so, i've mentioned before in a previous post about losing my f*cking marbles when i decided to go full-time as an artist. turns out after that kweenie chronicle i'm of total sane mind (true story)
but there is another factor that might just make me insane – i'm female!
no, no, no this does not mean all women are insane, but it might mean i'm mad to plunge headfirst into the still heavily male dominated art world as my current profession?
double the shit
Yuhuh so is it, double the fun, double the challenge or just double the shit to wade through?
i mean think about it: who’s the first artist that pops into your mind?
go on,
i’ll wait...
bet you a tenner you thought of someone like Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, Da Vinci, or maybe even Damian Hirst or Banksy. but i can 100% guarantee that, even if you struggled to think of one artist, none of your thoughts were heading towards that of a female artist, & that, my kween is exactly what i'm up against!
shitshow since the 1980s
women have been sidelined in the art world for centuries
the Guerrilla Girls, an anonymous group of feminist activist artists, have been ragin’ about this shitshow since the 1980s
their iconic posters ask:
“Do women have to be naked to get into the Met Museum?”
pointing out that less than 5% of the artists in the Modern Art sections are women, but 85% of the nudes are female
you may think that the “Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band” album cover was created by Peter Blake, well you’d be wrong, his wife & artist Jann Haworth was the principal artist but guess what happened?
oh yes that’s right - he was given the credit!
total WTF moment, right?
& let’s not forget Georgia O’Keeffe imagine making groundbreaking art & having people act like your husband (Alfred Stieglitz) is the real creative genius!
now that’s a total WTF moment, right?
even today, we’re still fighting to be recognised
enter the Jealous Curator, & her book, that shines a spotlight on women artists (it’s about bloody time someone did, don’t you think?)
it's title: “A Big Important Art Book (Now with Women)” well no shit Sherlock the title says it all!
what's wild is, it’s not just in the fine art world where women are fighting for props & respect. let's take a wee peek at the film industry & Audrey Hepburn, one of my most favourite kweens
he would’ve looked like a right dick
when Gregory Peck insisted that Audrey Hepburn share top billing with him in Roman Holiday (1953), it was more than just an act of goodwill
had Peck not insisted she shared the billing he would’ve looked like a right dick. her killer talent & grace snagged her an Oscar for Best Actress, showing everyone the badass kween she really was
Audrey kept on killing it, & in my eyes, became the ultimate iconic symbol of class & power. & this is why i love to have her front & centre in loads of my artwork
in “blue for you”, from my “something on my mind” collection, she may be hiding behind her sunglasses, but she still screams silver screen goddess
kweenie rebellious unapologetic pop art original featuring Audrey Hepburn - "blue for you"
her divine power in “fuck you” couldn’t be any more in your face
kweenie rebellious unapologetic pop art original featuring Audrey Hepburn - "fuck you"
she may be a wee bit harder to recognise in my “obscurity” collection, but that iconic hair is a dead give away
kweenie rebellious unapologetic pop art original featuring Audrey Hepburn - "mini pop I"
kweenie rebellious unapologetic pop art original featuring Audrey Hepburn - "mini pop II"
kweenie rebellious unapologetic pop art original featuring Audrey Hepburn - "mini pop III"
her golden bubble in "who me?" is simply iconic in my "we see you" collection
kweenie rebellious unapologetic pop art original featuring Audrey Hepburn - "who me?"
& finally my latest kweenie shout out to Audrey has her rocking some celestial wings, proving she can totally defy the norm – yass kween!
kweenie work in progress of unapologetic pop art original featuring a celestial Audrey Hepburn - so far it's "untitled"
through my art, i shine a spotlight on the badass women who’ve been overlooked, just like Audrey Hepburn flexed her strength & elegance while the old boys' network was calling the shots
every piece has a nod to those game-changing women who’ve made waves in our culture, showing that their impact, although it is maybe vintage now, is still as fierce as ever!
