How quotes about women in the arts . . . mostly weren't.

The Artdog Quote(s) of the Week

In recognition of Women's History Month, I thought I'd focus on quotes about women in the arts as this month's theme.

Yeah, try Googling that phrase under "images." The quote that seemed to come back with just incredible frequency was this one:

Um, EXCUSE ME, but what does that have to do with Women in the Arts?

One image that came up near the top of the search results is a poster visible on the Tate website (but not available for reposting) about the very tongue-in-cheek "advantages" of being a woman artist in 1988. "Advantage" #1, "Working without the pressure of success," gives a taste of how the list is oriented.

Then compare a couple of other quotes that came up several times:

Okay, that's fairly hopeful, if dated, but then there's this:

Well, as they used to say, ain't that a kick in the head? I don't think either gender comes off looking too good, in Beecham's estimation. In the age of Harvey Weinstein, however, it's hard to say he was inaccurate about the existence of "unscrupulous men."

Number one that came up was from an article about conceptual artist Jenny Holzer, and it's not exactly a paean of optimism, either:

I . . . sorry. After spending a stimulating month of February reading engrossing fiction by women such as Becky Chambers, Diana Wynne Jones, Martha Wells, Jennifer Foehner Wells, and Nnedi Okorafor, and having recently delighted in the artwork of Simini Blocker, Karen Ann Hollingsworth, and Jody A. Lee, not to mention amazing new artwork being produced (but not yet posted online) by Lucy A. Synk, I actually felt pretty good about women in the arts.

I genuinely thought I'd find a more optimistic range of quotes. Frankly, sisters, we owe ourselves a better set of quotes. What's on offer is pathetic.

Are things perfect? No. Humans aren't, so human things won't be. But things don't have to be uniformly bleak. Women in ALL of the arts are doing amazing things. If no one else is talking about it, then we ought to begin.

IMAGES: The Helen Rowland quote about bachelors is from Quote HD. So is the Hedy Lamarr quote. The Thomas Beecham quote is courtesy of Quotefancy. The "Rules you live by" quote-image comes from a thoughtful essay by Lauren C. Byrd on her "Make Art History" blog.

Fondly remembering FenCon XV

It's hard to believe it's been almost two weeks since Ty and I left for FenCon XV at the Westin DFW in Irving, TX. It was our first FenCon, but we certainly don't want it to be our last! Those Texans really know how to put on a great science fiction convention!

The Royal Manticoran Navy made a strong showing at FenCon XV, both with its information booth and at parties and other events. I deeply regret that I had a brain glitch and didn't remember to get the names of these folks!

Writers in the Field has an interesting concept: they provide opportunities for writers to learn what it really feels like to . . . experience a whole bunch of things they're likely to need to know if they write sf, fantasy, westerns, historicals, or other stories. How does it feel to saddle up and ride across country? Wear armor? Shoot with a bow and arrow? and much more. Instructor Jana Stout and co-founder William "Bud" Humble were holding down the table when I took this photo.

Like any well-run convention, FenCon XV had an Art Show Reception with excellent goodies to nibble, on Friday night.

Here's how my Art Show display looked before the show opened on Friday. I sold several pieces, including the one-of-a-kind original mixed media paper sculpture Aka-Bekko Dragon.

I created a postcard to publicize my Friday reading of material from What's Bred in the Bone, my sf novel due to be published this winter. I was gratified to have a nice group of people show up for the reading. Better yet, all weekend people responded favorably to my cover by the accomplished illustrator Jody A. Lee, even though it's still in the color comp stage. I should have finished artwork soon!

FenConXV parties rocked! I haven't enjoyed circulating at fan parties this much in ages. People were actually friendly to strangers (hard to over-emphasize how important that is!!). I could mostly hear what people were saying to me, and the conversations were substantive and interesting.
Clockwise from upper left: Ken Ruffin of the local National Space Society chapter and me; Ed and Brandy portray Frankenstein and his Bride-to-be; the Space Party (sponsored Saturday night by the National Space Society); and new friend Marah, rocking a T-shirt she scored on a trip with friends to Arkansas. Gotta add a special shout-out to the Blue Coconut Bar Party, too. They were very welcoming (and knowledgeable mixologists), both nights.

Unfortunately, it was really rainy Friday night around DFW Airport. They had flash floods all over the place, and a great many locals crashed with friends at the hotel because they couldn't get home. Ty and I were on the 14th floor, literally "above it all," but that doesn't mean we didn't think it sucked when friends such as Brad Foster had floods in their studios!

I attended quite a few readings at FenCon XV, but the three I enjoyed most were by (L-R) Ethan Nahté, whose upcoming Wings of Mercury is an homage to the 1950s, sf-style; Gloria Oliver, whose latest book is set in the Victorian Era and is a work of exquisite horror, firmly grounded in historical accuracy; and Martha Wells, who read the delicious first chapter of her new Murderbot novel-to-come. I was an instant convert.

It was good to be back on panels other than a reading (much though I love doing readings). Here I'm participating on the "The Sexes . . . in Space!" panel with Marianne Dyson at left (also William Ledbetter and John DeLaughter, not shown) on Friday of the convention. (Photo by Tyrell Gephardt)

It was a smaller Dealers' Room than I'd expected for a convention of nearly 1,000 people, but what do aI know? 

At the "Space Habitats and Mega-Structures" panel we had an interesting and informative session. Panelists, L-R are: Ken Ruffin, Larry Niven, William Ledbetter, C. Stuart Hardwick, and Martin L. Shoemaker.

IMAGES: All photos were taken my me, Jan S. Gephardt, with one (noted) exception that was taken by Tyrell Gephardt. If you'd like to use one on a blog or other place, please include an attribution to the photographer and a link back to this page. Thanks!