Feminist art

The feminist art movement began in the 1970s, though it reflects the work of female artists throughout history. Women who are part of this movement believe that the historically male-centric art world has unfairly denied opportunities to female artists. They hope to rectify this exclusion for future generations.

Feminist art commonly sought to challenge societal expectations of women, including traditional gender roles, sexism, reproductive rights, and women’s roles in the media. Through this, feminist artists sought to use their work to help advance the cause of feminism. They hoped their work would cause viewers to critically examine their own beliefs, eventually finding the flaws within those beliefs and changing them.

Feminist art played an important role in the second wave of feminism, which expanded the fight for equality from the political realm to the entirety of society. Second wave feminists demanded social, political, economic, and reproductive equality to men.

Background

Feminism has had numerous meanings since the term was coined. Broadly, it refers to the acknowledgement of societal injustices against women. Though it originally was used as a descriptive term for femininity, by the end of the nineteenth century, feminism referred to a belief in the equality of men and women. At the time, women were beginning to openly organize for equal rights.

Several waves of feminism followed, which helped women attain equal rights in most aspects of the modern world. Before feminism, women were not allowed to vote in elections. They were also commonly confined to the home and restricted in most other areas of their lives. The suffrage movement, the longstanding protests that eventually secured women the right to vote, was a hallmark of the first wave of feminism. This wave lasted until World War I, when many American women shifted from campaigning for equal rights to supporting the war effort. During the war, women took on jobs in traditionally male industries. When the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in 1919, feminists secured women the right to vote in America.

The second wave of feminism occurred in the 1960s and 1970s. Whereas first-wave feminists were concerned with political equality, second-wave feminists fought for equality in all aspects of society. They sought to end discrimination in the workforce, attempting to secure women pay equal to that of their male counterparts and granting women jobs in industries that had been restricted to men. Women also sought equal roles in the household and equal reproductive rights.

The third wave of feminism, which began in the 1990s and the early 2000s, built on the work of its predecessors. It sought to advance women’s reproductive rights, continue the fight for equal pay, and push for widespread acceptance of feminism. It also worked to end violence against women and reform the systems responsible for handling such acts. Though feminists have made great progress since the first wave, many women still fight for widespread societal equality.

Overview

The feminist art movement began in the late 1960s. At the time, society in general was engaged in other protest movements. Anti-war movements were rapidly growing, and those involved in the civil rights movement were fighting for the rights of minorities. Early feminist artists argued that work by female artists received less critical attention than work by male artists. This made it harder for equally talented female artists to achieve recognition or fame.

Feminist art challenged the male-centric art history of the time. It argued that female artists had created skillful, powerful art throughout previous eras. However, because of their gender, they had largely been ignored by the art world. Women artists were promoted less heavily than their male counterparts, reviewed less often, and typically denied the gallery space necessary to exhibit their work. However, successful male artists of previous eras were often touted as celebrities.

The feminist art movement of the 1960s sought to address these historical wrongs. It attempted to raise women artists to the same level as male artists. It focused on creating art that would challenge the viewers and be from a female perspective. Feminist art was intended to cause viewers to question their social and political views. Many feminist artists believed that such questioning could lead people to change their views, bringing women closer to true equality.

Many feminist artists intentionally worked in non-traditional mediums. They believed that traditional artistic mediums, such as painting, sculpting, and drawing, were heavily tied to a male-dominated art world. Instead, they worked with items traditionally associated with women, such as textiles and food.

Several women were extremely influential to the feminist art movement. Judy Chicago and Mariam Schapiro created the famous artistic piece Womanhouse in 1972. Together alongside numerous female students, the artists renovated an entire house into a walk-through art exhibit. Many of the exhibits reflected the traditional role of women in the home and were designed to help viewers challenge that concept.

Artist Lynda Benglis used advertising as an art form. She created specialized ads for art shows, and then ran them in media outlets. These artistic pieces challenged the traditional representation of women in media, specifically women in advertisements.

Barbara Kruger is an American conceptual artist. She commonly utilizes black-and-white photographs overlaid with prominent graphics. Her art often directly addresses viewers and uses pronouns such as “you,” “we,” and “they.” It was often intentionally provocative and displayed on a large scale.

Frida Kahlo is commonly cited as a feminist artist, though she created her art before the term existed. She is best known for her personal self-portraits, most of which were created in a style reminiscent of folk art. She used her work to explore themes of gender roles in Mexican society.

Similar to Kahlo, Georgia O’Keeffe is often cited as a feminist artist, though she began her artistic career before the larger feminist art movement. O’Keeffe began her artistic career in the 1920s after quitting her teaching job and worked at capturing the New Mexico landscape with a modernist lens. Her work, especially her flower paintings, is often viewed as sexual in nature although O’Keeffe never spoke of it, allowing the work to speak for itself.

Bibliography

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Wong, Zara. “Why Georgia O’Keeffe Has Remained a Feminist Icon (And, That It Wasn’t Always About the Flowers). Vogue, 16 Nov. 2015, www.vogue.com.au/culture/features/why-georgia-okeeffe-has-remained-a-feminist-icon-and-that-it-wasnt-always-about-the-flowers/news-story/4acc0ff6ce48758902e91f0f7d8944e6. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.