The Feminist Art Journal

The Feminist Art Journal was an American magazine, published quarterly from 1972 to 1977. It was the first stable, widely read journal covering feminist art.[1] By the time the final publication was produced The Feminist Art Journal had a circulation of eight thousand copies; and ten thousand copies of the last edition were printed.[2]

The Feminist Art Journal
1977 cover
CategoriesFeminist art
PublisherFeminist Art Journal, Inc.
Year founded1972
Final issue1977
CountryUSA
Based inNew York
LanguageEnglish
ISSN0300-7014
OCLC474102725

History

The Feminist Art Journal was started in 1972 in New York by several women involved in the American feminist art movement, including Cindy Nemser, Patricia Mainardi, and Irene Moss.[3] The three women formed the journal after having been on the staff of Women and Art, a publication funded by the Redstocking Artists. Women and Art was intended to cover topics surrounding the women's art movement, but only one issue was ever published because of internal staff arguments.[4] The three editors founded The Feminist Art Journal with three stated goals: 1) To be the voice of women artists in the art world; 2) To improve the status of all women artists; and 3) To expose sexist exploitation and discrimination.[5] In 1972, Cindy Nemser became the sole editor of the journal; and in 1975 her husband joined her as a co-editor.[6] The majority of the articles written in The Feminist Art Journal were all authored by women. Some of the prominent contributors to the journal were Faith Ringgold, Marcia Tucker, Howardena Pindell, and Faith Bromberg.[2][7]

In its five-year run, The Feminist Art Journal published interviews with breakthrough female artists, and included creative writing pieces and art historical essays to keep the content consistently diverse. Featured artists worked in all mediums, and over twenty historical profiles of female figures in art were published. The articles included both a positive modern review of the artist's work, as well as a biographical section which included why the artist was looked over.[4] The Feminist Art Journal was also used as a space where gender discrimination within the art world was called out. In the first two editions of The Feminist Art Journal a column called "Male Chauvinist Exposé" was featured in the journal.[2] Both individual people and institutions, spanning newspapers, museums, and universities were denounced for sexist language and actions.[4]

Over time, the publication's exposés became fewer as they focused on living female artists. The interviews conducted by the Feminist Art Journal covered the artist's childhood, career, education, influences, gender role/career balance, and even any relationship with a male artist.[4]

In 1975, in an attempted to attract more readers to the publication during a time of financial strain, Cindy Nemser changed the format of the journal from a tabloid style to a more traditional one where advertisements were now being included within the journal. This change ultimately did not help the journal survive with it folding due to financial strains. In an interview Patricia Mainardi claimed that journals like The Feminist Art Journal saw their demise because of the fact that they reached their goals. More mainstream publications were pressured into paying attention to female artists after the gained success of publications like The Feminist Art Journal, so journals that were specifically devoted to female artists became devalued.[6]

See also

References
  1. Norma Broude, ed. (1994). The Power of Feminist Art. Abrams. p. 93. ISBN 0810937328.
  2. Gauthier, Olivia. 2019. “A Feminist Reckoning.” Art in America 107 (4): 27–30.
  3. Joan Marter, ed. (2011). The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art. Oxford University Press. pp. 209–210. ISBN 9780195335798. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  4. Rom, Cristine (1982). "One View: "The Feminist Art Journal"". Woman's Art Journal. Woman's Art Inc. JSTOR 1357977.
  5. Norma Broude, ed. (1994). The Power of Feminist Art. Abrams. p. 123. ISBN 0810937328.
  6. Balducci, Temma, author. 2010. “Feminist Art Journal.” Oxford Art Online. doi:10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T2085773.
  7. Jules Heller; Nancy G. Heller (19 December 2013). North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-63882-5.
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