Medika Edwards
Race Gender and Modernism
This topic is a combination of all the "isms" and shed light on society use of parasitism to enhance political and social beliefs. The emergence of the 20th century makes no significant difference of the treatment of women in the art industry. If truth be told, women did not only get resistance from their male counterpart but also get huge resistance from women who called themselves feminist after world war 2. (Chadwick 318 - 319). One can see in these pages that the New Deal by President Roosevelt was somewhat thawed.This was a time to celebrate womanhood as the President saw that engaging women in the work process would help in the depression. Caroline Bird putting a timeline of the pushing for women to return to domestication even though there was a woman in the U.S. Cabinet as Secretary of Labor.
Although there were political backlash against working women artists such as Lee, Bloch and Krasner along with a number of others were highlighting the social realities of the depression. The film industry saw it fit to belittle the plight of women and imposed their patriotic and political position on them, referring to women as "weepies." (Chadwick 318) This move not only belittle women but give their naysayers grounds for their criticism.
With the achievement of artist such as Maria Montoya Martinez and Thelma Johnson Streat it is so predictable that these artist were not given the proper reorganization as artist in mainstream Europe and even in the United States at first. This lack of proper reorganization were not directed towards them as female but also as females of color. Racism, Politic and Patriotism were and still are entrenched in our society. This attitude towards true talents have blinded mainstream society not allowing them to see true talents for what they are worth.
Because of the political and gender climate of the 20th century modernism in art emerges, and women turn to still life and abstract painting. Women were encourage to separate themselves from their experiences and self-awareness in order to succeed in their professional lives. Artist Dorothy Dehner in some way give the critics of women a platform when she had to divorce herself from David Smith before she could make meaningful sculpture.(Chadwick 324). Lee Krasner also accepted the stereotype of society that women could not be great artist without men. She said the her husband studio was in the large barn while hers was in the a room, she further went on to say. " Of course I had to work harder to be taken seriously, but that's the way of the world; you can't change that." (Gurrilla Girls 84) This statement is defeating and when she further express that she took Hans Hofmann's comment that her painting was so good you wouldn't know it was done by a woman as a compliment it tells how downtrodden these female artist are. She succumb to Anne Wagner criticism of her as a female (Charwrick 320). Hofmann's statement should be used as a catalyst to forward and to empower other female artist.
What is encouraging though is that in every era and every artistic timeline there are a few artist who goes against societal grain to promote and established themselves as artist even under difficult circumstances. Artist such as Thelma Johnson Streat and Maria Montoya Martinez. Others became political activist such as Tina Modotti who find it more rewarding to fight for all marginalize people of Mexico sending a resounding message. Thelma dances to her arts and evoke life in them while Maria uses her arts to uplift not only herself but her people.( Guerrilla Girls 82-83) It is necessary to know that the cause of women artists are not lost by the marginalization of society but has gradually becoming an acceptable part of our culture.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=thelma+johnson+streat+arts&qpvt=thelma+johnson+streat+arts&qpvt=thelma+johnson+streat+arts&FORM=IGRE
Chadwick. Whitney, Women, Ar, And Society, Revised edition
The Guerrilla Girls, Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art
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