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Feminist Abstract Art— A Political Viewpoint

Harmony Hammond

There are many articles written on feminist
art which try to pinpoint and define a feminist
sensibility. Few of these articles go beyond the
recognition that feminist art is based on the
personal experiences of women by beginning to
question its larger political implications and the
role it plays in feminist revolution. Most articles
originating from the art world tend to be formal
descriptive attempts at documenting what
women are doing, and do not attempt a femi-
nist analysis of function and meaning.

In a reactionary escape from formalist criti-
cism, most movement writing on feminist art
deals with political issues, but lacks any real
understanding of the creative process, how it
functions for the artist and how it affects form
and content. Without such an understanding it
is impossible to evaluate the work as art. While
feminist poets and writers comment on each
other’s work and write of their own processes,
we visual artists tend to remain silent and let
others do the writing for us. Our silence contri-
butes to a lack of dialogue between artist and
audience, to the lack of criticism from a femi-
nist perspective, and ultimately to the misinter-
pretation of our work.

In this article | wish to focus on abstract art
and show that it can have a feminist basis and
therefore be political. Feminists are not only
people to attempt political or revolutionary art,
but because certain ideas and issues occur over
and over, they are of interest to us and worth
exploring. | will focus on one area of abstract
art by discussing concepts of marking and lan-
guage in feminist drawing and painting—to
show its origin, meaning, and political potential.

In “Prime Time: Art and Politics”1 Alexa Free-
man and Jackie MacMillan look at how art is
viewed in this capitalist, patriarchal society
and criticize activists for reacting too quickly
and overlooking the revolutionary potential of
art. However, they in turn react to male estab-
lishment myths about abstract (non-representa-
tional) art and exclude it from feminist and
political potential. They view abstract art as
private expression which is not understandable
or analyzable to the audience, and therefore
irrelevant to feminist political goals. Thus they
incorrectly see elitism as a pre-condition of
abstract art, rather than realizing that this is
how abstract art has been used by men as a
defense mechanism against the alienation of
their own capitalist system; that as well as fur-

thering the myth of artist as alienated and
isolated genius, abstract art has offered an illu-
sion of objectivity. Such notions suggest that
the content of one’s work can be separated from
one’s political beliefs. By sponsoring interna-
tional exhibitions showing apolitical abstract
paintings by former Communist Party members,
the C.I.A. (via the Museum of Modern Art) has
sought to impress other nations with the cultur-
al freedom of the U.S.A. The way in which
Abstract Expressionist art was defined and de-
veloped by the artists and then used by others
to further cold war politics in the fifties is only
one example of the manipulation of abstract art
to create the illusory separation of art and poli-
tics.2 Thus when women continue to respond to
abstract art as “apolitical,” they are reinforc-
ing and maintaining myths established by men.

The Freeman/MacMillan article is typical in
its analysis of art and politics. Abstract art has
become taboo for most artists who consider
themselves political feminists. Because of the
history outlined above, it is difficult to deter-
mine abstract painting’s relationship to feminist
ideology. There are radical feminists who are
making abstract art. Radical feminism operates
from the belief that women as a class are op-
pressed, and that a mass political women’s
movement is necessary to overthrow male su-
premacy.3 Therefore, we might ask, how are
the visions of radical feminists analyzed and
portrayed in this art?

It is necessary to break down the myths and
fears surrounding abstract art and make it
understandable. Women — artists and non-
artists—need to talk about art, and talking
about abstract art need not be more difficult
than discussing portraits, nudes, vaginas, or
whatever. Every work of art is understandable
on many different levels. It is by talking about
our work and work processes that we will not
only begin to develop a new language for inter-
preting abstract art, but also to integrate this
work with society. This language, which | see
evolving from consciousness-raising techniques,
will be able to be shared with any woman,
regardless of class background. For artists, such

a dialogue with the audience is essential, as it
offers valuable feedback for the development

of our art.

| want to reclaim abstract art for women and
transform it on our own terms. It is interesting
to note that much of women’s past creativity, as