OCA – Photography 3 – Learning Log
Van Graan, M (2019) Representing and challenging inequality through the arts. At: https://en.unesco.org/inclusivepolicylab/analytics/representing-and-challenging-inequality-through-arts/ (Accessed on 4th of September 2019).
Mike Van Graan believes inequality is found in the production of art but also in the appreciation of it. He believes that art can challenge this inequality.
Van Graan, 2019; Stewart, G).
Vedantam, S (2018) Researchers explore ender disparities in the art world. At: https://www.npr.org/2018/09/18/649060336/researchers-explore-gender-disparities-in-art-world?=1568298097357 (Accessed on 3rd of September 2019).
This article looks at the reasons behind the gender inequality in the arts. Research has shown that art by women sells for far less than that by a man at auction (Vedantam, 2018). Steven Inskeep states that, “Women are paid less than men for the same work” (Inskeep, quoted in Vedantam, 2018). Vedantam debates whether there is an issue with the female artists or a bias with the buyers. There was an experiment involving computer generated art. As soon as an image was labelled with a female artists name, people valued it less than that of a mans. So going by this, it could be ingrained sexism coming to light.
(Vedantam, 2018; Stewart, G).
Millington, R. Tate Campaign #5 Women Artists to Challenge gender inequality in art. At: htps://ruthmillington.com/tate-5womenartists-gender-inequality-in-art/ (Accessed on 1st of September 2019).
Ruth Millington believes that women have traditionally been ignored when looking at the history of art. The Tate gallery are trying to combat this by holding five solo exhibitions featuring art by women this year (2020) and next (2021), this is being called the #5 women artists. Millington explores Linda Nochlin’s work briefly. Then she looks at what has changed from the Renaissance era to the 19th century. The ability to draw a nude figure was an essential skill, but for women it was seen as improper to be drawing this form. Over time this changed, but women were only allowed under supervision of a man. Art that has been associated with women, has systematically under appreciated.
(Millington; Stewart, G).
Greenberg, J (2018) The Female Lens. At: https://alreadymade.org/the-female-lens/ (Accessed on 1st of September 2019).
This articles by Jill Greenberg i quite useful for my work. She states that around 90% of images we see in the media are taken by a man, so effectively we are seeing the world through a male gaze. Greenberg talks about her own experiences in the field, like how she was getting turned down because she was a woman. She states there is a deep inequality in Hollywood too, where men would photograph women, and a male photographer was chosen by a committee of women. She states that Oprah, who encourages women, only used male photographers for her magazine between 2013 and 2017. Greenberg believes that these men, who are commissioned to create images, are able to shape our world, so in turn they have the power. She believes the solution is to have women photographing half of the images. Greenberg went further and created a company which lists only female photographers, called AlreadyMade.
(Greenberg, 2018; Stewart, G).
Galley, M (2018) Where are all the great women artists? At: https://artshaus.co.uk/inspirations/women-artists-gender-inequality-in-the-art-world (Accessed on 29th of August 2019).
This articles by Melissa Galley starts by stating that women have never reached equality with men in the arts. Galley backs her statement up with facts from the art world, for example between 2011 and 2016 on two women featured in the top 100 art by living artists. Galley states that the Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act of 1928 was the beginning for women gaining independence. But there is still and inequality in the arts. Galley believes rather than there being no good female artists, there are only overlooked ones instead (Galley, 2018).
(Galley, 2018; Stewart, G).
Kinea. Where are all women artists? An analysis of gender inequality in the realm of the arts. At: http://kinea.media/en/human-sciences/women-artists-men-inequalities (Accessed on 30th of August 2019).
This article on Kinea, is available online and looks at the lack of women in the arts. The author, whose name is unknown, talks about the presences of hegemony alongside other issues such as motherhood and marriage, these all can be potential problems for women in the arts. The author mentions that Ernst Gombrich’s The Story of Art does not feature any female artist, this shows historically that women were either excluded or did not receive the same recognition as their male counterparts. There have been several articles which try and discuss the inequality including those by Cowen and Nochlin. Though they do differ, they also raise similar points. There is a stereotyping in the arts. For men, it is a masculine pursuit, a job or a career. But for women it is seen as a hobby. In order to overcome this, the author claims that some female artists have taken on some masculinity to get their work seen.
The perceived role of women has had an impact on the arts. Women are expected to marry, be homemakers and raise children. This forces women to abandon their careers, as their work and societal pressure doesn’t always fit around their life. In the 20th century, women in general had their work brought to note by standing next to their husbands work.
The article ends with a quote, which is quite resonating, “The arts stay a hostile and unforgiving environment for female artists” (Kinea).
(Kinea; Stewart, G).
Diggit (2019) Why are female artists underrepresented? At: https://www.digitmagazine.com/articles/underrepresentation-female-artists (Accessed on 1st of September 2019).
I couldn’t find an author on this article but it is useful and provides some good base information. The article gives a brief history of women in art, starting with the guerrilla girls. They also discuss Kant who believed that “art is solely created to be ‘art’ and nothing more”. They believed that there are two reasons why women are underrepresented and these can be found in art history. The first being how art history was written and secondly how women were seen during these times. Men had freedom, they could create art and experiment, women, however, women were not allowed to. The articles claims that women were excluded form art history and this is why there is inequality today in the artworld. (In other words, uncompromising existing structures and traditional attitudes from the 18th, 19th century and 20th century regarding gender roles could explain the reason why women are still underrepresented in the world of art” (Diggit, 2019).
(Diggit, 2019; Stewart, G).
Brown, T. W (2019) Why is work by Female Artists still valued less than work by male artists? At: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-work-female-artists-valued-work-male-artists/ (Accessed on 27th of August 2019).
Brown states that art by women sells for less than a mans. Only two artworks by women have been in the top 100. Brown goes on to talk about the causes. From bias to caring responsibilities to representation.
Brown catogorieses two characteristics, supply side and demand side. Supply side means that women choose different things from men. On the demand side of things, is the insistence that women should be allowed to exhibit and viewed in the same light as work by the men.
(Brown, 2019; Stewart, G).
The Economist (2019) Why women’s art sells at a discount. At: https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2019/05/16/why-womens-art-swlls-at-a-discount/ (Accessed on 3rd of September 2019).
The economist wrote an article looking at the inequality in the sale prices of art amongst the genders. They found that womens art is cheaper than mens. Research found that men and women both have equal talents, so they came to the conclusion that womens art is cheaper due to the fact that is it done by a woman.
(The Economist, 2019; Stewart, G).
Sebag-Montefiore, C (2019) Women battling sexism in photography – a picture essay. At: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/mar/07/women-battling-sexism-in-photography-a-picutre-essay/ (Accessed on 28th of August 2019).
This web article details women’s own experiences in photography. One being told they need to be as strong as a man to another thinking she was an assistant.
The article talks about ‘Balance for Better’ which was created to highlight and collaborate art by women. There are 22 photographers which some raise the female gaze. Which is in contrast with the male gaze, to which Jill Greenberg states “nearly every image we are surrounded by has been filtered through a man’s eye” (Greenberg quoted in Sebag-Montefiore, 2019).
Sebag-Montefiore also talks about female artists experience around the world, where some where groped and other felt unsafe.
(Sebag-Montefiore, 2019; Stewart, G).
Georgina's Contextual Studies 