Hello again all.
First of all, I'd really like to thank everyone for the wonderful compliments on my recent paintings. You really have no idea how much it means to me, especially since I am apparently a sexist neaderthal. Let me explain...
I did an interview the other day for a newsletter for a local college wherein I have an art show. The show has been up since the beginning of September, and I hadn't really heard anything about it since. Then a couple of days ago, I was at the bank, and the teller asked me if I was the one who had the show at the school. She said she really liked it, but that there was a lot of controversy about it. I was of course surprised, and when I arrived for the interview, I discovered that there were a lot of people who wanted the show taken down.
The curator told me that there were several professors (hardline feminists, according to her) who were angry about it, and judging by the comment notebook, they weren't the only ones. I have to say that I was really hurt by the use of the words "exploitation" and "degradation". I certainly don't think any of my work falls into either of those catagories.
It's true, I like to paint women, pretty exclusively, actually. I just don't see how finding women to be beautiful is wrong. If I painted fucking landscapes or kittens or something, no one would accuse me of exploiting them or objectifying them. Anyone who knows me knows I would be the last person on earth to be considered sexist. I know I'll never be pardoned by the extremists, but I was surprised that there were so many people that saw nothing but sex in my work. I really don't understand why sex and beauty have to be connnected. Oak trees are beautiful, it doesn't me I want to have sex with one.
Sorry about the length, and sort of "negative nancy" (no, I'm not saying all women are downers) nature of the post, it's just terribly frustrating to me. I work really hard at what I do, and for people to say that I do it with such disingenuous intentions really gets to me.
In conclusion though, I worked through the feminist funk and managed to finish my contribution to the Pistolita calendar project. I hope you, as well as she and all the rest of the talented people involved, like it.
Take care everyone!
First of all, I'd really like to thank everyone for the wonderful compliments on my recent paintings. You really have no idea how much it means to me, especially since I am apparently a sexist neaderthal. Let me explain...
I did an interview the other day for a newsletter for a local college wherein I have an art show. The show has been up since the beginning of September, and I hadn't really heard anything about it since. Then a couple of days ago, I was at the bank, and the teller asked me if I was the one who had the show at the school. She said she really liked it, but that there was a lot of controversy about it. I was of course surprised, and when I arrived for the interview, I discovered that there were a lot of people who wanted the show taken down.
The curator told me that there were several professors (hardline feminists, according to her) who were angry about it, and judging by the comment notebook, they weren't the only ones. I have to say that I was really hurt by the use of the words "exploitation" and "degradation". I certainly don't think any of my work falls into either of those catagories.
It's true, I like to paint women, pretty exclusively, actually. I just don't see how finding women to be beautiful is wrong. If I painted fucking landscapes or kittens or something, no one would accuse me of exploiting them or objectifying them. Anyone who knows me knows I would be the last person on earth to be considered sexist. I know I'll never be pardoned by the extremists, but I was surprised that there were so many people that saw nothing but sex in my work. I really don't understand why sex and beauty have to be connnected. Oak trees are beautiful, it doesn't me I want to have sex with one.
Sorry about the length, and sort of "negative nancy" (no, I'm not saying all women are downers) nature of the post, it's just terribly frustrating to me. I work really hard at what I do, and for people to say that I do it with such disingenuous intentions really gets to me.
In conclusion though, I worked through the feminist funk and managed to finish my contribution to the Pistolita calendar project. I hope you, as well as she and all the rest of the talented people involved, like it.
Take care everyone!
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And thanks for the support! You're so nice. I'm going to try my best!!