I attended the artist talk at Ironton Gallery and Studios where the show "I AM A Man" is currently hanging.  The show is the cooperative intention of three male artists whose work is beautiful, eye catching and thought provoking.  The group attending the talk was small but you could tell the topic of gender and art was a hot topic for most in the audience and the artists.

Can you tell the gender of an artist simply by viewing the work?  Are there mediums that fall on one end of the gender continuum more than others?  What makes a piece more male or female?  Randy, one of the artists, presented an idea where you get twelve chairs and give them to twelve artists, 6 male and 6 female, to transform.  Next phase is to put all the chairs/artwork on display and see how an audience would view the work.  What would be the number of people that could clearly identify the work of male and female artists.

Do you want gender to matter in your art?  If so...why?  When we think about gender in art are we thinking of design principles like color and composition?  Are we considering materials used or tools used to create the art?  Are we looking at the subject matter and does that sway our vote?

It's an interesting topic and I'd love to hear your thoughts about the role, if any, gender plays in your art?

I TOO AM A Man....
Greg