Reflection: "Why Have There Been No Great Artists?" by Linda Nochlin

At first, my experience reading Linda Nochlin's article was frustrating and tedious. Seemingly suspended between the second and third waves of feminism, Nochlin discusses the "de facto" inequalities of various social systems, specifically "Art," and although she makes reference to artists of color, her argument seems to revolve around sexist, racist, and ableist aggravations. I thought her article, though well-intended, merely brushed the surface of many complex issues. And perhaps in 1988, that was the extent of how her ideas could be expressed. Almost 30 years later, in 2016, I believe feminists have different and more complete answers to Nochlin's burning questions. As an intersectional feminist, I know exactly why there have been "no great" women artists. Women and other non-white, non-male artists have been oppressed and ignored for centuries, and not only in the arena of Art. Academia, politics, science, and religion have long been the territory of the demographic in power. Women and Others have always been excluded from basic rights, let alone the privileges of education, leadership, and influence, and the spaces in which they do excel are rarely acknowledged as equal. Nochlin's final paragraph reaches this conclusion eventually.

After reading Nochin's article, I felt happy to have learned her interpretation of art history in regards to gender, class, and racial break-down of "great" artists. Her article gives context for many of the questions that feminists still ask today.