Sunday 22 October 2023
Gabrielle Münter and other
artists
Next year, from 24 April until 20 October 2024, there will
be an exhibition entitled Expressionists: Kandinsky, Münter and the Blue
Rider, to be held at Tate Modern in London. Although it is unlikely that we
shall be in a position to attend the exhibition, due to our continued self-isolation
away from coronavirus infection, and the £20 per person ticket price would cost
us dearly, on top of the cost of petrol, it remains of interest. I had not
previously heard of Gabrielle Münter, although Janet and Jemima had. She was a
pupil of Kandinsky, and later his life-partner for a while. It seems that the contemporary
artworld, along with many other aspects of modern public life, is awash with the
names of women who it is purported have been overlooked. Needless to say, it is
largely women who are making all the fuss. This latter offers little guide to
quality.
Looking at the images online of Münter’s work, it does not
appear to be particularly special, and it is easy to see why her name has been eclipsed
historically by that of Kandinsky. Her work appears to be of a similar ilk to
that of Kandinsky during the period when they were together. It veers more
towards the work of Matisse. I read that she was influenced by the paintings of
children, a fact that does not especially commend itself to me. However, she
was more persuaded by Fauvism than was Kandinsky. I find something interesting in
her bold use of colour and colour contrasts. I have yet to decide whether I
consider her use of colour to be meaningful (to me).
Lest it be considered that my sentiments expressed above are
sexist or even misogynistic, I greatly admire the art of Natalya Goncharova, Georgia
O’Keefe, Brigid Riley and Barbara Hepworth, and I enjoy being challenged by the
work of Tracey Emin. I like the quiet, muted palette paintings of Gwen John. On
the other hand, I have always considered the work of Berthe Morisot and Mary
Cassat, with some of which I am familiar, to be lauded too highly.
I have read much of the literature produced by Susan Hill,
and have made a point of reading works written by, inter alia, Pat
Barker, Anita Brookner, Helen Dunmore, Rebecca Stott, Edith Wharton, Antonia
White and Virginia Woolf.
Women politicians I have especially admired for their politics
include Estelle Morris (direct contact), Shirley Williams (heard her speak at a
BBC broadcast of Any Questions I attended), Caroline Lucas, Jacinda
Adern and Angela Merkel.
I always prick up my ears with interest when Dr Susan
Blackmore speaks on the radio.
Two of my favourite singers are Sandy Denny and Maddy Prior.
There are movies directed by women that I have particularly
admired, such as Farewell (1983) by Larisa Shepitko (albeit completed by
her widower, Elem Klimov); Testament (1983) by Carol Amen; The Piano
(1993) (on DVD) by Jane Campion; Sleepless in Seattle (1993) (on DVD) by
Norah Ephron; Lost in Translation (2003) (on DVD) by Sofia Coppola;
Mischief Night (2006) (on DVD) by Penny Woolcock; Gone Girl
(2014) (on DVD) although directed by David Fincher, both the screenplay and the
novel on which the screenplay is based were written by Gillian Flynn; Ladybird
(2017) by Greta Gerwig; The Farewell (2019) by Lulu Wang. I also have on
DVD Meek’s Cutoff (2010) by Kelly Reichardt.
I do not like what seems to me to be the gratuitous gendering
of many aspects of society. What I do accept is that British society (along
with many others) has been crudely patriarchal, and that this has been to the
detriment of society. I am happy that patriarchy has been reduced considerably,
and I expect this reduction to continue. However, I should prefer that it
proceeded by the process of degendering instead of intensified gendering. Every
day there is a news item about the first woman to do this or that. I worked professionally
in a field (counselling) dominated, at least numerically, by women, with which
I have no issue, alongside whom I worked as an equal, without remark, for decades.
I look forward to the time when the same can be said about all professions.
However, I have no enthusiasm to cheer every time a woman achieves some first,
for that sets up a gender rivalry that I consider unwelcome. Neither do I
welcome the popular elevation of unremarkable ‘fine artists’ simply because of
their gender.
https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/expressionists
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriele_M%C3%BCnter
No comments:
Post a Comment