Women Artists ( a/k/a "Artists" )

A while back I read about an art museum tour guide who asked a group of visitors to name a female American artist other than Georgia O'Keeffe. After a pause, someone finally replied, "Frida Kahlo?"

ELIZABETH MURRAY

I found this shameful, but realized I couldn't do much better. Most anyone can rattle off the names of a few male artists like Norman Rockwell, Andrew Wyeth, or Andy Warhol without the benefit of an art history course. But female artists, well . . . why don't we know more about them? Is it only due to a lack of publicity? Or are we still such a male-centric society that successful women in the Arts continue to suffer the same biases that women in so many other fields have, arguably, overcome?

So since then I have memorized the names and familiarized myself with the works of 38 American painters, sculptors, and photographers who happen to be women. It was easy, starting with a couple of books of prints I happened to have at home and soon moving on to whatever was available at the library. Quite helpful, of course, was the Internet. Many female artists whose work has apparently never been collected in book form nevertheless have web pages, and magazine or journal reviews of exhibits and museum acquisitions were in abundance. Wikipedia helped cut down on the biographical reading time and even provided links to other female artists I'd never heard of. And of course Google can't be surpassed for viewing a wide array of images that might have been otherwise hard to locate. In general, though, these women artists weren't all that difficult to find.

LORNA SIMPSON

The list grew quickly at first, then slowed some after I'd covered the more well-known artists-- usually those who'd lived and worked many years ago-- and had then begun looking for more contemporary women, those still creating in their respective mediums. I'm sure it's not going to stop at 38, but here's the list so far. See if any of these names are familiar to you.

JULIE MEHRETU

Diane Arbus
Alice Aycock

Peggy Bacon

Jennifer Bartlett
Chakaia Booker

Margaret Bourke-White

Louise Bourgeois

Mary Cassatt

Elsie Driggs

Helen Frankenthaler

Nan Goldin

Nancy Graves

Grace Hartigan

Eva Hesse

Jenny Holzer

NAN GOLDIN

Lee Krasner

Barbara Kruger
Louise Lawler

Sherrie Levine

Helen Levitt

Agnes Martin

Julie Mehretu

Marilyn Minter

Joan Mitchell

Grandma Moses

Elizabeth Murray

JOAN MITCHELL

Alice Neel
Louise Nevelson

Susan Rothenberg

Alison Saar

Cindy Sherman

Laurie Simmons

Lorna Simpson

Sandy Skoglund

Kiki Smith

Joan Snyder

Pat Steir

Sarah Sze

When I told friends what I was doing, the big question posed to me was, rather predictably, "But what can you do with all that useless information?"

BARBARA KRUGER

I'd like to think I don't have to "do" anything with it. It's at the very least a good exercise for improving my memory; I write out the list a minimum of once a week, sometimes grouping the artists by medium or artistic movement, more often just by the order that their names pop into my head. (I once tried writing the list alphabetically from memory, but all that did was make me crave peanut M&M's.) And let's not forget that I came up in the era of Knowledge For the Sake of Knowledge (pre-Reagan Administration, in other words) and firmly believe that it's just fine to pursue a degree in Liberal Arts, even if you're doomed to spend a few post-graduation years in the Peace Corps.

HELEN LEVITT

Via Facebook, I turned the question around and asked others for suggestions on making my "useless information" useful. Rather more sarcastically than predictably this time, my friend Dane said, "You could use it to pick up women," inadvertently reinforcing the choice of the word useless. My friend Bobby thought I'd probably be able to impress Lesbians, but in my experience Lesbians aren't much impressed by anything less than the ability to pull a car engine. (Kidding!)

LOUISE NEVELSON

But, for the sake of argument, let's say Dane and Bobby are onto something, that utilitarianism is the goal and there will someday be a real-world opportunity to use what I've learned. I'd like to think the scenario would go something like this:

I'm at a party, or maybe having dinner with a group of friends in a restaurant. The conversation turns to Art. (Shut up. I have sophisticated friends. It could happen.) At one point, a strikingly handsome and well-built young man is overheard to say, "People just aren't at all familiar enough with the work of American women artists. I mean, how many female artists can any of you name?"

Heh heh heh.

Hoping not to sound arrogant (or overly prepared), I would first ask the young man if he was referring to women painters, or sculptors, or photographers. But no matter which category he specifies, by God, I'm ready for him.

PAT STEIR

Abstract Expressionists of the 40s and 50s? Sure . . . how about Grace Hartigan, Helen Frankenthaler, Joan Mitchell. Eighties-era photographic artists? I like Cindy Sherman, Nan Goldin, and Sandy Skoglund. A sculptor or two? I'd drop the names of Louise Bourgeois and Kiki Smith.

Just in case the young man should think I'm merely throwing out names by rote, I can bring up a few interesting facts about any of these women. What was the impact on Lee Krasner's career of being married to the most famous artist of the time? "Unfortunately, it was most fortunate to know Jackson Pollock," she stated. Or why did graffiti artists Kenny Scharf and Keith Haring get so much attention in the 1980s, I can ponder aloud, when Elizabeth Murray was turning out cartoon-based Neo-Expressionist work every bit as interesting and skillful? And if you think Walker Evans was good (I'd continue), take a look at the photography of Helen Levitt. No contest!

ALICE NEEL

A portraitist? Can't beat Alice Neel. A Minimalist? Agnes Martin's color-field canvases rule! How about a photographic artist who's female, still living, and black? Why, Lorna Simpson comes to mind.

EVA HESSE

In no time at all, the bemused look on the gorgeous and hunky young man's face turns to one of admiration, perhaps even awe. And before the evening is over, he approaches me-- shyly, charmingly-- and says, "I'd love to talk more about this. Can I come home with you?"

Useless, my ass.