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WorksheetsA critical review
Total questions: 6
Worksheet time: 6mins
The article "Why Have There Been No Great Female Artists?" was written by a famous American art historian named Linda Nochlin. Throughout my reading, it became clear that the topic under investigation is the history and theory of feminist art. The author begins with her declaration of taking a different feminist stance from the recent feminist activities. She drives most of her arguments by appealing to the emotions of the reader and providing historical investigations.
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In the article, Nochlin begins by pointing out several important issues that women face in modern society. Next, she states that we should avoid judging women, and instead look at the history of how female artists are perceived in the art industry (Nochlin, 1971). She then talks about the semi-religious commencements of artists up until the 19th Century. Lastly, she discusses the stereotypical role of women in society, especially in aristocratic circles. She states that the expectations of women do not leave them time to practice and develop as artists.
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Haynes, R., & Pedersen, C. (2016). Acting out: performing feminisms in the contemporary art museum. Journal of Australian Studies, 40(2), 203-214.
Nochlin, L. (1971). Why have there been no great women artists?. The feminism and visual culture reader, 229-233.
Parker, R. & Pollock, G. (2013). Old mistresses: Women, art, and ideology. Bloomsbury Publishing.
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Nochlin provides an excellent point when challenging the idea that female artists are different from male artists. Her argument adequately engages the critical issue of gender differences. In general I agree with the author that there are plenty of great women, artists, musicians, actors, etc. There are also historical women writers, like Sylvia Plath, whose writing ability can stand against most male writing of the era (Parker & Pollock, 2013).
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Overall this article is very informative and straightforward. Linda Nochlin highlights the lack of these training opportunities is the reason why great female artists do not exist. In short, to understand feminist art fully, one must understand the historical context that has been expressed concisely in this article.
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Nochlin also notes that the reason as to why there are no great women in art is due to the lack of opportunities for women in the art industry. However, it is incorrect to argue that art is any different from any other job which requires decent prospects and training (Haynes & Pedersen, 2016). In the past, only men in the family could learn art and that art school accepted only male students. Thus, we can infer that women who could learn art came from extremely wealthy families. These women could only study art as a hobby and not as a stable career.
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