cue dramatic music
but here’s where it gets really interesting for me in my new career
it’s not just in fine art & films where women have been up against the odds; it’s in business too. & guess what? i’m doing both! - cue dramatic music (not quite the Eastenders “doof”, “doof”, “doofs” though!)
let’s be real, building my own fempire, where the worlds of art & fempreneurship collide is like trying to ride a unicorn & a rollercoaster at the same time
one’s all glitter & dreams, while the other’s a wild, loop-de-loop of strategy, networking & sometimes, ruthless decision-making!
like sugar is to shite
they’re poles apart, like sugar is to shite, but somehow, i have to make this work (stay tuned for a later post on this very topic, for sure)
so if we just think about the women in business side for now, it wasn’t all that long ago that women weren’t even allowed to open a business loan without a male co-signer in the UK
can you believe that? in 1975, it was still a requirement for a man to co-sign a woman's business loan – WTAF!
gasps in horror!
& the fact that really got me was that we legally couldn't even buy a pint at the bar until 1988 – gasps in horror!
but fast forward a few decades, & now we’ve got Anne Boden, the badass CEO & founder of Starling Bank, flipping the bird at that old boys’ business network
hmmm, even though she might be female i'm still getting thrown a few curveballs (erm Anne, can we talk about my rejected business account application, please?)
but the point is, we’re not just playing the game – we’re changing the god damn f*cking rules
f*ck no actually, we own the game & are writing the f*cking rules!
in fact, more women than ever are starting their own businesses in the UK. in 2022, just over 20% of all new companies were all-female-led, up from 17% in 2018
that's 44% - almost gender parity!
& for the first time, according to the 2023 Rose Review Progress Report, the growth of female-led businesses is outstripping that of male-led ones. around 2 in 5 entrepreneurs in the UK are now women, that's 44% almost gender parity!
that’s more like my kinda numbers!
now let’s talk money for a minute. it turns out women have the power to shape markets & economies too
i mean just look at Taylor Swift - she single-handedly boosted the UK economy by £1billion with her Eras Tour. f*ck, the University of Birmingham even coined the term “Swiftonomics”
according to Maria Psyllou, Assistant Professor in Economics - University of Birmingham
“Swiftonomics illustrates how a high-profile artist with her unique influence and business decisions, can create substantial economic ripple effects.”
has f*cking orgasmic potential!
if just one woman can pull that off, oft imagine women working together in business? holy shit that has f*cking orgasmic potential!
Chappell Roan has called it right, that would be a “femininomenon” for sure
this brings me to a wee nugget that’s been rattling around in my head - creating a new kweenie collection based on women who’ve been sidelined or overlooked just because they are female
women who, despite the odds, made waves, broke barriers, & left their mark on history
i’m talking about the women who should have been household names but were instead hidden in the footnotes of history
well, not on my watch, just get me a good photograph & i'm on it kween
got any ideas on who i should include? then hit me up in the comments...
shattering it with a sledgehammer
so, for now, the Guerrilla Girls continue to fight the good fight in the art world, & i’m proud to be part of a new wave of female artists & entrepreneurs making their mark
together, we’re not just breaking the glass ceiling; we’re shattering it with a f*cking sledgehammer, & in my case it’s covered in gold leaf & glitter, of course!
who runs this mother? GIRLS!
love you, bye
kx
PS what i’ve learned as the owner of 2 X chromosomes...
- being a female artist is my superpower & i'm gonna use it
- don’t be afraid to break the mould & create your own path, even if it means going against the grain
- the “old boys business network” is a relic
- the future is bright & the future is f*cking female!
x
3 comments
Hedy Lamarr for sure!!!
I for sure think Dolly Parton is one of the og femininomenon, she literally looks and the music industry and she started the imagination library which gives children under 5 the opportunity to get free books and foster love for literacy xx
I recently watched the film, hidden figures, the women in that film should be household names for sure, I would love it if you created some of your kweenie’s featuring them, I’d need to Google their names though, but that’s why they need to be shouted about so they are known in today’s society for the contribution they have made.
Love a read at these kweenie chronicles, whilst laughing I actually learn stuff too!