Women Artists under Patriarchy: Less Press, More Censorship, Less Space, Less Value, #MeToo
Affiliated Society or Committee Name: Coalition of Women in the Arts Organization (CWAO)This session, Women Artists under Patriarchy: Less Press, More Censorship, Less Space, Less Value, #Me Too will examine the experiences of female artists working under the rules of a patriarchal society. Because of their gender, women artists operate within a culture that exerts pressure and control over them to function and remain throughout their careers as second class individuals and this fact often affects and restricts their artistic practices. This includes but is not limited to the scale of the artworks created, the actual space allocated to the artist, and the amount of public exposure received from the media. Women also face limitations due to the lack of funding obtained through grants and awards. Perhaps the most limiting factor is that restrictions are placed on the subject matter that women can use and the resulting censorship of their artworks. The general public does not see the actual scope of the subjects that women embrace as opposed to the subjects they are allowed by the patriarchy to exhibit. The art establishment values art created by women much less than the art created by males, and this custom is reinforced by the general public’s lack of interest to collect women’s art. This issue is acerbated by the disproportionately small amount of works by women in the world’s museum collections. Due to the time limitations this session will touch upon some of these issues, allowing a glimpse into the current status of women in contemporary culture.
Field of Study:
United States of America
Western and Central Europe
Digital Media (history and studio)
Works on Paper
Time-Based Media
