Can you name five female artists?
In director Pamela Tanner Boll's new film Who Does She Think She Is?, which opened in New York on October 17th, most people could not name more than a handful of female artists if any.
Why are 80% of art school students women, yet 80% of artists displayed in galleries and museums men?
Does motherhood affect how you create art? Does being a woman impact on how seriously you are taken in the art world?
Watch the trailer and listen to some thought provoking comments about how women as thought of as artists. How many of these comments can you identify with? I know I heard a number of them in my life and related to my work.
New York Times Review
You can visit the official site to order a DVD, find local screenings or host a home screening party. The latter sounds like a great idea for local art associations or clubs.
Visit the Theatrical Trailer on YouTube.
7 comments:
Yay - You hit on one of my hobby horses!
I want to try and do my own little bit to try and remedy this next year - I'm planning a project on women artists
Its definitely an issue and the more you investigate, the deeper you go. I'll be quite interested in reading more on your insights when you've completed it.
I can name dozens of female artists, some that are mothers and some that are younger than me without kids. Being a mother can effect your art, the way you create and even your exposure. It doesn't have to negatively effect you as an artist but people do think sometimes that a women can only be one thing. So if you have kids, thats your life. I think women can be both, but it can be harder to be an artist because of preconceived notions.
Of course if you are a women artist that is never having kids people either think you are selfish for not having them and devote your life to art, or think you are crazy. So its almost a lose lose situation. :/
Thanks for posting this. The trailer is really good. The movie is not in Dallas yet, but I am sure it will come to one of the theaters that specialize in independent movies. Five female artists? Frieda Kahlo, Georgia O'Keefe, Mary Cassatt, Berthe Morisot, Emily Carr. How is that? Morisot was a mother, but I do not think any of the others in my list had children.
Well, I'm going to be a bit naughty and throw this in there...(which in my case has nothing to do with being famous or in museums)...I have the freedom to pursue my art because I am one of those dreaded stay-at-home moms. I can give my children lots of attention (even homeschool 3 days a week), but I also have the freedom to build an art career. When I was a software engineer, I found it much more difficult to get to my art...I took a couple of evening classes and spent Saturday afternoons (this was pre-children) but otherwise I was too tired.
Being at home with my children gave me the freedom to realize that I needed a creative outlet and as I've developed my skills, I now have the freedom from having to pay bills to start turning professional with it.
It is a delicate balance, motherhood and art, but then almost anything in life is.
I'd also say with the advent of the internet, there is great opportunity for women like myself that never existed before. I can network, enter competitions, build relationships, market, improve skills, etc on my own schedule. If I only had meetings of the art guild in which to do these things, I'd be stuck.
Just this morning, while my boys are playing I've gotten a bunch of necessary art business things done, if I had an office job, that wouldn't have happened.
I'm not doubting what the trailer said at all, I'm just saying that for women now there are more opportunities than ever before.
You certainly got me thinking Jeanette
thank you for posting this. I can relate in so many ways. I am a dreaded stay-at-home mom. My two are both in high school, and are more dependent on my being home for them, I think than when they were younger. I battle guilt and quality time with my art. Honestly, I could only name Georgia O'Keefe and Mary Cassett. We need to do more to put ourselves out there as artists. I'm thinking our children would be proud.
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