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| Gallery Talk: Art + Feminism on March 3 |
Today, on International
Women’s Day, my friend Catherine cakes a canvas with wet colorful paint in the
semi-chaos of an art studio. Another peer, Mary, calculates neat equations in a
classroom on North Campus. And Isabelle conducts experiments in the austere
excitement of a science laboratory. For each of these women, these spaces and
activities are all relatively normal environments.
In the past, however, spaces
like studios, classrooms and laboratories were not always available to women. Contesting
intellectual and artistic real estate in galleries, museums and universities has
required commitment to craft and their works of art. In art and science,
entering new spaces redefines what it means to be a woman. During the month of
March, for National Women’s History Month, the Georgia Museum of Art is providing
a space for scholars, students and visitors to discuss gender and art.
The month started with
some intellectual discussion and online activism. Sarah Kate Gillespie, curator
of American art at the museum, and Nell Andrew, associate professor of art
history at UGA, led more than 40 attendees through the galleries on March 3.
Their talk focused on the intersection between modernity and feminism in art
history. Gillespie described how art historians “rediscovered” women artists in
the 1970s as demand for female-made works of art increased. This discovery
contrasted with the erroneous belief that no female masters existed because of a
lack of training and opportunity.
Andrew explained that
often women were given a “smaller range of vision” for what was considered
appropriate to paint. Scenes of the family, domesticity and portraiture were
popular among women artists. Additionally, works by men depicting women often
placed them in the background of a painting. Andrew discussed Griselda
Pollock’s argument in her essay “Modernity and the Spaces of Femininity,” which
highlights the limiting dimensions of space for women. In the 21st century,
these dimensions look different and continue to evolve.
After the gallery talk,
visitors headed to the Lamar Dodd Art Library for the “Art + Feminism Wikipedia
Edit-a-Thon.” Wikipedia, as a crowd-sourced pool of information, provides many
with a quick definition or explanation. Its entries and contributors remain largely
skewed male, meaning it does not adequately inform visitors of the historical
contributions of women. At the event, attendees received training on how to
edit Wikipedia articles and an extensive list of incomplete pages. While they
worked, qualified women in the room naturally discussed interview techniques,
networking and even salary negotiations. These conversations expand the range
of vision.
After the event on Saturday, I met yet another
woman redefining the female environment: Kaira Macentire, a doctoral student in
wildlife biology at the University of Georgia. She told me that she learned a
lot during the gallery talk and was motivated to take art history again. In
addition to her scientific interests, Kaira is an artist. She creates works of
pottery adorned by salamanders and frogs. She views her work as a source of
communication about the diversity of aquatic life. I am grateful to live in a
world increasingly defined by diverse female identities and spaces.
--
McKenzie Peterson
Intern, Department
of Communications
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