Awesome Stuff Women Did

Because women have done more in the past 10,000 years than just pop out babies and make sandwiches.

DISCLAIMER: We make no claim that all women featured here are saints. They did awesome stuff; the women themselves might not have been. Keep that in mind before sending angry notes.

femaleartists: Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, 1630s, Artemisia Gentileschi (July 8, 1593 - 1653)   The victim of rape at a young age at the hands of her painting teacher, Agostino Tassi, Gentileschi’s works were often critiqued by using this event as an automatic translator for her works. Paintings such as this are largely ignored in favor of more violent pieces. These pieces, depicting strong women in positions of aggression toward men, have come to be thought of as a trademark of Gentileschi’s work. In her Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, she presents another kind of painting that expresses her identity as a woman and a painter. Many of her paintings have been confused for Orazio Gentileschi’s, her father. He also has been accused of painting works and attributing them to her.  Because someone once asked for a more in-depth post about her

femaleartists:

Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, 1630s, Artemisia Gentileschi (July 8, 1593 - 1653)

 

The victim of rape at a young age at the hands of her painting teacher, Agostino Tassi, Gentileschi’s works were often critiqued by using this event as an automatic translator for her works. Paintings such as this are largely ignored in favor of more violent pieces. These pieces, depicting strong women in positions of aggression toward men, have come to be thought of as a trademark of Gentileschi’s work. In her Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, she presents another kind of painting that expresses her identity as a woman and a painter.

Many of her paintings have been confused for Orazio Gentileschi’s, her father. He also has been accused of painting works and attributing them to her. 

Because someone once asked for a more in-depth post about her

femaleartists: Swoon (Born 1977) “SWOON is a street artist from New York City who specializes in life-size wheatpaste prints and paper cutouts of figures. Swoon studied painting at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and started doing street art around 1999. Swoon does not release her real name to the public to avoid prosecution for the crime of “vandalism” associated with street art.” “Swoon’s worlds are often populated by realistically rendered cut-out street people, often her friends and family. Riding bikes, talking on a stoop, going grocery shopping - these people traverse a cityscape of her own unique invention. Bridges, fire escapes, water towers and street signs create crisscrossing shadows and spaces through which her figures move. Inspired by both art historical and folk sources, ranging from German Expressionist wood block prints to Indonesian shadow puppets, Swoon uses cut paper to play with positive and negative space in a conceptually driven exploration of the experience of the streets.”

femaleartists:

Swoon (Born 1977)

“SWOON is a street artist from New York City who specializes in life-size wheatpaste prints and paper cutouts of figures. Swoon studied painting at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and started doing street art around 1999. Swoon does not release her real name to the public to avoid prosecution for the crime of “vandalism” associated with street art.”

“Swoon’s worlds are often populated by realistically rendered cut-out street people, often her friends and family. Riding bikes, talking on a stoop, going grocery shopping - these people traverse a cityscape of her own unique invention. Bridges, fire escapes, water towers and street signs create crisscrossing shadows and spaces through which her figures move. Inspired by both art historical and folk sources, ranging from German Expressionist wood block prints to Indonesian shadow puppets, Swoon uses cut paper to play with positive and negative space in a conceptually driven exploration of the experience of the streets.”

femaleartists: From her 1843 book “Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions”, Anna Atkins (16 March 1799 – 9 June 1871) A female botanist utilizing the cyanotype form of photography, still used today for blueprints (Invented by John Herschel). All plants were laid directly on the cyanotype paper. Atkins is one of a handful of women photographers some believe to be the first.

femaleartists:

From her 1843 book “Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions”, Anna Atkins (16 March 1799 – 9 June 1871)

A female botanist utilizing the cyanotype form of photography, still used today for blueprints (Invented by John Herschel). All plants were laid directly on the cyanotype paper. Atkins is one of a handful of women photographers some believe to be the first.

(Eilis O’Connell)

(Eilis O’Connell)

femaleartists: Object, 1936, Méret Oppenheim (1913-1985) MoMa Gallery Label Text: “This Surrealist object was inspired by a conversation between Oppenheim and artists Pablo Picasso and Dora Maar at a Paris cafe. Admiring Oppenheim’s fur-covered bracelet, Picasso remarked that one could cover anything with fur, to which she replied, ‘Even this cup and saucer.’ Soon after, when asked by André Breton, Surrealism’s leader, to participate in the first Surrealist exhibition dedicated to objects, Oppenheim bought a teacup, saucer, and spoon at a department store and covered them with the fur of a Chinese gazelle. In so doing, she transformed genteel items traditionally associated with feminine decorum into sensuous, sexually punning tableware.”

femaleartists:

Object, 1936, Méret Oppenheim (1913-1985)

MoMa Gallery Label Text:

“This Surrealist object was inspired by a conversation between Oppenheim and artists Pablo Picasso and Dora Maar at a Paris cafe. Admiring Oppenheim’s fur-covered bracelet, Picasso remarked that one could cover anything with fur, to which she replied, ‘Even this cup and saucer.’ Soon after, when asked by André Breton, Surrealism’s leader, to participate in the first Surrealist exhibition dedicated to objects, Oppenheim bought a teacup, saucer, and spoon at a department store and covered them with the fur of a Chinese gazelle. In so doing, she transformed genteel items traditionally associated with feminine decorum into sensuous, sexually punning tableware.”

Popular cartoonist and illustrator of the early 20th century, who became an American household name within a year of beginning a prominent thirty-year career in editorial, commercial, and news illustration. Worked as a prominent courtroom illustrator. Published original illustrated stories (featuring active female protagonists) to great acclaim. Wrote and illustrated theater reviews, and profiles of prominent women in society, including women defense workers and women’s rights activists. Works directly inspired popular songs, comedy, film, and fashion of the time. Became known as the “Queen of Comics”. (Nell Brinkley)

Popular cartoonist and illustrator of the early 20th century, who became an American household name within a year of beginning a prominent thirty-year career in editorial, commercial, and news illustration. Worked as a prominent courtroom illustrator. Published original illustrated stories (featuring active female protagonists) to great acclaim. Wrote and illustrated theater reviews, and profiles of prominent women in society, including women defense workers and women’s rights activists. Works directly inspired popular songs, comedy, film, and fashion of the time. Became known as the “Queen of Comics”. (Nell Brinkley)

Took these photographs. (Margaret Bourke-White)

Painted this. (Artemesia Gentileschi)

Painted this. (Artemesia Gentileschi)

Embroidered the Bayeaux Tapestry

Embroidered the Bayeaux Tapestry