arts associations and mostformal art institutions as well, such as museums and galleries. New York: H.N. This same writer maintains that throughoutthe 197 s, women artists used different strategies for celebrating theirown physicality and sexuality, including undermining the social constraintson the presentation of the female body and consciously destroying thepleasure of the male gaze. 8). "The Torchbearers: Women and Their Amateur Arts Associations in America, 189 -193 ." American Music, Summer 1996, 14(2), pp. "Out of Order, Out of Sight, Vol. 77), the drama that unfolded was historical, "thedrama of women trying to integrate their nature as women into their art,which is no simple matter." Though Lubell (p.66) was more generally enthusiastic than David about "Women Choose Women,"it was her thesis that this and similarly organized exhibitions werenecessary only if they ultimately lead to "an even and equal disseminationof women's art throughout the art world, and not the continued tokenism andsegregation of a 'women's show.'" While opinions as to the viability of the early feminist exhibitionsmay vary, the simple reality is that feminist collaboration in mounting amajor art exhibition began to take hold as a direct consequence of thisearly show. Returning to the 1973 "Women Choose Women" exhibit, Lubell (p. 35-37. 192). Women's art was inextricably linked toprotesting the status quo, and was "inseparably fused with their identitiesas artists, critics, and historians" (Lopez and Roth, in Broude andGarrard, p. Equallysignificant is the fact that training in the arts was viewed historicallywith suspicion by many feminist advocates of rigorous education for women.This, says Curtis (p. 36), in speaking of the "Sexual Politics" exhibit, saidit was built on the notion expressed by Diana Fuss that "essentialism andconstructionism are not clearly separable viewpoints but are in factprofoundly entangled with one another." The essentialists - feministartists associated with the 197 s - were represented in the show by JudyChicago's "Dinner Party." The constructionists were also represented inthis exhibition by numerous artists among the 56 feminist visual artistsactive from the 196 s to the mid-199 s. "Exhibiting Gender." Art in America, January 1997, 85(1), pp. Lippard has said "it's not justnostalgia that keeps calling me back to the pioneering feminist art of the'7 s, but the ever-more obvious affinities with what's going on in the'9 s. 38).This exhibition also approached gender not as a timeless biological fact,but rather as a "social praxis which encompasses a vast range of economicand political struggles within the ostensibly private domain of sexuality"(Joselit, p. "The Power of Feminist Art." Art in America, January 1995, 83(1), pp. Said David (p. While thisstatement is undoubtedly true, it is also true that with the emergence ofradical feminist art and militant feminist artists in the 197 s, a newspirit of the avant-garde was born. Lubell (p. New York: Abrams, 1994.Altshuler, Bruce. Feminist Art and the Avant-Garde It has been noted that the artist-driven nature of radical artexhibitions that reigned by the late 196 s, when museum and gallerycurators were increasingly usurping the role of the impresario, museumsthemselves were replacing galleries as venues, and formerly subversiveartists were becoming "tamed" by a "society of mass consumption"(Altshuler, p. Another critical element of 197 s feminist art was its emphasis uponreclamation of the woman's right to own her own body and to use her art tosymbolically as well as representationally depict that body. Women artists with a radical feminist agendaare employing performance art much as Yoko Ono did some 35 or 4 years agoto publicize her own understanding of what it means to be a woman within amale-dominated social system and artistic milieu. 37). Though Davis (p. Art writerJoanna Frueh suggests that "seeing the body through women's eyes was acrucial aspect of women's self-determination and self-actualization" (inBroude and Garrard, p. 2. 38)states that as the title of the exhibition suggests, the effort refusedeven the destabilized category of femininity that "sexual politics"retained. 327- 34 .Broude, Norma and Garrard, Mary D. It seems politically and aesthetically crucial that the work donethen not be forgotten now, and that its connections to the succeedingdecades be clarified" (in Wei, p. Women in the 196 s began to develop feminist networks andorganizations to further the political cause of women's liberation in allof its many manifestations. 66) characterized this asnot a system through women's work can be identified, but a phenomena ofnote in a group as large and as diverse as that represented in theexhibition. Women like Faith Ringgold, Betye Saar, Nancy Spero, andMay Stevens were leaders in the use of art to criticize social realities.Further, feminist art whether visual or performance, came to embody a setof political ideas in which women began to reclaim their own "voices." Gloria Fenan Orenstein, a professor at the University of SouthernCalifornia, contends that one of the major themes running throughoutfeminist art of the 197 s was the reclamation of a matristic visual model(in Broude and Garrard, p. In this exhibition, a group of women artists dispensed with the maleand instantly transformed the female, allowing it to occupy a much broaderrange of positions, both assertive and submissive, than could otherwise bepossible (Joselit, p. 77) believes that this exhibit and other feministexhibitions in the 197 s were self-promotional and intended to strike atthe bias allegedly inherent in allowing males to choose art and artists.The WIA intended to prove that many superior women artists had beenneglected by a male-dominated art world and elite. In roughly the same period when the New York exhibit opened, theSuffolk Museum in Stony Brook, New York hosted an exhibition called"Unmanly Art." In January 1973, an exhibition and discussion center called"Woman Space," was opened by a group of artists, critics, and educators inLos Angeles. 141). Joselit (p. The feminist art movement occurred at what Linda Nochlin (in Broudeand Garrard, p. Lucy R. This analyst believes that Judy Chicago's "Dinner Party," was themost ambitious and widely known example of feminist collaborative work.Chicago's work was again at the center of a major exhibition mounted byAmelia Jones at the Armand Hammer Museum of Art at UCLA in 1997. 