Sentences: 

Nochlin: There have been no great women artists not because no great women artists exist but because the white Western male viewpoint does not privilege the artistic contributions of women.

Wark: The time period in which Wark writes about (the 1970s) signaled a time when women artists such as Martha Rosler, Adrian Piper, Eleanor Antin, and Martha Wilson became skeptical of  “Conceptual” art and how they did or did not fit into it’s discourse.

Taylor: Beginning in the 1970s  in the age of feminism many female artists started to question the male dominance of the art world and thus create art which reflected this crisis.

Response:

The discussion in feminist art in each of the materials viewed for today’s class in many ways encompasses the spirit of the feminist movement. I say this because, during this movement beginning in the 1970’s women of color and their experience are often overlooked. I would argue that perhaps in these articles they are as well. For example, in the Taylor chapter on feminist art, Faith Ringgold the prominent African American artist was briefly mentioned. There was no mention, however, of how Ringgold took what was considered a folk and thus women’s art (quilting) and turned it into a high art form. Wark is successful in describing the work of Adrian Piper in connection with the other women artist she was describing as being a deviation from social norms. These artists who consider themselves to be conceptual artists worked and work tirelessly in order to dismantle certain discourses and make silenced voices hear. Linda Nochlin further expands upon this point when she discusses the fact that there have been no great women artists. At first glance it appears that Nochlin’s title appears to be inherently sexist, however Nochlin suggests that there has been no opportunity or possibility for great women artists to exist in a patriarchal society. Though Nochlin’s article was written in the 1980’s, I think many women artists still face the same struggles as they did thirty and forty years ago. For example, see Ken Johnson’s article about the exhibition “The Female Gaze: Women Artists Making Their World” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/arts/nov-11-17.html?_r=0