EP4: Women Who Art Too Much

Today we talk about how women express and are expected to express themselves in art. Why topics of sexual abuse are taboo, and why painting pretty women is preferred.

TRIGGER WARNING!

This episode contains themes of sexual abuse, infertility, and miscarriage.

We hope this knowledge helps you make the best choice for you.

Artists mentioned:

Guerrilla Girls: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/guerrilla-girls-6858

Sherry McDonald: https://www.instagram.com/smickeydee/

Key Takeaways

1. As women we often get the implicit or explicit message that we are too much (like too loud, too fat, too angry, too hairy). Carrying this with us permeates what we do and how we perceive ourselves, including our art or our potential art. 

2.   Women often paint pretty subjects. Why is that? Is it a choice, or a feeling of obligation to fulfil a feminine beauty ideal? 

3. Paint what makes you happy, but also analyse why you’re doing it.

4. Making art (whether pretty, raw or anything else) is vulnerable, and it’s natural to worry about people’s response to it. 

5. The concept of badness often gets conflated with ugliness, which adds a further barrier to exploring ugly art or a sense of shame when our art

is accidentally ugly. 

6. How society views the value of our labour, and specifically focuses on unpaid domestic labour as the domain of women, can influence how seriously we take ourselves. Prioritise making art over loading the dishwasher!

7. We can explore the boundaries of femininity and question why certain expressions seem to be excluded from existing within femininity 

8. Feminine and masculine energies or approaches are not necessarily gender specific. 

9. Incorporating our lived experiences into our art is often political and therefore potentially polarising. Having that voice and using it is exciting but also scary. 

10.If you want to explore topics about womanhood and art, check out Guerrilla Girls, they are an anonymous group of feminist, female artists devoted to fighting sexism and racism within the art world

11. Seek out people who encourage you to make the art you want to make. Don’t seek out or listen to the naysayers

12. We need softness and cuteness, but we also need stupid and graphic and raw. And we need everyone to feel free to make the art they want.

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Email us: [email protected] (let us know what you enjoyed, your 'AHA' moments, or any questions you'd like us to answer)

Iris

Website: https://iris-impressions.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iris.impressions.art/

Tamara

Website: https://www.ruskea.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruskea_art/

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