More than just pretty plates

Ms. Chicago’s “The Dinner Party” isn’t new, in fact its over 30 years old! I stumbled upon this article entitled “Ms. Chicago, Party of 39? Your Table’s Ready in Brooklyn” celebrating its permanent home in the Brooklyn Museum. The article can be found in the Feb. 1, 2007 edition of the New York Times by Robin Pogrebin. “The Dinner Party” is a triangular shaped table which has 39 dinner settings for prominent female figures throughout history. Each setting includes a goblet, eating utensils, a decorative table runner and an elaborate plate (again vulva inspired, or butterfly). Ms. Chicago did this as a way of reclaiming women’s history. Since this was such a large piece, it took a lot of help, and encompassed the work of many artists. What I love about this project was that it was inspired by painting china, and as Ms. Chicago states she wanted to “tell a woman's story through a woman's craft.” This is the idea of promoting "herstory" instead of "history," as "history" was documented by men who left out women's experiences and accomplishments.

I have enclosed some videos for you to look at. The first is from a clip from the documentary of the making of “The Dinner Party,” and the second is more recent which shows all of the place settings at the Brooklyn Museum.

So I found this article about 52 bronze vulvas...

With a title like “Tea, ladies? Oh, and by the way ...: an artist invited women for an unusual party: the result is a collection of 52 bronze vulvas” you just can’t help but be curious. The article by Julia McKinnell, published May 21, 2007 in the Canadian journal Maclean’s, discusses the creation of Toronto artist Deb Wiles’ idea for her bronze vulvas. The idea began as Wiles was sipping tea, after she had made an impression of her own. She enrolled in to art school at the age of 37, and begain inviting friends over for tea where she would ask if they would allow her to cast their vulvas. Of course participants would cast their own, and many eventually did. The reason the vulva casts are so interesting is because the vulva is a hidden part of women’s bodies, its something you don’t look at every morning. I mean, how many women have actually seen theirs? What participants took from this was a greater understanding of their bodies as well as the beauty of others. The bronze vulvas came in a range of sizes and shapes, and as a collection each was unique and beautiful in their own differences. I think it would be amazing to have mine cast and then display it in my home, or even use it as a paperweight.

Click here to check out Wiles’ website and the bronze vulvas.
The article can be found by searching at Academic OneFile or by checking out Deb Wile's website here.

Wearing fur and showing that feminists can be funny

One of the basic issues faced in the art world is the lack of women artists and artists of color in museums. One of my favorite places to get information on this issue is by checking out the Guerilla Girls website. The Guerilla Girls are a group of women artists who take on the names of departed women artists, like Frida Kahlo, as pseudonyms and wear gorilla masks at public appearances. They create humorous posters and books to help fight discrimination and call that changes be made to the system. Probably one of the most widely known of the posters is the one asking “Do women have to be naked to get into U.S. museums?” and then states that “Less than 3% of the artists in the Met. Museum are women, but 83% of the nudes are female.” Now doesn't that sound just a little bit unequal?

The Guerilla Girls website can be found here.
And you can check out that poster by clicking this.

A little bit about this blog

For Women's Studies 101 our class is using blogs to explore contemporary women's issues. I chose women and art. Art in all of its forms has always sparked my interest throughout my years. It has been said that artists can see our world more clearly and can sense things still to come. It is here where I hope to promote some discussion on women’s role in art and to also dive into issues women artists question with their work.