It's no secret that there is a gender disparity in the arts. Why else would there be a need for activists like the Guerrilla Girls? In fact, here's a handful of sexist statistics if you don't believe me:
Work by women artists makes up only 3–5% of major permanent collections in the U.S. and Europe.
Though women earn half of the MFAs granted in the U.S., only 30% of artists represented by commercial galleries are women.
The late Linda Nochlin poses the question in her 1971 article, Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists? With this question, she places the blame not on the women, but on the society that prevented women from pursuing art. The question “why have there been no great women artists” remains problematic when reviewing cultural histories and finding no women equivalents for Michelangelo or Rembrandt. This lack of equivalents leaves women looking inferior, though it is no fault of their own. Nochlin argues the fault is ultimately in our institutions and our education (or lack of it). There were overwhelming odds against women and Western minorities (non-white males) when we analyze the historical boy's club linked to science, politics and the arts (in which women/minorities were not provided equal means of study).
Despite these societal disadvantages, here are some of the most inspiring female artists of the century. You can find these documentaries on Amazon Prime, Netflix, Vimeo, and YouTube. Check out the trailers on these thirteen visionary artists below:
