LET US NOW PRAISE FAMOUS (WO)MEN...

(Pear Trees in July by Moira Jarvis)

Let us now praise famous men...Such as found out musical tunes, and recited verses in writing...The Apocrypha 44. 2,5

Very nice, but I’m not sure where that leaves the South London Women Artists...

Now there’s a name to conjure with – some people would imagine well-bred and well-heeled ladies in four by fours with children called Hecuba and Amphytrion, others would think of women, looking rather as if they had just had a hard day clearing out an attic, with a tee shirt bearing the legend “Save the Stag Beetle”.

Well, our resident painter, Moira Jarvis, fits neither stereotype, not I suspect do any other members of the SLWA – and I am sure would just sigh at such prehistoric views.
So let’s get the “women” part over with first.

“About Us” on their website says: “ South London Women Artists was launched by the Friends of Dulwich Picture Gallery in June 2008. It offers a website on which women artists living or working south of the river can post a profile about their work”.

There’s no doubt that until very recently, an artist who was female would have been described as a “woman artist”. Thirty years ago and more Linda Nochlin did a noted study of the status of women in the visual arts, starting with the question, "Why have there been no great women artists?". Her work prompted Barbara Ehrlich White, in 1974. to point out the ways in which for the art establishment women artists were invisible (unless they were gentlewomen, leisure-time watercolourists). Twenty years later it was still necessary to create a Coalition of Women's Art Organizations, and to hold a major a conference of women artists in New York City.

Moira tells me that , with the possible exception of the major galleries and commercial venues (the latter, as far as I can see being typically gathering places for very rich men to acquire more status symbols at stratospheric prices, while men, with plummy accents and a haughty disdain for hairdressers or schoolteachers, speak in a language which it would take an MI5 computer to decode) – with those possible exceptions, the situation has now changed greatly. Even so, John MeWewen wrote recently in a commentary on the work of Paula Rego that the adverse criticism of Rego's pictures has come exclusively from men. (Here though, the causes are more subtle: He makes the speculation that a comment of Rego’s gives an explanation: “Feelings almost too dark to speak of. I think women accept their feelings more than men. They're more open about them, they talk more about them with each other. A man will say: 'Everything's fine' when it isn't."

But to the SLWA. They state that their “Exhibitions bring the work of SLWA to the wider community and increase public awareness of art produced by women....The idea for SLWA came from a lecture series on Women Artists which Dulwich Picture Gallery ran in June 2008. Few people can name women artists from before the 19th century since their role as professional women was strictly limited” Happily “Today women artists have achieved equal prominence with men. SLWA was created to celebrate this and to give prominence to women artists living or working in the Gallery area”.

So from now on I’ll just speak of “artists”.

Two things about these artists impress me.

Above all there is the sheer range and quality of what they do. You can see Moira’s work on this site. But compare and contrast this picture by Katiushka Borges:

This one by Everliina Hartikainen:

and this one by Sally Elizabeth Ward: And if you like something more traditional , this one by Helen Sivak-Berhercz:

I stress that the latter three I picked at random – but there are plenty more of that quality.

I’m afraid that I can’t offer comment. I am very ignorant about art, and can only say what I like. (This is due to the “teaching” of my art master at secondary school, who I later realised was a failed English watercolourist, who would have done better to work in a bank – at least he wouldn’t have had such an awful effect on the education of children. I still shudder if asked to draw something).

But I can say go to the website, and feast your eyes:

http://www.southlondonwomenartists.co.uk/

The other thing I like about the SLWA is the sheer energy they have. The arts remain a daunting area to work in – far too many good people seeking too few opportunities. But they have just got on with the job, made a forum, created a wonderful website and created outlets. This year, the Dulwich Festival, nest year, the Bankside Gallery !

The other point of today’s blog is to give a plug for our own Moira Jarvis. Her studio is in Cannizarro Park, in Wimbledon. She and the other artists who work there are having an Open Weekend, this coming weekend September 26-7 from 11 till l6 each day. It’s a beautiful park and so would make a very pleasant trip.

Cannizarro is on the west side of Wimbledon Common. If you don’t have a car, there are train, tram and Tube links to Wimbledon, but you may wish to reduce the length of your walk after that by taking the 93, 200 or 493 bus to Wimbledon Village. To find it on a map site, the postcode is SW19 9UE.

You can see one of Moira's paintings at the top of today's blog. For others, just visit othere pges on this website.

It’s standard practice to ask artists to talk about their work, though they don’t all like to do so. So there is a full interview with Moira on the SLWA website. Here is one extract, relevant to our current postings:

Interviewer: Why are you so interested in trees?

Moira: I’m seduced by them! I run life-drawing workshops and feel that there’s quite a lot of correlation between drawing figures and drawing trees – both are organic, and both are always moving and changing. There are similar problems to deal with and the basic structures are cylinders. Trees are always affected by the elements – such as the wind – and tend to be at the most wonderful angles – I’m interested in the way they grow.

In the October update of this site we’ll have a new picture by her, with a special musical composition to listen to while you look at it.

To end we’ll have a modern version of the quotation I started with:

Let us now praise lively and talented women...Such as paint gorgeous pictures and create exciting art from all manner of materials. (apocryphal !)