Are women capable of creating art?

Electra_Cute · 2017-11-25T02:05:42+00:00

”There is no female Mozart because there is no female Jack the Ripper.”

-Camille Paglia

Of course females can paint, and do art, it is just that almost all of the great innovating artists have been male. There is not that many obsessive females who work 80 hours a week and are extremely driven.

Salty-Bastard · 2017-11-25T02:25:59+00:00

Artemisia Gentileschi, Mary Cassat, Berthe Morisot, Frida Kahlo, Georgia O'Keefe, Grandma Moses, Helen Frankenthaler, Yayoi Kusama, Joan Mitchell.

You can't convince me women don't make great art. Art for Arts sake, it doesn't matter if it's good or not, trust yourself and explore your personal Art journey no matter what medium you want to express it in. Try painting when you're depressed sometime and put your dark thoughts on the canvas with dark colors.

drok007 · 2017-11-25T02:07:53+00:00

Art is subjective, RP stemnerds don't even like art that much.

Atlas_B_Shruggin · 2017-11-25T02:04:57+00:00

It seems women suck at everything, and I can't find any evidence to the contrary.

women are adequate, capable and competent at almost anything, the league of Mastery almost always belongs to men. for example, in NASPA Scrabble the middle tier of excellent players is loaded with women, but the top 20 champions? all men (i think one woman has snuck in there at any given time)

the obsession and focus required for mastery seems to just be a male trait

goatismycopilot · 2017-11-25T02:22:50+00:00

I don't understand. If art is your passion doesn't that mean you are compelled to do it? Why would you give up on a passion? I know lots of people who continued to derive joy and fulfillment from from music or acting who do not necessarily make a living at it full time but still perform and get something out of it. Just because you might not necessarily get an exhibit at MoMa doesn't mean you should just abandon everything.

I have a friend who is a CNC operator by trade, she makes iron garden sculpture after getting into welding and she makes a bit of money and really enjoys doing it. She is also a decent photographer who has had some exhibits.

I also have a hard time connecting with your mind set to be honest. Worst case scenario you are a mediocre artist, so, do you enjoy the process, keep doing it.

the_calibre_cat · 2017-11-25T02:51:51+00:00

I'd actually argue women can create pretty great art. Don't be so down on yourself, it seems like you've got a good head on your shoulders. If you can see right through the turbo-gynocentric "GRRRL POWAH" narrative, then you're clearly able to be observant and skeptical.

Be that way with your art, be earnestly critiquing yourself and striving to improve, on those areas you critiqued. Maybe even write down your critiques, so you can tackle them one by one. I know some pretty damn talented female artists, and across the spectrum - photographers, drawers, painters, sculptors, and performers.

Most people won't be a Michelangelo. Doesn't stop them from trying and doing and creating something really special, that people connect with. Art is really nice because it's so cheap to get into, money-wise - it's just a hell of time sink to get good.

[deleted] · 2017-11-25T03:09:51+00:00

I think we need to reframe this conversation.

Many women who have achieved greatness did it in spite of the fact that they were shoved in a box. They had to either rebel against society's expectations of them (like Frida Kahlo) or they had to shrink their artistic drives into something that could fit around them (Jane Austen).

There's an essay by Virginia Woolfe, called "A Room Of One's Own," wherein she describes the requirements for creating art. They're very basic - "A woman must have money and a room of her own in order to [create art]" - but they were also overwhelmingly more likely to be unmet in historical times. I'd go so far as to say that before the advent of birth control, women were also often forced to sacrifice their time and artistic pursuits to raise their children, making it even harder for women to produce art.

Sure, there are some extraordinary exceptions. Frida Kahlo married a wealthy man and was rendered infertile in part by a bus accident that shoved a metal rod through her pelvis. Georgia O'Keefe was widely rumored to be a lesbian and also had no children. Virginia Woolf didn't have children either. Artemisia Gentileschi (a) isn't that well known because people of her time liked to attribute her work to that of her famous father, Orazio Gentileschi, (b) enjoyed the favor of numerous wealthy patrons throughout her career, (c) married a supportive, liberal-for-his-time man, and (d) only had one child, who also became a painter. Jane Austen never married. Neither did Emily Dickinson, who was agoraphobic. Neither did the Bronte sisters, who all died young.

Mary Shelley didn't have kids. Joan Mitchell didn't have kids. Helen Frankenthaler was encouraged to pursue her artistic talents by her family, didn't have kids, and had the freedom to divorce her spouses.

Plenty of women got married, had kids, and produced art; it's just, they had a lot of other stuff to juggle around and understandably didn't have the time to put brush to canvas, if you know what I mean. Most women who became influential artists had to gain societal and financial freedom in ways that would have seemed scandalous at the time.

Times have changed. Women are expected to work, go to school, get an education, and become productive members of society. They're encouraged to pursue their passions in ways that would have been unheard-of 40 years ago. So, who are you harming by pursuing your dreams? Is it truly arrogant to believe you have something to offer?

Also, therapy would probably be helpful.

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[deleted] · 2017-11-25T02:29:41+00:00

This thread topic is really fucking stupid.

Title	Are women capable of creating art?
Author	[deleted]
Upvotes	0
Comments	29
Date	November 25, 2017 2:02 AM UTC (8 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/PurplePillDebate
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/PurplePillDebate/comments/7fc5l1/are_women_capable_of_creating_art/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/PurplePillDebate/are-women-capable-of-creating-art.264739 https://theredarchive.com/post/264739

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