W6mar[Art Summer 1976
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Vol. 1 No. 1 w6mar[art Summer 1976 There are currently too few publications which provide literary discussion o f the work o f women artists. The public’s unawareness o f the scope and diversity of this half o f the art world has robbed it of the aesthetic contribution of women to our cultural heritage. X12: Feminist artists first show together Womanart Magazine is an effort directed at by Vemita Nemec page 4 correcting this situation, through reportage and analysis of the work of contemporary Where is Edmonia Lewis? Where is Henry O. Tanner? women artists and discussion o f women’s art Artists protest Whitney Bicentennial show in history. This will include feature articles and by May Stevens page 8 interviews, gallery reviews, and reports on events o f particular interest, such as lectures, The American Memorial Picture: A ‘Feminine’ Art panels, and special projects. by LaVerne M uto page 10 Womanart would like to aid the develop ment o f ideas regarding art by women, their Erasing Sexism from MOMA dissemination, and their exchange among by Joanne Stamerra page 12 women artists and between artists and critics. We welcome contributions and wish to Pat Adams: Microcosms for Contemplating the Universe encourage writing by women artists, in order by April K ingsley page 14 to obtain most directly their thoughts on current aesthetic questions, as imagery, SoHo 20 Women’s Cooperative Gallery symbolism, and media, as well as on current by Ellen Lubell page 16 problems, as feminism, discrimination, sepa Gertrude Stein and the Making of Modem Art ratism, and alternatives to the gallery system. by Corinne Robins page 20 This is our first issue. We ask fo r comments, criticism, suggestions—feedback, to help us Notes in the First Person determine our future, and for support to help by Lawrence Alloway page 22 us reach it. Gallery R eview s page 24 — The Editors R ep orts page 31 Cover photograph: Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, Mother and Child, 1935. Marble, 34” h. Courtesy The Whitney Museum o f American Art. One o f the works in the 200 Years o f American Sculpture Bicentennial exhibit at the museum. The announcement o f another Bicentennial show, scheduled fo r later this year, led to demonstrations by artists. See page 8. Editor: Ellen Lubell Associate Editor: Vemita Nemec Art Director: Gy orgy Beke Distribution: Cynthia Mailman Contributors: Lawrence Alloway, Barbara Cavaliere, Donna Lee Goldberg, April Kingsley, La Verne Muto, Gloria Feman Orenstein, Corinne Robins, Robert Sievert, Joanne Stamerra, May Stevens, Judith Tannenbaum, Sharon Wybrants. Womanart is published bimonthly, October, December, February, April, June by Womanart Enterprises, 161 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn, New York 11215. Editorial submissions and all inquiries should be sent to P.O. Box 3358, Grand Central Station, New York, N. Y. 10017. Subscription rate, seepage 13. A ll opinions expressed are those o f the authors, and do not necessarily reflect those o f the editors. Permission to reprint must be secured in writing from the publishers. Copyright © Womanart Enterprises, 1976. A ll rights reserved. 3 One of the first off-shoots of the contemporary women’s art movement was an exhibit by 12 women artists at Museum, A Project for Living Artists, | X in February, 1970: by Vertiita Nemec testing, and structuring their own alterna movement, I discover that in the U.S., the It’s so hard to remember that time, so tives to the existing museum/gallery last all women’s exhibition up to that time painful. Cindy Nemser called X n the structure. Protest groups such as Art was in 1965, entitled Women Artists of first openly feminist exhibition. Well, she Workers Coalition, Women Artists in America 1707-1964, at the Newark came to a few of the meetings to hear us Revolution, and the Ad Hoc Women’s Museum, and before that, in 1962, Mount rap, cry, confess, argue, share, bitch, Committee formed to take action against Holyoke Celebrating the Coming of Age question, so maybe from her point of political injustices in both the art world of Women as Creative Artists, and the view it’s true. When artist Carolyn and society at large. Alternative structures Women’s International. I wish I had seen Mazzello and I first conceived the idea for such as Museum, A Project for Living those shows, but I was in Ohio_ then, having an all women’s show, we were not Artists, were created to provide meeting trying to get my painting teacher to really consciously making a political, feminist and exhibition space, as well as to publish look into my work, not knowing how to gesture. We wanted to show our