Penmanship Class (1899), Frances Benjamin Johnston
Recognition and equality that women wear centuries claiming , little by little, they are occupying the place they deserve in the artistic institutions. For years, every March 8, banners with the motto "I don't want to be a muse, I want to be an artist" They walk through the streets of the cities.
And it is that, as the Museo Nacional del Prado pointed out a few months ago, on the occasion of the inauguration of its temporary exhibition Invited. Fragments on women, ideology and plastic arts in Spain (1833-1931), throughout history, female figures have been relegated by the art scene, assuming roles that moved away from any kind of protagonism.
'Frida Kahlo', Lola Alvarez Bravo
For this reason, it is worth celebrating that cultural institutions of the stature of the Museum of Modern Art in New York , which has received a donation from 100 photographs from the Helen Kornblum Collection, highlight the achievements of women, in this case, in the field of the photograph.
This new MoMA collection includes works by 76 artists , specialized in different disciplines: from avant-garde experimentation to photojournalism , going through social documentary, commercial studio photography and advertising.
The donation covers a total of over 100 years of photography through images dating from the beginning of the modernist period to the present , with both works of great relevance and lesser-known pieces.
As for the artists, Gertrud Arndt, Lola Alvarez Bravo, Claude Cahun , Laura Gilpin, Kati Horna, Germaine Krull, Dora Maar, and Lucia Moholi, and contemporaries such as Flor Garduño, Louise Lawler, Sharon Lockhart, Susan Meiselas , Catherine Opie, Tatiana Parcero, Lorna Simpson, Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie and Carrie Mae Weems are some of those present, thus expanding the old contributions of women who defined the field.
Wakeah (2018), Cara Romero
Calligraphy Class (1899) by Frances Benjamin Johnston , an image that reflects the complexities of early pedagogy in the United States while underscoring the nation's mismanagement toward integrated education; o Wakeah (2018), a portrait from the series First American Girl native american artist Cara Romero, are some of the most relevant pieces.
Fatman with Edith (1993), Meridel Rubenstein
"At a time when it is more important than ever affirm parity, equity and diversity of voices, the donation of Helen Kornblum is welcome to the MoMA photography collection," commented Clement Cheroux , chief curator of the Joel and Anne Ehrenkranz Collection, MoMA's Robert B. Menschel Department of Photography.
For her part, Helen Kornblum has stated that "There could be no better home for my collection of photography of women artists than MoMA."
"Director Glenn Lowry has made a commitment to have more art by women, not only in the collection but on the walls. I am delighted that this gift is in honor of Roxana Marcoci, whose brilliant writings and expositions , often about women artists I knew long before I had the chance to meet her," he noted.
School Girl, St. Croix (1963), Consuelo Kanaga
"The collection raises a whole series of questions: How can we destabilize established art historical narratives? Defix the canon? Investigate backstories? This gift provides the perfect platform for examine the self-management of female photographers within a diversity of artistic strategies and activate new readings about their contributions to contemporary culture", pointed roxana marcoci , Senior Curator in the Robert B. Menschel Department of Photography at MoMA.
Self-Portrait with Veil (1930), Gertrud Arndt
Will be on 2022 when the museum opens an exhibition with works from this important donation, in addition to publishing an academic catalog that accompanies it.