How does feminist theory connect to the other postmodern theories discussed in Barrett's last chapter (i.e. postcolonialism, poststructuralism, etc.) ? Use Nochlin's piece as your source for feminist theory in your answer.
Due Monday, October 31st at 12 noon.
Due Monday, October 31st at 12 noon.
Like other postmodern theories, Feminist theory challenges the Modernist belief in universality. In her article, Nochline brought up the problem that early feminist faced when they tried to form a standard of “greatness” of “feminine” art. Early feminist believed that there is a different quality of greatness in artworks created by women that distinguished them from works created by men. They believed that there is more “gentleness” and “delicacy” in a work produced by female artist than there is in men’s. Nochline, however, argued that this is, in fact, a myth since the style of an artist is a reflection of the style of their time, and not their gender. For example, works in Rococo era contains many “feminine” qualities because that is the style that was popular at the time. If the notion that works by female artist is more “feminine” than their male counterpart is true, then we should see more female artist being celebrated in the Rococo era, which we know is not the case. Nochline reaffirmed her position that, “No subtle essence of femininity would seem to link the work of Artemesia Gentileschi, Mme. Vigee-Lebrun, Angelica Kauffmann,… than that of Sappho, Marie de France, Jane Austen… In every instance, women artists and writers would seem to be closer to other artists and writers of their own period and outlook than they are to each other.
ReplyDeleteLike Postcolonialism, Feminism asks questions about our society and the consequences of oppressors emphasizing superiority over the oppressed. For example, postcolonialism looks at the impact the colonizers have on the colonized. Even after the country becomes independent, there is still evidence of influence from their previous colonizers. In a similar manner, women have equal rights but feminists are asking how previous social expectations are still influential today. Both postcolonialism and feminism are questioning if the once oppressed are still oppressed. Furthermore, neither are labeling the oppressed as weak. For example, Nochlin is not trying to pretend that there have been great female artists. However, she looks to history and explores the barriers facing women to provide fact-based insight to break down the question being posed.
ReplyDeletePoststructuralism is similar to feminism because both take interest in asking questions with the understanding that there will be a singular answer. Nochlin asks multiple artists to respond to her article and while many agreed with her answers, many wanted to expand or emphasize different points. Another similarity between feminism and poststructuralism is the many disciplines that can be studied alongside the theories. While Nochlin focuses on art, she recognizes the question could be applied to a multitude of disciplines such as literature or science. As women were oppressed in so many ways for such a long time, there are multitudes of angles that scholars can explore.
Feminist theory connects to other postmodern theories because it questions the norms that had once been set by society (predominantly run by white males). As with Colonialism, where a dominate power controlled a less dominate population, women were often controlled and held back. An example of this can be found that dates back only about a hundred years back, when women were not aloud to paint nude models, male or female. Instead of models they were made to only paint cows or a still life. In the same way those under Colonial rule were often oppressed and categorized as negative stereotypes. Nochline tells us in her article that women were held back from greatness by not having the same advantages as men not only with the control over their subject matter, but also in their training. It would have been unheard of for a woman to apprentice, as the great male artist counterparts did. Postcolonialism, like feminism have brought attention to these matters and helped to take down the barriers that have been holding back the oppressed for so long.
ReplyDeletePoststructuralism and postcolonialism are both theories that are concerned with revealing alternative narratives to already existing and widely accepted narratives. Feminist theory is much the same. Postcolonialism focuses on the portion in our history where oppressors came in and took control over certain groups of people. In the past, women have also experienced the same sort of treatment. Postcolonialism attempts to bring to light such past wrongs and feminism also falls in a very similar place, in the hopes that awareness will stop such actions from happening again. Poststructuralism is the broader theory of looking at widely accepted norms and providing alternatives. Preconceived notions of "right" and "wrong" understanding of a subject are called into question and reflected upon from different perspectives and not just in the perspective that comes from the powers that be. Feminism, as presented by Nochlin, wants to inform everyone that in the past, females were not given the same opportunities as males were specifically concerning art training and as a result no great women artists emerged. In the present day, however, that should change.
ReplyDeleteNochelin's article reminded me of the discussion about Carrie Weems' work. Her work deals with postcolonialism and people being oppressed. A lot of her work deals with the oppression of African Americans in the United States. She talked about how a lot of African American's did not call the United States "our country" until the election of Barak Obama. The component of Nochlin's discussion of why there are not any great women artists that relates to Carrie's work and postcolonialism is the fact that for a long time women were oppressed in this nation just like African Americans. Women did not have the same access to education and were supposed to take care of the household. They were not supposed to stray from the societal view of what women should do. Creating art fell under the category of something that women were not supposed to do. That is one of the major reason's for the lack of great women artists. Carrie's work, postcolonialism, and Nochlin's discussion are all related and intertwined.
