The world's largest all-female artist exhibition

The world's largest all-female artists, the exhibition "They @ Pompidou" in Paris, the opening of the Pompidou Center, the exhibition may be startled by the rich, the Pompidou has assumed all of a sudden 500 female artists. However, does this mean that the art world finally serious about the work of female artists do?

1989 A large number of female artists in the streets of New York posters: "Women must be able to enter the Museum you naked?" These activists to "guerrilla girls" well-known name, the reason they were offended because they Metropolitan Museum of Art New York found that works nude naked women accounted for 85%, while at the same time, the museum of women artists to Tibet only 5% of all the works. Now, 20 years later, when these posters become the largest all-female artists in contemporary art exhibition as part of the art may finally be able to show, the arts world fall in the end what has been.

Pompidou: an unusual posture

This is the Pompidou Center in Paris the first comprehensive display of its permanent collection of the new female artists, including female artist, female photographers, women designers, women architects, female sculptor, female performing artists and the works of female film director . In a few decades to the work of female artists, after the exclusion of its main exhibition, the name "They @ Pompidou" (elles @ pompidou) is a grand exhibition of the directory-style display, which proved Peng Paper Mrs female artists will be present at the core of contemporary art.

Only 5 years ago, this exhibition can not be held Camille Morineau curator, said the reason is very simple, Pompidou did not have enough female artists. And partly because of lack of work before the former curator for the lack of interest in women artists, the Pompidou collection of 40% of the female artists are in the last 4 years to buy, and no other art has been a Hall had to borrow. "We are trying to buy more works of female artists." She said.

Just a few steps, another Paris landmark art Pompidou posture reminds us how unusual - the Louvre owns 35,000 works of art, but there is no one of which came from the hands of female artists . The British National Gallery to display works of 2300, only two female artists in the four works listed. In contrast, the Pompidou collection of female artists is a huge line-up - all of a sudden put on a 500 works. Morineau admit the introduction of an all-female artists show works of art is not easy, "Some people worry that we will be isolated as a group of women, and the
And I think we created a security. "Morineau that have played a role in the exhibition:" Prior to this, no one will think about why there is no woman in the Louvre works, but now, they began to discuss this topic. "

The seven topics covered with a two-storey exhibition hall space. In the "family and love" theme, there are Louise Bourgeois simple diary of paintings, she has the giant spider sculpture exhibition Global. Not far away from this is a known as "the kitchen syndrome study" of the video, the artist Martha Rosler at the camera standing in the kitchen and talk of their own. In another room, Diane Arbus and Lisette Model (Diane's teacher) in New York photographs placed side by side, the similarity between the two subjects did not derogate the original texture.

the "frame" is the star exhibits of the exhibition, one copy of this has been a large number of self-portraits of Frida, the original size is very small, being independent suspension in the separation wall on a red . More than the exhibition of these works are in the upper area, and on display at the entrance to the modern works of art for the division of fluorescent orange. This makes male artists such as Matisse, Picasso and Manley could be in the vicinity of the works on display at the same time. Valérie Belin - portrait of her paintings are abstract models of the exhibition - that "the true meaning of this exhibition lies in the gender gap will not be felt." However,
Another artist Annette Messager is concerned, took the opposite view: "I do not like the establishment of the so-called 'Jewish district'."

Simply do not exist the so-called women's art in the artists point of view is not without controversy. Female artist Sigalit Landau said: "The Feminine Art indeed exists, but I am not convinced that they are concentrated together on the show is a right thing to do. This slightly artificial, and perhaps even experience a kind of imbalance." However, Morineau has more explosive that it is essential to note: "We need a gesture of violence, resulting in a more dramatic effect."

This intransigent posture, seems to have had effect, Museum of Contemporary Art (Moma) is not good in the previous "They @ Pompidou", and now a new book will be published in "personal: Moma work of women artists."

2009-07-16