Feminist art is above all an activist art. It appeared in the United States in the early 1970s, fueled by the effervescence of May 68. The Vietnam War, the riots in universities, the civil rights movements of African Americans and, of course, the struggles of women for their emancipation, inspire and question the art world.
It is a real hold of power and emancipation of citizens that is taking place, both in global society and in the artistic sector. Figures of authority such as artistic institutions are challenged, descended from their pedestal.
While feminism wants to overturn the patriarchal vision of gender relations, contemporary art turns away from academic references to integrate new media (photography, cinema, performance) and make links with other disciplines (philosophy, sociology, etc. .).
Feminist art is also a fight for the visibility and recognition of women artists, and more broadly, artists belonging to minorities and discriminated against in the art world because of their skin color, social class, ”Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” asked art historian Linda Nochlin in one of her pioneering essays.
If it is so difficult to spontaneously cite great artists, it is not because they did not exist or that they never reached the same level of excellence as men! It is mainly the lack of recognition of these artists that gives the impression of their non-existence … and which makes it more difficult for subsequent generations to imagine that a woman could become a renowned artist.
Indeed, art magazines did not allocate more than 5% of their pages to visual artists, the main exhibition fairs had between 14 and 20% visual artists.
Valorization of femininity and dangers of essentialism!
In response to this exclusion from the traditional artistic sphere, feminist artists are beginning to use collective (non-mixed) exhibitions as tools for activism but also as means of dissemination.
By allowing them to free themselves from official institutions, these exhibitions, and feminist art in a global way, allow artists to re-use subjects and supports generally devalued and excluded from the artistic sphere. On the one hand, they begin to explore themes largely overlooked and associated with “the female experience”: menstruation, childbirth, rape…
They thus reclaim the image of their body and their sexuality, objectified by the gaze of men for centuries. Not hesitating to go into provocation, they move from the role of object to that of creator.
In addition, women artists are trying to move the boundaries of art by using techniques associated with crafts such as weaving, patchwork, embroidery, ceramics, etc. According to these feminists, the fact that these supports, mainly used by women, were never considered as art, constitutes another form of exclusion of the creators from the artistic sphere.
Reference: https://artsandculture.google.com/story/what-is-the-feminist-art-movement/owJCnOKeoTaiKw
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/f/feminist-art
Photo by Retha Ferguson from Pexels
