London – When the Center Pompidou in Paris was putting together a special exhibition of women’s works in its permanent collection called ‘Elle’ in 2009, Camille Molineau, the contemporary collection curator who spearheaded the effort, said in a document: I noticed that there is a huge gap.
“There were so many. It’s hard to list them,” said Ms. Morineau. “For her 80% of the names, there were hardly any books about them. Only a few pages.” It’s not. Molineux added that some of the available documents are either partially or completely wrong. Female artists who attended prestigious schools were described as “self-taught” and lone operators, even though they were actually part of important contemporary avant-garde art movements. .
With so little information about female artists, Molineaux decided to quit her job at the museum and take action. In 2014, in Paris, she co-founded an association called AWARE (Archives of Women Artists, Research and Exhibitions), which focused on the lives and careers of women artists in the 19th century and her 20th century.
At this year’s Freeze Masters, Molineaux and AWARE are the focus of attention. They’re tasked with curating the spotlight section of the fair, which spotlights more noteworthy artists each year.
Twenty-six gallery stands dedicated to female artists born between 1900 and 1951 occupy the entire aisle the length of the fair. These artists, selected by Molineux and her AWARE colleagues, include surrealist pioneer Leonor her Fini, but also Orlan, Nike Davies-Okundaye, Sylvia Snowden, Wook-kyung Choi, Also includes Sonia Balassanian.
As part of the AWARE spotlight section, Pace Gallery will recreate Mary Kors’ “The Cold Room”, an immersive installation first conceived in 1968 and first realized in 2017. Subzero – May inspire visitors to think about the highly topical subject of temperature fluctuations and climate change.
AWARE’s participation in the Frieze Masters is part of a renewed effort by the world of art and museums to reverse the erasure of a generation of female artists whose careers and artistic contributions have largely disappeared from the canon of art history. department. For example, at this year’s Venice Biennale, artistic director Cecilia Alemani had a central exhibition made up of approximately 90% female artists. (In 1995, the equivalent Venice Biennale show was about 90% male.)
Frieze Masters Director Nathan Clements-Gillespie said, “There is a desire to grow and diversify the collection because it underrepresents women artists, diverse artists and artists of color. “The trade fair is a melting pot and a meeting place, so it is important to champion these themes. All the attention and press attention that surrounds the trade fair helps spread that message.” “
The dialogue between Frieze Masters and AWARE began two years ago, Clements-Gillespie said when the French association offered to provide information and materials on female artists exhibiting at the fair.
When it came time to start preparing for this year’s Frieze Masters, which marks the fair’s 10th anniversary, Clements-Gillespie reached out to AWARE. He visited the group’s Parisian headquarters at Villa Vasiliev, a former artist’s studio with an extensive library and archive in the Montparnasse district of the Left Bank.
Clements Gillespie said: He described the AWARE team as “very careful and articulate researchers who delve deeply into the practice and career of an artist”. He pointed out that they have collected a lot of information and made it available for free.
He said Molineaux and her fellow curators who worked on the Freeze Masters project waived their curatorial fees and asked instead to donate money to support AWARE’s ongoing research program.
In its eight years of existence, AWARE has compiled 940 biographies in French and English of female artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. These biographies are freely accessible through the organization’s website. There are also 170 public articles available for consultation on the site.
About 450 art historians contribute to the material featured on the AWARE website, which receives over 75,000 page views each month. Of these, 40% come from France and 30% from English-speaking countries such as the US, UK and Canada. .
It seems a little strange that so many women who were celebrated and recognized in their lives fade into oblivion after they pass away. The question is why?
“Who is writing history?” replied Mr. Molineaux. “Who runs the museum? Who shapes our worldview? Mostly men,” she said. “This goes for women in science and women in medicine, too.”
She draws parallels with Marie Curie, a “very astonishing scientist,” and it wasn’t until the 1980s that Madame Curie, whose husband Pierre’s contributions had been celebrated for decades, finally acknowledged her achievements. I remember being accepted.
“This is a long history of stories written by men about men,” she said. “Art history is no exception.” She said she expected culture and art to be “gender equal,” but people were often surprised when it wasn’t.
Molineux also noted that AWARE’s work suddenly gained media and public attention following the Harvey Weinstein revelations in 2017, bringing the #MeToo movement into the international public consciousness. .
#MeToo, she explained, is a collection of individual stories of women who have been silenced about their experiences of rape and harassment. Women artists were likewise silenced and made invisible with respect to their life stories and works. So, she explained, #MeToo allowed them to emerge from the shadows.
Molineaux was surprised to hear from multiple media outlets about AWARE. She recalled being busy working on her joint show about her home space, and she said, “Suddenly I was invited to a TV show. This has never happened before.” Things have “really changed,” she added. AWARE’s work was no longer a niche in art history, but a ‘sudden release’.
Catherine Grenier, deputy director of the Pompidou Center’s National Museum of Modern Art at the time of Molineau’s all-female Elle exhibition, was a #MeToo in the world of museums and museums. confirmed the importance of
“#MeToo has not only spotlighted the violence women experience, but it has also uncovered the mechanisms that lead to women’s marginalization,” she said. She raised awareness of artists who were “banished from the great stories of art history.”
More than that, she recognized AWARE itself as a major and enduring contributor to art history.
“AWARE has responded to the challenge inherent in its name. As an association, it has substantially emphasized the importance of rethinking the status of women artists in France,” said Grenier. “By providing a digital platform, AWARE has expanded its audience and put together a very rich set of content accessible to all.”