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Lorna Mills and Sally McKay
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"They're Made of Meat," by Terry Bisson.
Note: this tally has been updated to reflect new responses as of 9:00am Feb.21. I have also received a request for a breakdown of response by gender, which has been added.
Here (below) is a tally on the response to my informal survey on the perception of gender essentialism in art making. I am very grateful to everyone who participated. People have been really thoughtful, and I've also benefitted from some excellent email conversation on the topic.
Most of the responses were from people in my age bracket. My goal is to prepare a proper survey to administer in art schools. My main concern is to determine whether young people studying art today are getting a message that their gender predetermines certain styles of practice. This test showed me that I probably need to provide a little more context and neutralise the question a bit in further research. MK put it very well in an email, "...this whole line of questioning, posited in a research context, can be seen as trying to support a theory that may disadvantage one group - when in reality, I think what you're investigating is more anecdotal, experience-based evidence of how biases play out, rather than attempting to define how men and women 'should' make art so that it's in line with their respective biological imperatives!" People seemed to feel the need to be persuasive, and while the discursive aspect made for really interesting reading, I think it would probably skew results in a real, by-the-book survey. I've got lots to go on now, however, and thank you thank you to everyone who participated. Also thanks to NSL for sharing her wisdom and research experience.
Question 1:
12 people said they do not think there is a difference
4 people said they do think there is a difference
(7 were equivocal, 1 did not answer this question)
Question 2:
7 people said they have not been told there is a difference
10 people said they have been told there is a difference
(5 were equivocal, 2 did not answer the question)
Of the 4 people who said they think there is a difference, 2 were women aged 20-30
24 people responded altogether:
10 women: 2 aged 20-30, 6 aged 30-40, 1 aged 40-50, 1 aged 60-70
11 men: 2 aged 20-30, 4 aged 30-40, 2 aged 40-50, 3 aged 50-60
3 who did not answer these questions
BY GENDER:
Question 1 Women (10 in total):
6 people said they do not think there is a difference
2 people said they do think there is a difference
(1 was equivocal, 1 did not answer this question)
Question 1 Men (11 total):
5 people said they do not think there is a difference
2 people said they do think there is a difference
(4 were equivocal)
Question 2 Women:
3 people said they have not been told there is a difference
5 people said they have been told there is a difference
(2 were equivocal)
Question 2 Men:
4 people said they have not been told there is a difference
5 people said they have been told there is a difference
(2 did not answer the question)
I'm finally reading Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver. Here's my favourite bit so far. This is from the chapter where Leibniz arrives on a boat to make connections with the natural philosophers in England. Our narrator Daniel Waterhouse is acting as host. Leibniz seems to know his way around already.
"You have been to London before, Dr. Leibniz?"
"I have been studying London-paintings."
"I'm afraid most of those became antiquarian curiosities after the Fire – like street-plans of Atlantis."
"And yet viewing several depictions of even an imaginary city, is enlightening in a way," Leibniz said. "Each painter can view the city from only one standpoint at a time, so he will move about the place, and paint it from a hilltop on one side, then a tower on the other, then from a grand intersection in the middle – all on the same canvas. When we look at the canvas, then, we glimpse in a small way how God understands the universe – for he sees it from every point of view at once. By populating the world with so many different minds, each with its own point of view, God gives us a suggestion of what it means to be omniscient."
Help me start my research! Please answer these questions. You can post in the comments section below or email me.
1) Do you think there is a difference between the way women and men make art?
1b) If 'yes' describe that difference.
2) Have you ever been told that there is a difference between the way women and men make art?
2b) If 'yes' describe the incident and the artwork(s) involved. You may, of course, keep the people in your anecdote anonymous to protect privacy.
3) How old are you?
4) Are you a man or a woman?
THANK YOU!
