Women,
Gender, and the Arts in Western Culture
A look into the relationship
of women and Art throughout the ages, created by the students of Women
and Western Culture Fall 2001.
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"Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?"
Thirty years ago, Linda Nochlin, a professor of art history, posed the question, "Why Have
There Been No Great Women Artists?" Her article provides one answer to the question, which
has been taken up by many scholars since then. This web site will investigate this question,
reviewing contemporary scholarship on the question of women and the canon of "great art," and
will perhaps provide new answers and insights.
This web site will explore the challenges and accomplishments of women composers and
performers from the Middle Ages to the present.
Weaving, spinning, and sewing have traditionally been seen as feminine activities; the products
of these activities, however, have rarely been seen as high art. This web site explores the
significance of weaving in social constructs of gender; textiles as art; and textiles in art.
Women
in/and Sculpture and Pottery
This web sites analyzes
images of women in ancient sculpture; documents the work of early
twentieth-century African-American sculptors; explores the work of Native
American potters;
and investigates the concerns, techniques, and subject matter of contemporary
sculptors.
While there have been relatively few women choreographers and company directors,
women
were central to twentieth-century
rethinking of dance form and meaning, from Isadora Duncan,
to Maria Tallchief, to Martha Graham, and beyond.
Art is always potentially subversive and challenging to the status quo--witness
the recent
struggles over the National Endowment for the Arts. This web site investigates
some of the
more blunt challenges to cultural norms: lesbian art, tampon art, and performance
art, to name
only a few.
(this website is best viewed
in internet explorer)
Women
Behind the Camera
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A handful of women became famous in the twentieth century documenting historical events and critiquing cultural norms, including Margaret Bourke-White , Cindi Sherman, Annie Liebowitz, Pamela Shields. This web site provides an introduction to the work of women photographers.
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