Happy Halloween, Charlotte art enthusiasts. Below you will find a few things of interest to us this week (in addition to the super creative costumes we hope to see around town tonight).
A little over a week ago, artnet posted part one of their new list: 100 Most Powerful Women in the Arts. Shortly after, they posted parts two and three. The lists are arranged alphabetically, rather than as a ranking. Marina Abramović starts off the list but she’s one of only 6 artists in the first group of 32 women. If our quick count is correct, only 11 more artists, including some of our faves such as Mickalene Thomas and Shirin Neshat, show up in part two and three. You got it: out of 100 names, there are only 17 visual artists listed. The list is predominantly full of curators, collectors, gallerists, and museum directors. Don’t get us wrong, we value the contributions being made by Thelma Golden, RoseLee Goldberg, Lisa Phillips, Olga Viso, et al.; they have paved the way for aspiring curators and art administrators just like us. But this list places far more importance on those who vet art through curating, selling, or purchasing, rather than those who create it. It does say “powerful” women in “the arts,” not “most talented artists” but we just can’t help wonder how the list would read if it was devoted to the 100 Most Powerful Men in the Arts. Sure, arts administration is a female-dominated field, but male artists (still) dominate the walls of galleries and museums. Thus, our guess is that there would be more than 17 male artists if such a list existed. Artnet’s 100 Most Powerful Women in the Arts leaves us asking the same question Linda Nochlin asked more than 25 years ago: “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” (or, more specifically, why aren’t there more than 17 powerful women artists today?). We always love some good dialogue, so that’s why this article made our Friday Faves for the week. What do you think about artnet’s approach?
While sales tax increases don’t typically make the cut for “faves,” we are definitely in favor of this proposed quarter-cent increase to support schools, libraries, and the arts in our county. So, educate yourself and…go ahead and vote FOR the referendum when you vote next week, k? Artists, teachers, arts organizations, and children will thank you for it.
On a somewhat related note, fundraising season is in full swing. Who are we kidding? It’s ALWAYS fundraising season for arts organizations. But Clayworks and the Light Factory both have auction/fundraisers coming up on November 15. Make your plans now and you might even be able to support both! An Evening of Earth & Fire will take place from 5 to 8 pm at Elder Gallery, 1520 South Tryon Street, and the 32nd Annual Light Factory Auction begins at 6:30 in the new Light Factory gallery at 1817 Central Avenue. We know we’re going to try to attend both…because we just might have to bid on this David Eichelberger piece.
