October Entry 2 - Why have there been no great women artists?

 

Why have there been no great women artists?

There are many famous artists around the world. When you are asked to name a few artists, the many that come to mind are people like Leonardo Da Vinci, or Picasso. However have you ever paused to notice that we rarely know the names of female artists? Why are all the artists that we know about, male?

There are very many theories that our Historians have dug up as to why there are more male artists than females. During the past, females were not even allowed to draw or paint as a profession! They could not go to a college or school for arts. However that was broken when a brave woman got in to a school with her artwork under a hidden name.

So why still, do we see very minimal women artists? Generally in museums even though the many arts are done by males, there is more females’ part of the art. However that is not necessarily good. There was a big question staged by an art Historian; Linda Nochlin. “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” This even became a book! It was such a big topic at the time and still is now.

From this question raised an important point. Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum? The statistics showed that less than 4% of the artists are women but 76% of the nude arts are female! Is this how females can take part in art? Absolutely not. There are many talented women out there who have great works to present.

In the past, when women were finally allowed to do art, they were limited to only stitching and tapestries and no painting or drawing. This is very much an inequality in the society. The very few women artists that are now being drawn out in present day are very popular. Their paintings are selling at higher prices. This just shows inequality.

Now everyone thinks it’s time for a change! We should get rid of this bias towards men and start looking at things through a different perspective. We should learn to accommodate all forms of art from whoever it may be, male or female. Art is very subjective and has a wide scope. Anything can be viewed as art.