ReplyDeleteFeminist theory, like postcolonialism and poststructuralism, is critical of the assumptions society makes. With postcolonialism, artists show the conditions marginalized peoples face after the colonizing power has left their country. Poststructuralism is more generalized, and there artists question common held notions about language and thought. Feminist theory is the skepticism about how women are viewed. For years, art by women has been considered different, somehow more delicate or gentle. Nochlin disagrees with this entirely, and she points out that these artists have more in common with their contemporaries than one another. Nochlin also points out that there really hasn't been any great woman artist, because there have been no opportunites for there to be. Women were to create a household, they did not have the same access to education that men did. Therefore, feminist art needs to be about the uniqueness of being a woman. It is not about a generalized state for all woman, but a personalized theory. It is about acknowledging the truth about women in history and empowering women today.
ReplyDeleteFeminists theory can be compared and has common ground with both postcolonialism and poststructuralism. Nochlin talks about how women were held back by society and thus were not able and did not have the freedom in the arts t express them self as they would like to. Also, they lacked education and a sense of the world as they were being held back by the male society. This is why Nochlin concludes that there were not any great women artists as they did not have the freedom to become one, and she compares that to the fact that there are no great Alaskan tennis players, which makes absolute sense. Therefore, feminism is similar to postcolonialism as both are looking into influences that one society may have to another (colonizer vs colonized), and how this may still have effects even after the colonized are 'free'. Finally, feminism has common ground with post structuralism, as both are asking big questions and searching for global truths.
ReplyDeleteFeminist theory connects greatly to postcolonialism. What both theories do is take into question aspects of society. Feminist theory looks at how women art treated as subjects and how the perspective of females is considered less than that of the supreme white males. Postcolonialism examines how a culture of opression effects art. Women (though we are the majority) are considered a minority because of our place in society. You could describe Feminist theory as a focused category of Postcolonialism (though post colonialism tends to focus on the oppression of indingenous peoples). Though Nochlin argues that there is no such thing as a "feminine" style (which i agree with), I would like to assert that some work done by women is a response to how they are treated and oppressed (though there are plenty of female artist that this assertion does not apply to) which again relates back to postcolonialism which asserts that art is a response/resistence to acts of oppression.
ReplyDeleteFeminist theory relates to postcolonialism because of how women artists were treated during that era. Everything they did was scrutinized as being feminist even if it was not supposed to be. Because of how much they were opressed and how much the opression was discussed they had much to play off of. But women artists did not have to use feminist theory in their art to express feminism, as long as they were doing the art they wanted to do instead of trying to melt into what other artists were doing just so they could be less scrutinized, then they were being feminists. The more out there and recognizable the work was the better chance a woman artist could have at being noticed and being talked about in history books. And finally maybe there would be a "great woman artist" instead of a male dominated field.
ReplyDeleteBarret's theory of postcolonialism can be compared to Nochlin's feminist theory. Postcolonialism is the study of how the colonized are affected by those who intruded even many generations later. Nochlin believes that great art was not created by women up until recently because of societal expectations. The opinion at large opressed the artistic abilities of women; similarly, the white society in America, for example, dominated over African American's need for expression. The belief was that African American's should fill the rolls of laborers, farmers, things that did not require a high level of thought or skills. Women were expected to care for the home, be seen but not heard, have children, etc. Neither groups lacked ability to be able to create art; they lacked the opportunity by society.
ReplyDeleteBarrett quotes Philosopher Shusterman saying that postmodernism “insists that art and aesthetics are too powerful and pervasive in our social, ethical, and political world to be considered on their own part from their non-aesthetic influences;” Suggesting that postmodernism art is derived from the main issues of life. Like other postmodern theories, Feminist theory questions society and the consequences that were made by oppressors instituting superiority over the oppressed. Nochelin’s article reveals many problems that woman artists faced when they tried to form a set “standard of greatness” of feminine art. Her objective is to define why there hasn’t been any great women artists. Nochelin says how art by women has been considered different because of its more delicate and gentle style, she disagrees saying that a "feminine" style does not exist. The work made by women most definitely was inspired by being oppressed in their society. Women were expected to maintain a house hold and have children, were not educated and were certainly not encouraged to become artists. Comparing feminist theory to postcolonialism: both are influenced by the society and oppression in which they are surrounded with.
ReplyDeleteFeminism relates very clearly to postmodernism in the sense that it is a theory circled around a group of people marginalized in society. It contains an array of experimentation among its leading artists, seeks to evoke emotion, and conveys messages about violence, power struggle, loss, identity, and overcoming obstacles. Women artists were made into a minority out of the outlandish belief that a viewer could tell the difference between that which was created by a man and that which had been done by a woman. There was a proclaimed dainty quality expected to exist in images created by women, which simply is untrue. Nochlin writes about the absurdity of this notion, and points out many examples in which male-dominated art movements created dainty images.
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