Thursday, December 08, 2005

the female artist in despair

My last poetry class today took a look at a few poems by men and women who were discussing the same topic, but the different ways in which the subject was talked about, and then which poem the "editors" of the text thought was of "more poetic merit". Most of the time, the man's poem was considered more meritorious. (I mean, the living white man's poetry is going to be closer than the woman's to the dead white man's model that is considered "great".) The only times when the woman's poem was considered more meritorious by the editors was a few instances when the poem spoke of such despair and genuine disaster, that the comparison couldn't even try to match it.

After class I was thinking about how there have been many many woman artists who "live in dispair", and perhaps this is what has allowed their voice to be heard and not written off. From Joni Mitchell, to Ani DiFranco, to Frida Kahlo, to both Emily Dickenson and Adrinne Riche... the essence of each of these women is very sorrowful, yet fulfilled in knowing that there may be no answers to their desperation. Their art is their freedom and redemption.

At her last exhibition in Mexico, Frida told reporters, "I am not sick. I am broken. But I am happy as long as I can paint". Also, "My painting carries with it the message of pain.....Painting completed my life.....I believe that work is the best thing."

What a perfect depiction of such a dismal yet contented femal artist.

There have been many male artists who fall under the same descriptions. However, they do not have to fall under this category to be recognized and regarded as "great". Perhaps it takes a woman to go through the deepest and darkest despirations in order to be respected or acknowledged in a man's literary or artistic world.

If a woman becomes recognized outside of this torn description, will there ultimately be some wide spread way in which she will still be degraded? (Too manly or not tough enough, too easy or too prude, too opinionated or too ambivilant, too self-fulfilling or too needy, too peppy or too angry.) I mean just look at all of the most famous women who produce some sort of "art" in this area, from Britany Spears (too easy), to Oprah Winfrey (too self-fulfilling), to Ellen Degeneres (too manly), to Katie Couric (too peppy), Alainis Morressette (too angry.). It seems that the woman who have eventually been respected, are the woman who were deeply torn, distraught, sad, and with art as their only escape. Through the toughest and most genuine dispair may a woman gain respect in the realm of what is considered "art", and perhaps this is, or has been the only way.

Or maybe the effort just isn't taken to criticize the "too forlorn". Perhaps every kind of art will in some way be criticized for no reason better than being misunderstood. Male of female. But I think that true, honest, and raw sadness are subjects that people are willing to sympathize with and even respect. The deepest longings cannot be written off, regardless of sex or race, because perhaps that sorrow is something residing and living within us all.



Rebuttal? Ideas? Opinions? Feel free. Share.

3 Comments:

At 1:16 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Maybe I'll have more on this later, but I doubt it. For now, I'll just say that you write too hesitantly. Using perhaps every other sentence gives your writing an air of ignorability.

 
At 1:45 PM, Blogger Rachael said...

haha.. that's so funny coming from a male. studies show that men tend to speak in absolutes, while women in suggestions.

this is why women are ignored, perhaps?

:)

 
At 11:58 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

That would at lesat explain why I find so many books written by women (color purple, poisonwood bible, etc) to be...not worth my time? Yeah.

 

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