Presenting One's Art

If a woman's work is comparably similar to a man's in regards to line, color, quality, technique and subject matter, why is it not considered to be of the same value or worth? Is it really the painting, or is it the woman? If it's not the painting, then surely it has to be the woman, and if it is said that women and men are treated equally in the art business, then it must be the way the woman presents herself and her work that is not getting her the same success as a man. Wrong. Women put forth just as much effort to sell and distribute their work just the same as men do, so why is there still no recognition?

http://www.mookychick.co.uk/icon/guerrilla_girls2.php

A group that was founded around 1985 called the Guerrilla Girls, stand for all of the above when it comes to women in art. Their group was created out of a concern of the under representation of women in modern art. Their statement reads:

"We are a group of women artists and art professionals who fight discrimination. We're the conscience of the art world, counterparts to the mostly male tradition of anonymous do-gooders like Robin Hood, Batman, and the Lone Ranger. We have produced over 80 posters, printed projects and actions that expose sexism and racism in the art world and the culture at large, We wear gorilla masks to keep the focus on the issues rather than our personalities. We use humor to prove that feminists can be funny. Our work has been passed around the world by kindred spirits who consider themselves Guerrilla Girls too. We could be anyone; we are everywhere" (The Guerrilla Girls).

The Guerrilla Girls gives art for women a new hope. They've created a group that any woman artist in need of support can count on and depend upon by basically paving a new way for women artists and supporting the equalization of men and women in art. They do this by showing all the past women in art who should be recognized as great contributors. They've created a bond and will hopefully keep building from it.

The main issue they constantly address is why the white male seems to be the only successful kind of artist you can find ever since the beginning of art. What is hard to understand is that if you were to step into any art gallery, I guarantee that it would be almost impossible to point out which artwork has been made by a woman and which has been made by a man. Therefore, why the separation and the discrimination?! Another point that the Guerrilla Girls have made is that, “less than 5% of the artists in the Modern Art Sections are women, but 85% of the nudes are female” (The Guerrilla Girls). It's sexist the way galleries and even exhibitions are run in general and it really shows that it is still clearly, a man's world out there. To put it bluntly, do women need to have balls in order to be worth talking about? (Reilly, and Nochlin). Do we need to have this arrogance about us and act like we own the place?

http://www.artandwork.us/2009/12/selected-moments-in-the-history-of-economic-art/

It's a constant battle trying to figure out how to act, what to do, what to create, how to create it, what kind of message to send to an audience, what kind of subject matter to address, and now how to succeed not in just terms of money, but by becoming above or equal to men. Why is there a standard that women are held to within the art community and why is it impossible to just remove our gender from the work and have the focus be specifically about the work? It seems to be miles within a woman's grasp.