Yukta (1124132)
Writing (And Righting) Wrongs: Feminist Art Publications
Thesis Statement: Although through the twentieth century women artists had been part of vanguard movements, in the 1970s women artists were the vanguard of vanguard.
Paragraph 1:
Topic Sentence: Imagine, if you will, a far flung network of moles, each tirelessly burrowing underneath a cultural landscape that spans from Los Angeles County Museum of Art to the Whiteny Museum in New York.
Key Word: Massive Reconfiguration of American art.
Key Ideas: Imagine- network of moles- tirelessly burrowing- unaware- history of women's achievements-anticipation of art and intellectual inquiry- result: massive reconfiguration of American art.
Paragraph 2:
Topic Sentence: The moles, of course are the many feminist artists, historians, critics, chroniclers, and theorists who, during the 1970s, created a thriving cultural network that, despite the demise of many venues and outlets, continues to influence the discourse about – not to mention the practice of – art well into 1990s.
Key Word: Feminist Art Press
Key Ideas: Moles- feminist artists, historians, critics etc of 1970s- produced great works – influenced 1990s art also – feminist art press of 1970s: one of the best predictors of American Art during 1980s
Paragraph 3 - 4:
Topic Sentence: In newsletter and reviws as different in frequency and texture as the monthly Women Artists News, the quarterly Feminist Art Journal, those quasi-quarterlies Chrysalis and Heresies, and the semiannual Woman's Art Journal, interviwes, manifestos, and questions appeared, presaging the changes in American Art.
Key Word: Presaging the changes in American Art
Key Ideas: Women began to be highlighted – questions rose by 1978 asking, 'why art history has reverses and feminine, lyrical or luxurious styles are replaced by virile, heroic and austere ones.
Paragraph 5:
Topic Sentence: From the vantage of the mid – 1990s, just the right distance if you're farsighted, it appears during the 1970s and 1980s that yes, many feminine and expressive styles of art dramatically replace the virile and impersonal austerity of Minimalism.
Key Word: Feminie and expressive style of art dramatically replace the virile and impersonal austerity of Minimalism.
Key Ideas: Mid- 1990s: appears that from 1970s and 1980s feminie style of art began replacing virile ones – Feminie style first surfacing in theory, discussion etc – feminist periodicals of 1970s.
Paragraph 6:
Topic Sentence: The monochrome of Minimalism predominated, from the works on the walls and floors to the walls and floors themselves.
Key Word: Minimalism dominated architecture.
Key Ideas: Vanguard American gallaries or museums – frequented between 1968 and 1978 -
if not frequented: need some color to evoke the period.
Paragraph 7:
Topic Sentence: Minimalism was the final stage (or do you call it the last gap?) of modernism – the belief in the tenet that art had to divest itself of anything not intrinsic to the medium.
Key Word: Evolved
Key Ideas: Minimalism - final stage of modernism – vanguard art evolved – painting: merely pigment on unstretched canvas – further elimination leads to blanks.
Paragraph 8:
Topic Sentence: Minimalism, it must be stressed, was not a men's only club.
Key Word: Not a men's - only club
Key Ideas: Minimalism – not only for men – many women also numbered.
Paragraph 9:
Topic Sentence: The feminist art press that flourished during the 1970s and beyond was not conceived as an aestheic antidote to the prevailing theory and practice of minimalism.
Key Word: Aesthetic antidote
Key Ideas: Feminist art press- 1970s – not conceieved as an aesthetic antidote to prevailing theory and practice of Minimalism – monastic backdrop of Minimalism – antiwar art actions – give rise to feminism and other movements – played out- Flatness of modernist canvases and austerity of Minimalism – brought art world politics into the highest relief.
Paragraph 10:
Topic Sentence: In her critical history of the Feminist Art Journal, Christine C. Rom perceived that the "increasingly obvious gap between the reform rhetoric of the late 60s and the reality of the traditional view of the sexes spawned the feminist artists' movement much as it had the larger American women's movement."
