Three years ago, I wrote a proposal for the Delaware Art Museum, proposing an exhibition for the Philadelphia Women's Caucus for Art. It was an idea I'd had for a number of years, a participatory exhibition of women and men in which no names were displayed, and the public was asked to vote on whether or not they felt the works of art were created by men or by women.
And by a stroke of luck (of maybe it was just a good idea!) the proposal was accepted. So this past spring, the exhibition took place. I was fortunate enough to be back in Philly (more on that later) for the closing reception and big reveal.
As you can see below, only 42% of voters felt my work was made by a woman. Most of the artists participating wanted to make it a little difficult for the voting, case in point, several men who entered work featuring the color pink. Stereotypes clearly still exist, because the public decided that pink art had to be made by us ladies. Tech-based works and video were deemed male, and printmaking was pretty ambiguous....
And by a stroke of luck (of maybe it was just a good idea!) the proposal was accepted. So this past spring, the exhibition took place. I was fortunate enough to be back in Philly (more on that later) for the closing reception and big reveal.
As you can see below, only 42% of voters felt my work was made by a woman. Most of the artists participating wanted to make it a little difficult for the voting, case in point, several men who entered work featuring the color pink. Stereotypes clearly still exist, because the public decided that pink art had to be made by us ladies. Tech-based works and video were deemed male, and printmaking was pretty ambiguous....
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