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A constant struggle for women artists throughout history has been the
question of their sex: does a woman have the same capacity to create
art as men? Does subject matter differ between men and women? At what
point is a line drawn where gender is no longer a consideration in
the evaluation of an artwork and the full focus lies on the artwork
itself? During the Modern Era of Art, there were two groups with very
strong opinions: the Separatists, who held very
anti-patriarchy/pro-matriarchy views and expressed extreme favoritism
for female and feminine subject matter, and the Nonfeminists who
simply wanted to be accepted artists without the modifiers of “woman”
or “female” in relation to their capability or criticism.
Abstract Expressionist painter Lee Krasner belonged to the latter of
the two groups.
Lee
Krasner began her career as an artist studying at The Copper Union,
Art Students League, and the National Academy of Design. She began
working for the Public Works of Art Project in 1934, and met her
husband, famed painter Jackson Pollock, at an Artist's Union party in
1936. Her relationship with Pollock and her fascination with his art style
allowed her own art to lean more towards abstraction and away from
her prior rigid, Formalist approach. While not exactly a dependency,
Pollock's influence brought about some of her best work, a fact that
she was openly credential about. This alone constitutes a very
Nonfeminist ideology in Krasner and her work.
Krasner's
paintings have been praised as quintessential of the Abstract
Expressionist movement, and not just because of the physical style
she painted in. Her subject matter, described as “the struggle to
establish the self in the act of painting” holds very true to the
values of this movement. These same values place Krasner inside of the bubble of Nonfeminism;
she doesn't depict her horrid treatment by the patriarchal society or
a glorification of the female genitalia. Instead, she paints her
journey of personal reflection and searching for herself. Throughout
her career, Krasner's style changed, usually varying from one series
or project to another. Some of her most famous pieces are her Little Images, however great
consideration has also been paid to her Image Surfacing. This oil on linen
painting includes a sense of “heightened drama created by [her]
spontaneously applied brushstrokes.” Image Surfacing includes
a variety of soft pastels and fluid geometric shapes, the
brushstrokes clearly visible and serving as an aid or the viewer's
eyes to follow throughout the cycle of the piece. Image
Surfacing was created during her
period of “gray slabs,” most of which were relatively
unremarkable due to an overkill on layering image after image until
all that was left was a caked-on gray mess. However, Image
Surfacing retained not only
varying color, but a sense of form and movement, making it an early
example of Krasner's prominence in Abstract Expressionism.
Lee Krasner's recognition in the art world makes her a huge success,
especially in terms of women artists. She took a very Nonfeminist
approach to her craft, paying little to no special consideration of
her sex when it concerned her work, and taking heavy influence from
her husband, one of her own counterparts in the art world of her
time.
Bibliography
1Anonymous
2Gibson,
Ann. "Lee Krasner and Women's Innovations in American Abstract
Painting."Woman's
Art Journal 28,
no. 2
(Fall2007 2007): 11-II. Art
Source,
EBSCOhost(accessed
May 14, 2016).
3
Hobbs, Robert. "Lee Krasner's Skepticism and her
Emergent Postmodernism." Woman's
Art Journal 28,
no. 2 (Fall2007):
3-10,
Insi. Art
Source,
EBSCOhost(accessed
May 14, 2016).
4Robert
Hobbs, Lee Krasner (New York: Abbeville, 1993), 37
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