A little affirmative action back in Rodin's day might have kept his protege, Camille Claudel, out of the asylum where she spent the last 30 years of her life. Frustrated by her own creativity and "demons" (according to the narrative on the audio tour of the exhibition), she became paranoid and increasingly unable to function. Demons! What a quaint way to describe rampant and unrelenting sexism in 19th century French society.
Anyone who sees the current exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts cannot help but notice that her sculptures are as powerful and evocative as his. But Rodin was considered a genius and praised and courted by French society, while Camille worked behind the scenes mostly unnoticed. Women were not considered creative, nor artistic and certainly not capable of genius.
I'll bet that asylum was filled with some of the most intelligent, talented women French society had ever produced. We'll never know.
1 comment:
HEY DETROIT GIRL:
I FONDLY RECALL MY EARLY ART SCHOOL YEARS AT MSU (THE EARLY FIFTIES). MANY OF THE BRIGHTER AND TALENTED ART STUDENTS WERE YOUNG WOMEN. I WAS PRIVILAGED TO KNOW THEM.
MY DEAR MOTHER WAS ALSO AN ARTIST THEN TEACHER. WOMEN USUALLY WENT INTO TEACHING IN HER DAY AS WELL AS MINE WHEN THEY RECEIVED THEIR DEGREES. MAYBE THEY SPAWNED MANY ARTISTS ALONG THE WAY. I HOPE SO.
JACK WEBER
HERE IS TO TALENT, MALE OR FEMALE.
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