In a landmark 1971 essay published by ARTnews, the art historian Linda Nochlin pointedly asked, “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” Her piece was “an encouragement, an announcement of an arrival, a gift to women artists of a shared but previously little-known past, and a declaration of a future,” wrote artist Mira Schor in a recent message to ARTnews. For this year’s Women’s History Month, ARTnews contacted Schor and eight other women artists who experienced the feminist movement of the 1960s and ’70s in the United States to discuss the role of feminism today. Their thoughts, which have been lightly edited and condensed, follow.
Most interviewees addressed concerns over the second Trump administration’s broad agenda, in particular that his anti-DEI policy could mean women, especially women of color, and their art will be progressively removed from view at national institutions after finally gaining recognition in the mainstream art world.
Dindga McCannon
We have come a long way since I outlived the very restrictive years of the ’50s through ’90s, but it seems we still have a long way to go. One of the few good things about the madness in the White House is that we will be forced to join together and act collectively to soften the effects of these insane actions and/or to fight the madness. As for being disheartened by what is currently going on—not in the least! Given my history as a Black woman and Black woman artist, there is so much to be disheartened about that I would never have become and remained an artist if I allowed myself to be affected by the politics of America.
In the last four years, I have seen the “art world” exhibit more women artists than I have ever seen. They finally are accepting so-called women’s work (textiles) as the art form it is. The “art world” is not the only game in town. There have always been other spaces where artists have been able to sell work. Thank God, because the “art world” doesn’t let everyone in. Where they could do better is finding and supporting older artists who have not been recognized for the amazing artists they are. Time is not on our side.
Showing in “Acts of Art in Greenwich Village,” at the Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Gallery, Hunter College, New York, through March 29.
