Georgia OKeefe and Janet Cummings Good - Research Paper Example

Georgia O’Keefe and Janet Cummings Good As most in most professions that require appreciation, art is a field dominated by men. However, there are women who have contributed great work to the world of art. Two of these women are Georgia O’Keefe, and Janet Cummings Good. In looking at the considerable contributions that have been made by these two artist, one finds a simplicity of voice emanating from both. While O’Keefe is a painter and Cummings Good is a graphic designer, both have contributed work that is understated, yet profound. In looking at the lives and work of these two women, it can be seen that while men do dominate the field, women have a viable place in the world of art. Georgia O’Keefe was born in 1887 outside of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. She suffered from a great number of afflictions that would leave her bedridden and would interrupt her career from time to time. She had suffered with typhoid fever as a child, and later would suffer from difficulties with her vision from a bout of the measles. She worked as a teacher for many years and inspired many students during her career. She had her first gallery showing of ten of her drawings at the 291 gallery in 1916. (Eldridge and O’Keeffe 19). Her life was spent devoted to art, although she did find love with the man who first showed her art in the 291 Gallery. In showing her art to the 291 Gallery, Georgia O’Keefe would find a man who Client Last Name 2 would be the love of her life. Alfred Steiglitz approved her work for the gallery and an attraction developed between them. Unfortunately, Stieglitz was married and their affair would have to wait to be legitimized until he divorced his wife. He was granted a divorce in 1924 and shortly after he and O’Keefe were married. In 1946, Alfred died from the effects of cerebral thrombosis (Eldridge and O‘Keefe). The work of Georgia O’Keefe is typified by the beautiful paintings of close framed perspectives of flowers. However, these works are not the only types of work that were done by the artist. Another one of her more famous pieces shows the skull of a steer with various flowers around the work. This piece, while the artist contended for her whole life that none of her work was sexual in theme, can be seen to represent the female reproduction system (Hein 34). As well, the flowers that are so famously hung in homes and businesses across the world, can be seen as symbolic of the female genitalia. Still O’Keefe claimed that this was not the case and that she did not intend for their to be eroticism in her art. In fact, she claimed there was no such aspect to her work (Garrard 449). Still, O’Keefe has been the topic of many feminist critics due to the visible sexual undercurrent that appears to influence her work. While she herself disclaimed these aspects, it is difficult not to see the resemblance to the female anatomy within the petals of the flowers, or the female reproductive system outlined in some of her Sante Fe work. The appreciation for the female body seems to be evident in the work and some feminists use her work as an example of finer artworks by women within the United States. However, some critics think that her style lacks a certain detail of education and that she Client Last Name 3 is well known, not for her work, but for her own celebrity (Eldridge 227). According to Alexander, no one writes well about Georgia O‘Keefe other than the artist herself (228). In a quote that Alexander repeats that the artist made, she claims that she has in her head a way of looking at things that she things no one else really can see. As well, she relates a time when she decided that she needed to strip everything she envisioned down to its bare elements, working solely in black and white until she felt like she had expressed everything she needed to express in those simple terms. O’Keefe said “I believe it was June before I needed blue” (Alexander 228). Such a simple and lovely quote is typical of O’Keefe and is reflective of the artwork that she created. Georgia O’Keefe lived to be 98 years old and died only a few weeks after her brush last struck a canvas (Robinson 402). The work she created during her lifetime has influenced female artists to aspire to represent the female perspective, if not the female form. The delicate beauty of many of her works has translated into commercial reproductions and art prints that find their way into many avenues of viewing. However, the power of this particular arist was in the way she brought her work to light. She was unapologetic for the undertones that can be seen, denying their existence and insisting that the art simply was itself. By freeing the artful expression and opening the way in which art created by women was viewed, O’Keefe has become a well-studied and respected member of art history. He entry into the world of art, as respected teacher and as viable gallery artist, helped to pave the way for other female artists to find their voice. One of the more contemporary artists Janet Cummings Good. As a partner to a graphics design firm, she Client Last Name 4 and her husband have produced commercialized work that has influenced the art world. As O’Keefe too had spent some time doing commercial work, so too does Janet Cummings Good. Janet Cummings Good graduated from the University of Connecticut and is partnered in a graphics design studio with her husband ( Linked In). Cummings and Good have a well-respected and honored line of calendars that hold popular appeal. As well, the graphics work has a high level of understanding on simplicity and design balance. The most recent work has the influence of turn of the century themes and nuances to the look of the work. From a graphics point of view, the work reveals a tendency to feminize the every day. The business appears to have been formed before she married it’s co-founder. Just like O’Keefe who took as her husband the man who first showed her work to the world, Janet Cummings took her business partner as her husband. Having this type of a relationship allows for a rich and expressive atmosphere for work to be accomplished. As Ms. Cummings Good works with her husband, so then does her company reflect both her and her husband’s aesthetics. As a graphics artist of the modern world, her company gives her the opportunity to make a living as an artist. The work created can be found on commercialized items and provides a source of revenue to support their art. In comparing the work that was accomplished by Georgia O’Keefe to that of Janet Cummings Good, the greatest difference that can be seen is that O’Keefe’s work has been completed, her journey done and her legacy secure. Janet Cummings Good is still creating her career, still has potential for more artistic achievement, and is yet to reach the level of Client Last Name 5 recognition that O’Keefe has reached. She is still a work in progress, where the story of O’Keefe’s life and accomplishments has been written and will not experience any further evolution. Georgia O’Keefe is one of the most influential and important women in American art. Janet Cummings Good is still working on her legacy and creating the lasting impression that the world will carry forward into history. Client Last Name 6 Works Cited Alexander, Jo. Women and Aging: An Anthology by Women. Corvallis, OR: Calyx Books, 1986. Eagleton, Mary. Feminist Literary Theory: A Reader. Cambridge, Mass: Blackwell, 1996. Eldredge, Charles C., and Georgia O'Keeffe. Georgia O'Keeffe: American and Modern. New Haven: Yale U. P., 1993. Garrard, Mary D., and Norma Broude. The Expanding Discours Feminism and Art History. New York: HarperCollins Publ, 1992. Hein, Hilde S., and Carolyn Korsmeyer. Aesthetics in Feminist Perspective. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press, 1993. Linked In. Janet Cummings Good. Viewed at Robinson, Roxana. Georgia O'Keeffe: A Life. London: Bloomsbury, 1990. Read More