I am an artist
I draw, paint, sculpt and mold clay,
Why do you care if I am male, female, straight or gay
My palette is black, white, red, yellow, blue and green
Harmoniously blending as the colors play
You like my work
Something stirs inside of you
So why does it matter if I am male, female, straight or gay
React to my art, laugh, cry or sing
Feel the emotions the art may bring
Because it does not matter if I am male, female, straight or
gay
I am an artist!
I have attempted to write a poem to describe my reaction to the Guerrilla Girls Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. A quote from Georgia O'Keefe at the beginning of the book, "Why do we always have to be called women artists"? They don't call Rembrandt and Van Gogh "male artists." eloquently states my opinion regarding the utilization of the term women, lady, female, etc. to delineate the sex of the creator, participant, team, etc. My home town newspaper, fans and parents refer to the female sports teams as the "Lady Bears", but the male sports team is not referred to as the "Gentleman Bears." Subtle discrimination seems to permeate our society without much notice. Our language is a very strong indicator of the acceptance of using discriminatory adjectives, nouns and pronouns. One of my biggest offenses is referring to men or women as "you guys." Each and every one of us needs to cease the use of discriminatory terms in our everyday conversations. This may be a small step, but great steps can be made toward eliminating discrimination by not practicing discrimination because why does it matter if an artist, musician, historian, .... is male, female, straight or gay?
I like you creative piece, Sulin. I'll also throw your question back at you! - Why might it be important to label female artists as female artists? Does this make a statement, as well as perhaps being discriminatory?
ReplyDeleteSulin, you ask an excellent question. Isn't it simply enough to attach one's name to their artistic endeavor, rather than having someone underscore the fact it is a female artist/writer/musician?
ReplyDeleteAlthough, I wonder if women need to broadcast what they've created to raise awareness, especially since women have not been given much airtime over the centuries.
But to your point, wouldn't it be wonderful if we as a people could just enjoy art and music for what it has to offer, not because it has a female's name attached.
Kelly