Ann Kim, Indiana University East Assistant Professor of Fine Arts, and her students this summer are exploring the representation and depiction of women in art.  The students will be sharing their knowledge with the public during two free lectures at the Richmond Art Museum on June 12 and June 26, from 12:45-1:45.  One of the presentations is an historical overview of women in art and the effect of the male gaze, and one focuses on the career of the painter and Degas model Suzanne Valadon, who experienced art on both sides of the brush.  If you’re interested in attending, the Richmond Art Museum is located in the east side of the high school, at 350 Hub Etchison Parkway.

Maybe you’re enrolled in an art course this summer, too.  Or maybe you just have a passion for art, whether you can paint a masterpiece or couldn’t draw a polar bear in a snowstorm to save your life.  Regardless, you may feel lost in how to begin exploring the world of art and how women have found a place in it.  Fortunately, we have plenty of resources to help you.

Databases like ProQuest Arts, Oxford Art Online, Humanities International Index, or the Design and Applied Arts Index are great places to start, although JSTOR is great for older art and Biography in Context offers detailed information about specific artists that might interest you.  Journals like Women’s Art Journal or the Art Bulletin are great resources as well, and can be browsed online.

Or if books are more your thing, we have plenty, including Erotic Ambiguities: The Female Nude in Art by Helen McDonald, Feminist Art and the Maternal by Andrea Liss, Visualizing Feeling: Affect and the Feminine Avant-garde by Susan Best, and Cultural Interactions: Studies in the Relationship between the Arts, Volume 13: What is a Woman to Do? : A Reader on Women, Work and Art by Kyriaki Hadjiafxendi.

And of course, if you need any help, don’t hesitate to contact us at iueref@iue.edu!