Key Word: Feminist artists' movement
Key Ideas: Critical history of Feminist Art Journal - Cristine C. Rom - percieved gap between rhetoric form of the late 60s and reality- traditional view spawned feminist artists' movement.
Paragraph 11:
Topic Sentence: In New York in 1969, female members of the Art Workers Coalition, appalled to learn that AWC's protests against the art establishment were waged on behalf of minority men only, splintered off from the group to found Women Artists in Revolution (WAR).
Key Word: Female abolitionists
Key Ideas: History repeats itself - debate - female abolitionists: feminists should seek the vote for black men first v/s should seek vote for all women first.
Paragraph 12:
Topic Sentence: LACWA analyzed the museum's exhibition record, which revealed that the fifty-three one - artist shows hosted by the museum; only one was dedicated to a woman, photographer Dorothea Lange.
Key Word: LACWA emerged to protest
Key Ideas: West Coast counterpart to the WAR mobilization – early 1970s – LACWA (group of feminist artists) - emerged to protest – no women artists were invited to participate – only 1/53 shows hosted was dedicated to woman.
Paragraph 13 – 14:
Topic Sentence: Each month, the WEB newsletter originated from a different city, educating its subscribers about the latest happenings, conducting a census of women faculty at major institutions, maintaining a slide registry so that curators and critics would have a visual data bank of work by women.
Key Word: First newsletter
Key Ideas: Curatorial defense: women artists are not exhibited because there are no significant women artists – WEB was conceived, gestated and birthed – women's art movement needs delegates across the country – 1st newsletter typed – WEB bloomed – representatives in 12 states and 5 nations – each month newsletters originated from different cities – latest happenings published
Paragraph 15:
Topic Sentence: Largely as a result of these political actions and intelligence-sharing, the ususal 5% representation of women artists rises to 22% in the 1971 Whiteny Annual.
Key Word: 5% representations of women rises to 22%
Key Ideas: Political actions – intelligence sharing – 5% representations of women artists rise to 22% in 1971 - Linda Nochilin's essay "Why have there been no great women artists?", January (ARTnews).
Paragraph 16 - 17:
Topic Sentence: While there are no women equivalents for Michelangelo or Rembrandt, Delacroix or Cezanne, Picasso or Matisse, Nochilin argues, "In actuality, as we know, In the arts as in a 100other areas, things remain stultifying, oppressive and discouraging to all those – women included – who did not have a good fortune to be born white, preferably middle – class and above all, male.
Key Word: Fault lies in our institution and our education.
Key Ideas: Nochilin – white western male view points accepted as art historian – inadequate – no women equivalent to many great male artists – women : those who are not fortunate enough to be born as a male – fault: in our institution and education.
Paragraph 18:
Topic Sentence: Though many burrowed before her, Nochlin is the mother mole who displaced the most earth and who challenges other historians, artists, and critics to question their institutions of learning and their received wisdom.
Key Word: Institutionalization of inequality.
Key Ideas: Historically, women artists could not paint from the nude – institutionalization of inequality – Nochlin's essays – demand reviewing of whole of western art.
Paragraph 19:
Topic Sentence: The historical/institutional critique provided by Nochlin's essay swiftly achieved critical mass given the feminist art – world activism already sustaining the Ad Hoc Women Artists Groups, LACWA, WAR, and WEB.
Key Word: Conducted a chain reactions from coast to coast.
Key Ideas: Groups formed – groups came together – conducted chain reactions – many participants joined forces – formed Women's Caucus of the College Art Association – ideas exchanged – gave rise to publications of many provocative subjects.
Paragraph 20:
Topic Sentence: During all this intellectual and social ferment many general feminist periodicals were being founded, from the mainstream Ms. to the scholarly Signs.
Key Word: General Feminist periodicals were being founded.
Key Ideas: General feminist periodicals being founded – Journals responsive to literary and social concerns – none sensitive to the aesthetics – feminist art press broke new grounds.