228)says that the early protest movement in women's art in the 197 s, led womento recognize the benefits of shared activity. In Chicago's own "Dinner Party," it is important torecognize that there is not one "essential" vaginal form on display, butrather 39 differentiated "portraits" that are rendered in an abstractedlanguage that is itself saturated with cultural references to each womanhonoree. A professional women's cooperative gallery called "AIR,"opened in New York City, while the Erotic Art Gallery in New York alsoorganized an exhibition devoted to "Erotic Art by Women." Davis, incommenting on each of these various promotional and advocacy activities,contends that their central problem was a lack of quality and that neitherof the two major shows (i.e., "Women Choose Women" and "Erotic Art byWomen") established the existence of "women's art" as a coherent reality. However, the models for making feministexhibitions since the 197 s have been less fully explored than the modelsfor carrying out feminist scholarship have been developed. 66.Wei, Lilly. A secondary point is to understandhow visual representations of women participate in both establishing andmaintaining gender roles. Works CitedAltshuler, Bruce. The story of the avant-garde hastypically been one of "mutual support among a community and reception ofart by a public, all participants enmeshed in systems of personal andeconomic relations (Altshuler, p. Thus, from the opening salvo of feminist art in "Women ChooseWomen," to "Gender, Fucked," what appears is a movement away from anynormatively biological feminist conceptualization of identity and towardsomething much more encompassing. 66) pointed out that at the time of thedemonstration, the 35 women members of the WIA presented a proposal toeach of the major museums in New York City demanding an "Amazon" show whichwould display the works of 5 women simultaneously. 66), "the occasion of WomenChoose Women (politically) represents the realization of the ability of(all) artists" to overcome hierarchical and bureaucratic aspects of themuseum system along with the potential of women artists for a moreindependent and egalitarian coexistence with such institutions. The exhibition included work exclusively by lesbian artists whohave been marginalized not only in mainstream visual arts organizations,but also by and among many heterosexual feminists, artists and otherwise. Globular forms are employed in varying roles, notably in: . Abrams, 1994.Curtis, Liane. Whereas women artists in the 197 s were often quite insistent onhaving female identity summarized by biological realities, the youngergeneration of feminist artists have found it necessary to expand theconceptual and institutional space for feminist art by moving away fromthis particular construction of female identity (Joselit, p. 36-4 .Lubell, Ellen. In commenting on women as artists,Liane Curtis (p. The Avant-Garde in Exhibition: New Art in the 2 th Century. Feminist artand scholarship have advanced significantly since that time. 37) claims that even the most biologically explicit artof 197 s feminism sought to link the body to cultural norms andconstructions. 35). "Women, Women, Women." Newsweek, January 29, 1973, 81(5), p. Alice Baber's "Green Light Crossing Lavender Ladder," which depicts sprays of ovals exploding/ imploding from/to a central point in the composition and also employs overlapping of the definitive, translucent colors to produce an effect of veils of chiffon. It is his contention thatsuch exhibits represent efforts to reclaim the largely overlooked artproduction of women throughout history. "Beyond the Canon: Feminists, Postmodernism, and the history of Art." The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Summer 1994, 52(3), pp. Ilise Greenstein's white and pastels in space in "Alpha" share the bulbous irregularities of Louise Kramer's inflated latex boulder- like forms ("Untitled)." (Lubell, p. The revolutionary nature of this exhibit is critical to anunderstanding of its meaning and value. This view paralleled that of political and socialactivists of the Progressive Era who saw activities in the art as trivialdistractions from more important issues." From the 193 s forward, women (both feminist and non-feminist intheir ideological orientation) have become much more assertive anddemanding in their claims to recognition as fullparticipants in all of the arts. The 115 women artists chosen for inclusion wereselected from 7 slides anonymously based on a number system. 8). The Power of Feminist Art: The American Movement of the 197 s, History and Impact. "Women Choose Women" was important not only because it wasa "first." It was important because it demonstrated that women artistswere no longer content to have males determine what works of theirs wouldbe exhibited and how these exhibitions would be interpreted. 176). "Women Choose Women New York Cultural Center." Arts Magazine, February 1973, 47(4), p. Such feminist art has a socialjustification as well as an artistic focus. It moves women's explorationfrom their own microcosmic biological world to the larger political arenain which both women and men must of necessity function. 36) considered this exhibition in the context of feministdebates and their impact on art and art history. 1." Art Journal, Winter 1997, 56(4), pp. . Only Mario Amaya, thenew director of the New York Cultural Center responded positively,enthusiastically endorsing the idea and sitting on the women's selectionpanel as a consultant with voting powers. 77)does not necessarily agree, he makes note of the fact that WIA activistsbelieved that they were engaged in an adventure that was politicallyconfrontational and capable of challenging male domination in the artworld. Joselit (p. Many women artists drew upon thearcheological and Jungian roots of the goddess, emphasizing the fertilitygoddess or source of all life and the goddess of regeneration, rebirth, andreturn.A strong ecological orientation was also present, but Orenstein states that"goddess art of the '7 s was primarily focused on the goddess as a symbolof women's lost herstory and as a path for women to recover their lostspiritual power" (in Broude and Garrard, p. 137) has characterized as the intersection of self andhistory. Joselit (p. 4 ). (Editors). 178). 1 -1 2.Barzman, Karen-Edis. DavidJoselit (p. Three of the seven jurists were members of theWIA, three others were coordinators or curators at the New York CulturalCenter, and the sole male on the panel, Mr. Amaya, participated on behalfof the Cultural Center. More recently, Judith E. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.