Extra Credit Blog Post 4

Naming five women artists before was something as impossible as naming the capitals of countries you have never heard of. In fact, that is the truth. I have never even heard of primary women artists that were even more successful than men. This brings me to the point as to why we need a class called Art and Women. It is still here today to commemorate these inspiring women who have had to live under the harsh conditions of the the superiority of Patriarchy, or male dominance. To this day, there are still museums that hold only 3% of the artists to be women. Moreover, I, personally, am grateful to have such knowledge to be able to name five women artists today. 

1. Chitra Ganesh

Picture of Chitra Ganesh

Chitra Ganesh was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She is primarily known to have her drawings, installations, and artwork to represent "dead narratives" in history and literature. She basically likes to shed light on topics that are not recognized very well. One piece she is really well known for is Eyes of Time.

Chitra Ganesh Eyes of Time

Chitra Ganesh Eyes of Time

Within this magnificent piece, Chitra demonstrates Hindu and Buddhist traditional tales and ideals that used to be told. These figures represents divine feminine superiority, also known as Shakti. To the left is Kali. Kali is inspired by the Hindhu writings such Vedas. She represents a demon slaying goddess wearing the skirt of human arms. It is also two dimensional to accentuate the meaning of how femininity is portrayed both in ancient and contemporary times, hence the clock head and the dials that are shown within this drawing-based installation.

2. Judy Chicago

 Picture of Judy Chicago

Judy Chicago was a feminist, educator, and artist. She is very interesting considering the fact that her name was changed after her father and husband's death to remove the traditional customs of how a woman must rename after a man. She created the term "feminist art" in the 1970s herself and had founded the first feminist art program in the United States. She is most famous for her piece The Dinner Party featured in the Brooklyn Museum.

Judy Chicago, The Dinner Party, Permanent exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum 

The Dinner Party was created to teach the uneducated of amazing, historical, and mythical women that contributed to their society as well as their history. It consisted of 39 place settings and required the assistance of 400 people, primarily women. They aided in needlework, sculptures, and so on as volunteers.Each side of the triangle contained 13 women that represented a different era. They include their own place setting including a chalice, spoon, fork, and knife.Aside from that their names are beautifully sewn within the place setting. I think it is a beautiful piece of art that required much imagination to possess such a great idea to convey an amazing message.

3. Georgia O'Keeffe

Picture of Georgia O'Keeffe

Georgia O'Keeffe is a very well known woman artist today. She was born in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. She married Alfred Stieglitz, a photographer that made her first art show possible, in 1924. Once he passed away, she moved to New Mexico where she became astounded with the majestic scenery, which inspired many of her flower paintings. She then became very devoted to her nation and reflected her nationalism in her artwork.

Georgia O'Keeffe,  Jimson Weed, 1932

Georgia O'Keeffe, Rams Head with Hollyhock, 1935

Georgia O'Keeffe was considered so important that she even gained recognition in the Dinner Party shown below.

Georgia O'Keeffe's placement setting within the Dinner Party. 

Her placement setting also included her loved of scenery and flowers within her designed plate. 

4. Anna Van Schurman 

Anna Maria van Schurman by Jan Lievens 1649

Anna Schurman was luckily educated when she was younger at age eleven or so by her father. He decided to teach her with his sons, an unusual decision at the time. She became a woman of many talents such as painting, embroidery, multiple languages, and, of course, art. She attended a university sitting behind a curtained booth because she was not allowed to be seen by men. Moreover, her love of art continued to grow. She became one of the first painters to use pastels, let alone, one of the first women painters. For this, she was admitted to Saint Luke Guild of Painters in 1643, which allowed easier recognition especially considering the fact that she was a woman. 

Anna Schurman's place setting in Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party

She as well was also recognized by Judy Chicago's Dinner Party. Without Anna Schurman's contribution to society, women would have still been considered inferior to men or it may have slowed the process for women to raise their status within the 17th century. she exceeded her boundaries as a woman, which people at the time, thought was impossible, which shed light to the status of women on history.

5. Frida Kahlo

Picture of Frida Kahlo

I absolutely love Frida Kahlo. She was born in Coyocoan, Mexico City, Mexico. She became severely injured when she was his by a bus and a metal rod protruded from one side of her body and out the other side. This horrible ailment later served as an inspiration to most of her artwork in addition to her love for Diego Rivera. His unfaithfulness also became an inspiration for her artwork.

Frida Kahlo, The Broken Column, 1944

This iconic painting above was while she was bedridden for months after her injury. She lay there not knowing what to do and began painting. The broken column represents her spine which was fractured during her incident. The bandages around her body represent her ailment as well, and the background expresses how much she truly misses her home town and longs to go back. Finally, the nails surrounding her body represent all the pain she had went through in her life in addition to the accident. The biggest nail surrounding her heart represents Diego Rivera's unfaithfulness to her. Overall, she became a beacon of home for women. Through the all the hardships in her life, she learned to deal with them all even though it may not have been completely. Her strong nature and amazing talent allowed the society that women are not frail and they can still go about in their lives even though they faced terrible accidents.

Works Cited 

"About Anna Maria Van Schurman." Anna Maria Van Schurman. Web. 18 Apr. 2015.

"Chitra Ganesh Discusses Her Installation at the Brooklyn Museum." Artforum.com. Web. 18 Apr. 2015.

"Frida Kahlo." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 18 Apr. 2015.

"Georgia O'Keeffe." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 18 Apr. 2015.

"Judy Chicago." The Dinner Party Gallery » Gallery ». Web. 18 Apr. 2015.