Paragraph 21:
Topic Sentence: It's tempting to think of the Feminist Art movement in terms of a university and the six principal publications that surfaced as different features and courses offered there.
Key Word: Feminist Art Movement
Key Ideas: Feminist Art Movements – in terms of university – six principal publications – different features and courses offered – Feminist Art Journal – lively speaker's program spotlighting underknown women artists.
Paragraph 22 - 23:
Topic Sentence: Finally, there is the Woman's Art Journal, a postgraduate course reexamining art historical subjects from a scholar's perspective. This academy of art publications would define – not to mention alternately embrace and reject – many feminisms.
Key Word: Reexamining art historical subject.
Key Ideas: Chrysalis – interdisciplinary graduate program – exploring confluence of psychology, literature, and art – Heresies – independent study program – devoted to feminism, art and politics of single themes.
Paragraph 24 – 25:
Topic Sentence: "As in the case of many outgrowths of the women's movement, the Feminist Art Journal was a product of collective need and individual determination," wrote editor-in-chief Cindy Nemser in a 1974 edition of the Brooklyn, New York based quarterly that was published from 1972 to 1977.
Key Word: Established Feminist Art Journal
Key Ideas: 3 goals – to be voice of women artists in the world – to improve the status of all women artists – to expose sexist exploitations and discriminations.
Paragraph 26 – 27:
Topic Sentence: However well intentioned, the first two ideals would not be realized during FAJ's five years and the third would be only intermittently addressed.
Key Word: Recorded women's art movements.
Key Ideas: FAJ recorded women's art movements – necessary resource – aesthetically far flung – publication of unusually large range.
Paragraph 28 – 33:
Topic Sentence: FAJ introduced a consideration of Renaissance patroness Marie de' Medici as a tastemaker and history shaper.
Key Word: First woman commissioned by the US
Key Ideas: FAJ considered Renaissance patroness Marie de' Medici as a tastemaker and history shaper - First woman commissioned by the US – published on aesthetic and literature – emergence of women filmmakers – resurrected the careers of architects – celebrated women writers – yet trying to achieve staged goal – magazine seen as the house organ of the Nemser cult of personality
Paragraph 34 – 35:
Topic Sentence: Seigel noted that he (Rosenberg) was quick to deny that there existed art typical of women, because if it did exist it could be used both for and against women.
Key Word: Art typical of women.
Key Ideas: Seigel – 1975 lecture by art critic Harold Rosenberg – noted he'd deny there existed typical of women art – anti-semite views.
Paragraph 36 – 41:
Topic Sentence: While other feminist journals came and went, WAN proved remarkable durable and enduring.
Key Word: WAN paid attention to real politics, chronicling the women artists.
Key Ideas: WAN flourished – feminism – postmodern – History of Art – invited 3rd world women artists – stream-of-conscious meditation – battled sex discrimination – paid attention to real politics – other feminist journals died out – WAN : remarkably durable and enduring.
Paragraph 42 – 47:
Topic Sentence: Less than a decade after women artists' movement was officially born in 1969, womanart, an exemplary Brooklyn-based quarterly founded by Ellen Lubell in 1976, devoted much of a 1977 edition to the question, "What Ever Happened to the Women Artists' Movement?
Key Word: Womanart, the spiritual daughter of FAJ
Key Ideas: 1969 – womanart founded – spiritual daughter of FAJ – essay on "Making of Modern Art" – careful balance of historical and the current – Contemorary Reinvention of Portraiture and self – portrait – printed on slick paper – also published essays by male historians and critics
Paragraph 48 – 49:
Topic Sentence: The depolarization, anomie and alienation, so much a part of men's world, are balanced in women's by intimacy and connectedness.
Key Word: Published anything that would potentially device women's artists' movement.
Womanart polled feminist artists and historians – making innovations in resisting – published the artists' meditations on recurring themes in women's art.
yukta
