The Aging of Women Artist

Louise Nevelson photo by Jack Mitchell and google image

The Aging of Women Artists became of interest to me when I brought home a film of Louise Nevelson(click) to review for a lesson I was preparing to teach.  My Mother watched it with me and was very moved by the film, as it showed an older Nevelson facing aging without fear.  Mom had been worry about her looks and wrinkles as she was approaching 80.  She declared to me, "Well, at least I can look interesting like her!"  The Arts are never easy for women.  They have to fight a male dominated art scene and fight with galleries and museums to show their work..that women's art is as inherently interesting as mens.  Like so many areas where there is gender bias, there are a lot of battles to be fought to make a difference and make things change. Georgia O'Keeffe, Lousie Nevelson, Louise Bourgoise, Lee Krasner,  Elizabeth Murray and Elizabeth Catlett are among the pioneers of strong women persevering in the art world.(click on each name for more information)

Georgia O'Keeffe    from google image

The American culture is so youth centered that we forget to treasure the beauty of aging.  I think each of these artists captured the onward march of aging with grace, dignity and courage, but they also did more they gathered in the process like art work in process and made it their own. These women were courageous from the beginning, but they lasted the race.  They did not listen to the naysayers and people who said it is a mans' world, they set their own pace and declared their own place.  I am not I saying they had no problems, ...they all struggled, they all had set backs, but the strength within and the belief in their own creative abilities gave them the fortitude to last out.  I think we owe them a tip of the hat and a look at their lives and art.  They were the Women Pioneers in Art and role models for women artists who came after them.  It is time in our culture to turn away from the worship of youth and beauty as the ultimate goals in life to honoring and treasuring what these women artist knew, surface beauty is not lasting and is superficial, but inner strength, fortitude, intelligence and skill is the stuff of life and courage.

So we honor you all for in your faces are the lines and wrinkles that make up a sculpture of character and accomplishment. 

 As in James Cameron's movie Avatar....WE SEE YOU!

Louise Bourgeoise from google image

Elizabeth Murray above and Elizabeth Catlett below 

google image

Lee Krazner  photo from google image

Lela Gordon, my Mother at 99
the woman who wanted to age well!

Eva Hesse/Pioneer in a Man's World

Eva Hesse has been one of the most interesting artist I have studied and her work early influenced my thinking about my art and the experimental nature of media.  Her story is one of tragedy, loss, and struggle.  She died at young age, yet made an indelible mark in the art world.

 For me Eva identified the scientific part of art that I love, the experimentation and discovery.  In her work I find the intellectualism that is missing in representational art.  In a world dominated by men in the art world she was a persistent force that refused not to be heard.  Her body of work now is looked on by other artists and critics as being a crucial step in minimalism by humanizing a normally cold structural movement.  If you are looking for beautiful representational art, you will not find it here.  What you will find is an artist involved in the discovery of new media, she is creating through experimentation with new materials.  

New York and the modern art scene has not always been friendly nor accepting of women, one could say there is a downright prejudice among museums and galleries to carry male artists work primarily.  That is why pioneers like Eva Hesse, Judy Chicago, Nancy Graves, Elizabeth Murray, Georgia O'Keefe, Louise Nevelson, Louise Bourgoise, Cindy Sherman , Niki de St. Phalle, Yayoi Kamasu, and others are so important.  They took on a male dominated art wold and persisted.  Women throughout history have played an important role in the art world, but in the past were not always recognized, many creating work that was credited to the men they studied with.  

I was fortunate to grow up with three strong women in my life: My Mother, my Aunt Josephine and my Grandmother.  Each were role models in their own right and gave me a gift of what it is to be a strong woman and define yourself in a male world.  They were accomplished women who persisted no matter the obstacle and succeeded.  I grew up with curious intellectual female role models, who taught me to think for myself and seek out the world on my own terms.  Strength of character was their mantra.  So it is in this vein I honor Eva Hesse and all the women artists who have made their mark in a male dominated art world and always persisted.