Feminist Art History

I found The Politics of Feminist Art History to be a brief yet valuable look at the practice of Feminist Art History. Patricia Mathews first breaks down three different spheres of practice for Feminist Art History, which helps us to understand its origin and to get an idea of the changes in the discourse since the 1970s.
The first sphere involves the politics of the original focus of recovering the experiences of women and women artists. This sphere originated in the 1970s and is a continuation of this early form of Feminist Art History. It primarily makes use of normative models of Art History in order to reposition women artists. This group tends to see postmodern theories such as post-structuralism and psychoanalysis as a threat to Feminism.
The second sphere is a practice that takes apart and critiques authoritative ideologies (patriarchal) and institutions. This sphere also involves looking closely at the resistance to these said critiques. It is the most widespread and is seen to also be in conflict with the first sphere because of the view that experience can’t be separated from discourse. This group makes use of critical theories that are “masculine derived” in order to convey the myths that we live by and thereby deconstruct those myths. They are also open to using discourses outside of normative Art Historical practice including gender, sexuality, the body and the gaze. Here it is possible to really look at the individual and the society that that individual lives in. Judith Butler’s theory of the masquerade is pertinent here because it allows for a deconstruction of the artwork based on the roles prescribed to men and women depending on the rules enforced by their respective societies.
The third sphere involves itself with exploring and rethinking cultural and psychological spaces traditionally connected with women and specifically uses psychoanalysis to aid in this exploration. Here Mathews specifically refers to “The Matrix,” defined by Brachia Lichtenberg Ettinger as a way to recognize “the other in his or her otherness, difference, and unknownness.” This third sphere also may make use of psychoanalytic and socio-political aspects.
Mathews also briefly discusses topics that are normally of interest to Feminist Art Historians. These topics include masculinity and an attempt to reframe male artists that have already been imprinted into the canon. Another topic is race and gender. I find it interesting that these are linked even though studies that do link them are few. I would think that there are probably reasons to connect them and reasons not to. Also, why is masculinity not included in this topic? I would like to read a discussion regarding the pros and cons of linking race and gender together. The last two topics she lists are the female body and gay and lesbian art and artists.
Finally, Mathews discusses the nudes of Suzanne Valedon. This is an artist who I know very little about, but who interestingly enough, I have heard framed in relation to her lifestyle (as a drunk and an irresponsible mother of a supposedly more successful artist – who I can’t remember the name of now). Unfortunately, within some survey courses very little time is spent on deconstructing the accepted patriarchal art historical perspectives. Thus, I found Mathews’ discussion about Valedon to be extraordinarily refreshing. I may be wrong, but it seems to me that Mathews is using elements of each of the three spheres to deconstruct Valedon’s paintings. She is recuperating and revising the history of a particular woman artist, her discussion is a critique and resistance of the culture (specifically the critics that wrote poorly of Valedon’s work, probably as a result of being accustomed to a culture that sexualized women in paintings though the masculine gaze), and it also examines the cultural and psychological space of Valedon as a woman painter and model in early 1920s Paris. Ultimately, she opens up the discourse about Valedon in addition to a discussion regarding the commonalities of the three spheres of Feminist Art History.