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Miami University art exhibition spotlights rise of women in art

Scott Allison Museum Preparator Mark DeGennaro hangs artwork for the new exhibition "Out of the Shadows: The Rise of Women in Art," which is set to open on Aug. 23.

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12:02 AM Friday, August 19, 2011

By Meagan Engle

Staff Writer

OXFORD — There was a time when women could not study art alongside men. When they were kept to painting landscapes and banned from studying the nude form.

Women were not taught to be professional artists, even as they were the subjects of artwork by men. But eventually, female artists rose to prominence.

The Miami University fall exhibition, “Out of the Shadows: The Rise of Women in Art,” features works of women and by women, which span thousands of years. With three galleries of paintings, pottery and abstract works, the show opens Aug. 23.

“In general, art has always been male-dominated,” said curator Jason Shaiman.

“We have no idea when women started to create works,” he said. “There is speculation women were involved in some of the early cave paintings ... We don’t know.”

Women have long been the subjects of art. But it was not until the mid-20th century that historians took a serious look at the impact women have had on visual arts, according to the Miami museum, which is free and open to the public.

The exhibition begins with 4,000-year-old terracotta idols, made in the female form by men in northern Syria.

Throughout the first gallery, which is called “From Subject to Creator,” there are portraits of women done by male and female artists.

“I really hope that visitors will see some of the differences between how men represented women and how women represented women,” Shaiman said, noting often men focused more on the physical aspects, while women captured more sensitive moments.

Some portraits by women show body parts disproportionately, because women were predominantly unable to study anatomy until the late 1960s.

“It was difficult for some women to be able to accurately paint the human figure because they didn’t have that understanding of anatomy,” Shaiman said.

In the second gallery, “A Flowering Spirit,” there are landscapes done by women. By the end of the 19th century, women had begun a long-standing tradition in landscape painting.

“Men didn’t necessary feel threatened by women who painted pretty pictures of the landscape,” Shaiman said. “They were, however, threatened by women trying to become professional artists.”

Gallery three, “The Modern Woman,” features abstract works — which represent a new era for women in art.

“One of the things that really helped women rise in the art world was the advent of abstract art,” he said. “Women could now develop pieces that were more psychologically intense, thought provoking. Breaking out of the mold.”

Overall, the exhibition features almost 50 pieces that are on loan from area collectors and one artist. The show includes several artists with connections to Oxford, Oxford College for Women, Western College for Women, Miami University and the Greater Cincinnati area.

For the first time, the exhibition includes QR, or quick response, codes — a square design that when photographed with a smartphone takes users to a website with more information on the artwork.

“People can learn more than we can provide in a limited space. If someone wants to, they can bring it up on their phone and read it at their own leisure,” Shaiman said.

The fall show is part one of two exhibitions focusing on women. Part two will open in the spring featuring women’s work on textiles, photography and more.

Contact this reporter at (513) 523-4139 or mengle@coxohio.com.

How to go

What: “Out of the Shadows: The Rise of Women in Art”

Where: Miami University Art Museum, 801 S. Patterson Ave., Oxford

When: Aug. 23 through Dec. 10. Public opening reception 5 to 8 p.m. Sept. 1.

Cost: Free

For more information: Visit arts.muohio.edu/art-museum or call (513) 529-2232

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