work, writings in periodicals like Magazine. defend myself when he accused me of. and the idea of having a show of only We used to go to AWC meetings and being too serious about my art. Little did women artists was to make the point that share our own frustrations and fears with I or my art history professors know that making art is not a sex-linked character other artists, until we came to the reali women had been having exhibitions istic, but a matter of individual ability. zation that it was doing us no good to excluding men since 1893: women’s only The climate of the late sixties was one commiserate with other womeh artists means of compensating for their exclu of much political fervor and protest. We about how we had been ignored, sions. Maybe if our art history (or history, were horrified at the atrocities of the Viet overlooked, put down, reassured and in general) had included more about Nam war. It was a time of consciousness patronized if we were not willing to take women artists, we would have been more raising, and the beginning of the feminist some action. Our decision to organize an conscious of our political and feminist movement. We were angry enough to all women’s group show, a phenomenon motivations, but that had not been part of speak up and to stand up against that we had not witnessed in our our education. No, Carolyn and I were authorities to whom we had previously professional art lives, came very much out really concerned at the time with showing acquiesed. Artists were meeting, pro- of the same spirit that created AWC, our work and thought that the idea of women banding together, rather than Vernita Nemec is a sculptor living and working WAR, Ad Hoc, and Museum. in New York City. She is currently writing the Today in researching information hiding behind an initial and trying to be fourth volume of her journal. about the history of the women’s art one of the boys, made a strong theme for 4 a group show. We wanted to tip the scales effective than well-made sophisticated in our favor and hence excluded men for We are on the threshold o f the art.” In the New York Post, Emily that reason. In fact, when we were unknown quantity in us, o f the Genauer asked, “ who’d criticize artists deciding how to select artists, we made sex equation yet to be discovered like for facing a hostile milieu together? Who the only criterion for inclusion. It seemed Einstein’s E = me2 that split the wouldn’t be pleased when an exhibition to us that those women artists who were atom and changed everything. presents, as in the present instance, some willing to take the chance of showing with We do not deny our true very promising talents?” other female artists, as well as letting the femininity whatever it may be. We We received a great deal of press and public know that they were women, were accept it, we will rejoice in it. We media coverage, and the press release (in very serious and determined, or just plain affirm all the vital values, Health, many ways more than the art) created a naive. Beauty, Creativity, Courage, great deal of controversy for its boldness The night that I announced the show Sensitivity, Strength, Feeling, En and assertiveness. Bob Levin in Changes and said that we would take the first 10 ergy. Between the fully liberated wrote, “The artists’ gender unannounced, women who committed themselves is man and woman there will be no audiences would have come anticipating a foggy in my memory. I didn’t expect such difference but biology. collection of work by men. The work... a strong response; we turned away those The old game is dead. We begin has few peculiarly ‘feminine’ characteris who hesitated, and the days following, again. tics and has, I think, considerable weight our phones buzzed with calls from more We are here. This is what we do. by any criteria...To discover after viewing women artists, such as Agnes Denes, who We paint. We sculpt. We present the show that it was authored by women had thought it over and wanted to risk a new form , an art event in mixed would, I thought, create the desired turn coming out with us. media: bodies, materials, time, of consciousness far more effectively.” The meetings were terrible and won space. We come together as artists He went on to say, with greater derful. They became consciousness rais to exhibit. We have paid our dues understanding than anyone who wrote ing sessions where we not only talked in today’s art world first as artists, about the show in terms of us as artists about our problems related to making and doubly as women. and in terms of our purpose, that “but if showing art, but our men problems, our X is the unknown quantity in an the style of the press release was children problems.