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.

Stop Animation: Netflix and Kill

Netflix and Kill

After weeks of creating, filming, and uploading the work that is affectionally titled, "Netflix and Kill," I feel proud of the work my group and I accomplished. When we began the process of Stop Animation, I was apprehensive that the project would take a lot of work for which I did not feel prepared. However, I found that I loved the creative process of developing and tweaking the plot sequence and making the transitions as clean as possible. The iPad app we used made filming easy to save and upload. Although we experienced some technical difficulties with the final cut, I am please to say the link above is exactly the way we wanted our short film to be. My last reflections are that I enjoyed working with a team that had a great sense of humor. Also, I am happy to learn about this film technique to use in future jobs and educational settings.

Photo Portfolio

Find my photography portfolio here!

"What is Art?" Chapter Reflection

When I began reading "Believing is Seeing," I felt dubious about the author's intent. I thought Mary Anne Staniszewski was taking a controversial stance only for the sake of grabbing attention about what A/art "is" and what A/art "is not." However, as Staniszewski moved from shock-value statements to cultural context, I began to change my mind about the text. The chapter "What is Art?" provided history and reason for why we consider certain images and objects "Art" and why we disregard other. I particularly enjoyed the rational that because pre-modern peoples did not possess the language or intent to create "Art," they could not have. I agree that in our image-reliant consumer culture we are quick to associate architectural, religious, and monumental entities with "Art." These items like Italian frescos, ancient pyramids, and the Venus of Willendorf, though perhaps artistic, are not Art in the way that modern paintings, photographs, and sculptures intend to be Art.

For my examples from the internet, I've chosen two images that I believe "are Art" and two images that I believe "are not Art."

"Art"

Kathrin Lewis - Oil on Canvas - "Swans in a Tornado" (title unknown)

Street (He)Art by Clet Abraham (title unknown)

"Not Art"

"The Death of the Buddha" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Medieval Armor at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

"Change" by Saiman Chow

"The happiest stop motion video ever!"

I like how this video uses colorful, every day objects and moves with the music.

Before and After

Plant Edits

 

Michael the Archangel Edits

 

"The Same Subject in Different Light"

How Did You Do?

I notice that much of the light I used is very soft and golden. My subject has fair skin tones and red-blonde hair, so the light was very complementary. When I took some pictures indoors, we were beneath the skylights of the Boston Public Library. The bright light fell a bit more harshly on my subject and compared to the sun outdoors, brought out different colors in her appearance. However, out of the sub, her facial expression seems more relaxed. Later, we took pictures on the Marlborough Street bridge. Half in shadow and against a backdrop of buildings, my subject looks less like the subject and more like a part of the photo. Because her face is half shaded and because I stood farther away to take the picture, she looks less detailed. I like how the light falls to the right of the photo and the upper left corner of the photo. My subject seems like the half-way point of the photo in terms of both light and structure. Later, I took pictures of my subject in the dark outside of a bar. Her dark lipstick matches the dim lighting and her hair blends into the dim shadows, which highlights her pale skin and light eyes. Inside the bar, the red lighting and red wallpaper change the tone of my subject completely. The last picture is for fun- the long shadows cast by the subjects mirror the up-stretched branches of the trees in the background and the setting sun dapples the ground and makes the shadows even longer.