From the feminist movements of the Seventies to the continuing forms of discrimination: an exploration of women conditions through an exhibition at Rencontres d’ Arles
A Feminist Avant-Garde, the significance
The idea for the exhibition and in particular its title stems from the curator’s desire to bring the terms feminism and avant-garde together. The connection between the two, Gabriele Schor in fact explains, is not at once recognized by the artists but indeed she defines them as strongly connected.
For this reason, in the conception of the photographic and performances exhibition, the periods analyzed refer in a peculiar way to certain works that were innovative for those years. Creating the image of a woman for the first time in artistry and from the perspective of a woman, nothing is more avant-garde than such according to Schor.
Before in fact, the curator continues, it was the man who depicted and painted the female figure. «So many artists in the Seventies are defined as feminist because they made a new image of woman and of what it meant to be a woman in society, of course in those years», says the curator.
That is why this sense of innovation associated with feminist movements is captured in the title, moving away from the more traditional definitions of revolution or radicalization. The French term avant-garde, which comes from the military, does not have a traditional feminine form, Schor explains, but represents what she refers to as a canon of artistry.
Photography for women in the 1970s
The exhibition from June four to September twenty-five will be featured at Rencontres d’Arles. In addition to being grateful to be able to participate as curator, Schor points out how capable this institution is of demonstrating the relevance of photography.
During the 1970s in particular, she explains, it was a medium much used by women because it freed them from the limitation of the male-dominated painting. Also given the innovation and the possibilities of experimentation through this medium, it was not necessary to own a studio.
The opportunity to practice was thus within the reach of many women who transformed their homes often into improvised studios. Few images and details characterize the shots of the time, elements necessary to tell a story according to Schor.
The selection of the pieces and women artists
The selection of works was made from the Verbund Collection in Vienna. Since 2004, Gabriele Schor has been convened by the CEO to analyze and select relevant pieces and artists. Beginning with this collection, others were also examined, along with a backward study of the period analyzed.
The goal was to find something that could be defined as a unique selling point, the curator explains. Indeed, there seemed to be a gap in exhibitions that recovered women’s work. For this reason over time different works and artists were piled up that related to the concept A Feminist Avant-Garde.
«For example, in Rome in 2010 we did a show with seventeen artists and now we have 600 works by eighty-two artists. So it is always growing and it is interesting to see you can find artists with similar aesthetics but they didn’t know each other», says the curator. This means, according to Schor, that women did not feel accepted as artists, and that this was the common way of feeling and experimenting.
The Verbund Collection in Vienna
It was crucial to source from the Verbund Collection in Vienna to discover the amount of women artists, above all Austrian, who were working in the 1970s in this area.
Moreover, thanks to this collection, it was possible to learn about works that had no resonance at the time, because magazines or exhibitions were reserved to men.
Starting from the mid-1980s, the curator explains, feminism in art was neglected. Now thanks to this exhibition, women artists are being brought together and their pieces valued, Schor concludes.
Feminist movements of the Seventies
The exhibition focuses on the feminist movements of the 1970s, diverse in age, nationality and culture. Schor on the relevance of these expresses herself as follows: «It was a movement in the United States, it was a movement in Europe and also there were some artists from Asia. It felt crucial to provide this different and diverse spectrum».
But one has to be careful when it comes instead to African American women artists for example, who did not experience the same socio-cultural situation. Despite the fact that the movement had heterogeneous representation from different areas of the planet, one of the central cores of the protests was against the status of women being forced to stay at home, being housewives, and not working.
Within realities such as the African American context, however, the disadvantageous condition on the contrary placed the obligation to work on women as well. While in other frameworks such as Eastern Europe, the curator points out, feminism was not as developed as in the West.
The intersectional analysis and reflection on feminisms
It is not possible to approach a study of feminisms and devise an exhibition of them without dealing with the different topics involved. Therefore, A Feminist Avant-Garde reflects in an intersectional way on these movements while also referring to issues such as racism, classism, and gender discrimination.
The exhibition actualizes these themes, and the curator explains how crucial this aspect was for her although it could draw criticism from visitors as well.
One of the works cited by Schor as an example is that of Victoria Santa Cruz, an Afro-Peruvian artist and choreographer who, through her dancing performance, chronicled the discrimination she experienced because of her ethnicity.
By including these pieces, it is possible to provide different ideas of female identity and how these are being framed in different ways within society, which is one of the goals of this exhibition.
The five themes of the exhibition
In the description of the exhibition can be read about the division into five macro-themes: the reduction of women to ‘wife, mother, and housewife’; the consequent feeling of ‘being enclosed’; the questioning of ‘dictates of beauty and representations of female bodies’; explorations of ‘female sexuality’; and debates about ‘women’s roles and identities.’
The curator explains how the exhibition shifts from a rebellion against the only possible and obligatory condition of marriage to the exploration of an intimate sense of limitation. From feeling locked up it moves to sexuality with a focus on violence against women but also a celebration of the joy of female sexuality.
The fourth section, drawing on the birth of magazines of that period and art, explores the sense of beauty and the obligation of women to follow these models, so some works focus on the deformation of facial traits for example.
The idea of the female body, on the other hand, is present throughout the exhibition, Schor continues, referring not to mere physicality but telling a story. The fifth and final section deals with identity, finding a role within society, and the representation of women.
The feminist revolution today
The underlying flaw that the exhibition also highlights is that common feeling of women not being accepted in the figure of the artist. In the past, Schor explains, it was common for professors within educational institutions to inculcate the idea that only men could engage in art.
In fact, the female figure was often relegated to posing and being depicted. The issue back in the days was even more pronounced, and the curator recounts how some female artists were rejected by gallery owners. Thoughts about women’s duties were attached to their role as wives and mothers, and female artists’ attempts to emerge found difficulties.
«Of course it is still relevant to talk about feminism and today the younger artists are reffered to as eco-feminist, so they have to take care about gender and global issues», declares Schor. Although in different and evolving forms, feminist movements continue to chart a divisive reality in today’s landscape.
Gabriele Schor
Art curator based in Vienna, Austria, where she is also the founding director of the Verbund Collection. Her work focuses on the discovery of pioneering women artists in the various fields she analyzes, and has done several publications on the subject.
