The post about the Guerrilla Girls piqued my interest in the role that feminism has played in the arts. Here's another example of the group's work:
It is true that one of the many arenas of patriarchal society where women are oppressed is the arts. I personally think that women have a lot of potential to overcome oppression in this area. Like Audre Lorde wrote in her essay, "Poetry Is Not a Luxury," women need to be able to express themselves and, more importantly, have the ability to be heard. I did a little research on the Feminist Art Movement that started in the U.S. in the 1970s. It was mostly a reaction to the underrepresentation of women in the male-dominated Art Workers' Coalition (AWC). From this resistance, various protests and rallies emerged, as well as the first Feminist Art program at Cal State Fresno. Feminist Art questioned the universality of the male experience in art. There has been a lot of controversy over what exactly Feminist Art is and what it has done for feminism. Some female artists even rejected feminist readings of their art.
One of the main questions that has arisen from this movement is: Does Feminist Art criticism further marginalize women in the art world? I think this is an important question to address, especially in the context of this class that critiques poetry in light of feminist politics.
To read more about the Feminist Art Movement, click here.
Great post Natalie -good questions for us!
ReplyDeleteI think that's a really interesting question to ask, and it leads right into the question i've been asking myself throughout this class. Does this feminist art/poetry/writing, lets say in particular the guerilla girls, actually work towards creating a united front of women that can solve the oppression that faces women today? Friedan(chapter 12) made the comment that women may not achieve their equality for quite some time, because they have no commonality tying them all together. In order to fight the fight of feminine oppression, there must be some kind of banner head that women can unite beneath. The gorilla girls most certainly raise questions in our minds and create provocative thought, however they also create a bout of criticism, and they may not inspire anyone to take action in the world. Learning about all these theories has opened my mind to so many other ways to approach feminism, and I've found myself caught in a catch-22 many times wondering how these theorists think about certain aspects of their theories. However, i still wonder the driving force behind most of these pieces of poetry/art/writing. In terms of other civil rights movements in America, speakers have asked their audience for something more specific. They all are united and know specifically what they want. Feminism, however, is not that simple.
ReplyDeleteI have to jump back in here. I think the Guerilla Girls is a great example of effective feminist action. Their actions actually HAVE changed things - of course the battle is not won. But gallery owners and museum curators now know that someone is watching and counting, and this has had an effect. While it may be true that some feminist theory is hard to put into action, the GG's were all about ACTION not theory, their demands were entirely simple and direct, and in some cases were met. What do others have to say about this?
ReplyDeleteIn response, I wonder if action presupposed theory? The Guerilla Girls were all about action, there is no doubt about that, but there certainly was "theory" behind their actions--whether it was implied theory, or whether theory can be implied at all is up for debate.
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