October 13, 2017
Lesendes Mädchen (1828) Gustav Adolph Henning
A dear friend gave me a German magazine that is devoted to books – a special edition that dealt with women and literature. The photographs of paintings of reading women are taken from it. It made me think about artists and literature and so I thought I’ll recommend some books about fictional artists and some by real artists that were impressive enough that I remember them.
The one that moved me most is A Blazing World (2014) by Siri Hustvedt. Her protagonist deals with issues of aging and trying to make it as a woman in a male-dominated art world. She resolves to take her revenge, in a way that exerts an incredible emotional toll. My admiration for the novel can be traced to the fact that it brilliantly describes suffering, but then balances it out with hope, all the while challenging you intellectually to rethink all the issues of gender wars, specifically located in the arts.
Junge Frau mit Buch (1934) Alexander Deineka
Virginia Woolf’s classic To the Lighthouse (1927) is probably one we all read as teenagers when trying to find our role in the emergent feminist movement. Her heroine Lily Briscoe struggles with the notions that women can neither paint nor write.
Hotel Room (1931) Edward Hopper
I am also a devoted fan of Margaret Atwood. Her novel Cats Eye (1989) describes an artist’s attempt to sublimate unsavory or painful memories by including them in her paintings. I actually did not enjoy reading that book, several of the issues being too close to home, but I could not forget it.
Lesendes Mädchen (1851) Franz Eybl
Both Possession (1990) and The Children’s Book (2009) by A.S.Byatt contain vividly drawn realizations of artists – poets and writers. The novels are really about the layers of various social interactions and the way secrets can shape lives; both are deep, fascinating and not exactly beach reading.
The two books by female artists that made an impact were Boundaries (2000) by Maya Ying Lin and Hold Still (2015) by Sally Mann. The former describes the creative processes used for her designs, the most famous of which is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The latter is an autobiography by the controversial photographer. Her thoughts on the possibility that taking photographs destroys memory resonate with every photographer I know.
Elegant Women in a Library (no date) Edouard Gelhay
And last but not least there is Emma Reyes. The link below gives you the details. Happy reading in the rainy days ahead!
http://www.npr.org/2017/08/09/542061880/in-emma-reyes-life-through-a-childs-clear-eyes
If reading is not your thing, here is a fascinating slideshow….
https://www.thecut.com/2016/09/the-moma-is-republishing-its-first-female-focused-book.html
Jove Decadent (1899) Ramon Casa i Carbó
Martha Ullman West
I love this post Friderike, of course I do. My grandmother, who was both a writer and a painter, published one novel in 1912 called The Fame-Seekers in which she lays out the ongoing conflict between the practice of the domestic and the fine arts. It’s not very good writing and it’s long out of print, but it’s pretty interesting nevertheless.
To the Light House is very much about Virginia Woolf’s sister, painter Vanessa Bell, of course, and someone did write a biography of Bell that’s very good. Random thoughts I know, but you’ve gotten my brain going after a holiday, for which I thank you.
Sara Lee
Another rich posting! I loved all the paintings, none of which I had seen before. Especially the Hopper, who is a favorite of mine. Made notes of the novels and enjoyed the slide show, too! Kudos and thanks.