Art Publishing

The Story of Art Without Men

Katy Hessel Hutchinson Heinemann, 2022, 520 pp.

“Men put me down as the best woman painter. I think I’m one of the best painters” – Georgia O’Keeffe

THE STORY OF Art Without Men by Katy Hessel is the first comprehensive account of women’s contributions to visual culture, presented in geographical totality and across history. Why do we need to know about the contributions that women artists have made to the practice and the history of art, and why should these contributions require re-evaluation, re-assessment and re-assertion today? The publication follows the life and work of trailblazing women artists across culture in general, and the visual arts and visual culture specifically. The reader is taken on a comprehensive, well-researched, enjoyable, and accessible journey through the story of art, in which women have played critically important roles, yet have been largely overlooked.

The idea for the book came when Hessel attended an international art fair, where she discovered a poor representation of women artists. Clearly a dynamic and versatile curator, researcher and ‘doer’, Hessel set out to address the under-representation of women in art history by creating a popular Instagram platform that she called thegreatwomenartists; its popularity grew fast and today it boasts 292k followers. Whilst regularly writing about great women artists in her blog, Hessel began developing ideas for The Story of Art Without Men, which was launched on 6 September at the Victoria Miro gallery in London, alongside an excellent exhibition, curated by Hessel, of selected works by leading artists featured in the book. This exhibition presented paintings by Tracey Emin, Celia Paul, Flora Yukhnovich, photography by Khadija Saye, collages by Wangechi Mutu and Deborah Roberts, and multi-media works by Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Sarah Sze, among others.

Hessel’s book attempts to address the great gender imbalance in the history of art, charting 500 years and spanning from the Renaissance to the present day. Written as an exciting, accessible, and often personal narrative, the publication is a compendium of research, perhaps originating from Hessel’s work as a columnist, researcher and art blogger in recent years. Apart from offering a comprehensive encyclopaedia of women artists and their work, Hessel’s book also manages to pose urgent questions.

Whilst challenging the male gaze and patriarchal narratives – known to intentionally omit, un-write, delete or mask women’s global contributions to art and culture – the book also strives to empower current and future generations of women artists, not only by giving them a long overdue place in history, but by writing about them from a female perspective. By giving voice to those who have been made voiceless, and moreover, by sharing her own relationships with her heroes, through in-depth conversations with the artists, the author makes her own

voice clearly heard.

These sections of the book – where Hessel’s excitement, admiration, even awe in the presence of great works by women artists – are the most tangible and illuminating. This personal involvement explains the more conversational and less academic style of writing that Hessel adopts, especially in the sections on contemporary women artists who are creating astonishing work today, many of whom the author knows personally. However, the publication has certain weaknesses. For example, it may have given more weight to the Soviet Avant-garde, the only twentieth-century political and artistic movement that treated male and female artists with absolute equality; the minimal two-page contribution feels incomplete.

Hessel makes sure we hear her voice in the first person throughout this book. For example, in the chapter entitled ‘The Body’, Hessel writes as if she is narrating in a curious, playful, enthusiastic, and infectious way. In fact, the reader feels present – virtually in the room with Hessel and her subjects – almost listening into that conversation and becoming part of the dialogue. This is especially apparent in the chapters dedicated to the living women artists whom Hessel has, more often than not, met in person, interviewed for her podcast, or written about. The style of Hessel’s writing is consistent throughout the book. Whether talking about historic figures like Artemisia Gentileschi and Elisabetta Sirani, Tamara de Lempicka or Anni Albers, the reader feels her emotional connection, personal commitment, and unequivocal investment in her subjects and their work.

Hessel’s book is complemented by a series of comprehensive interviews with artists, curators, and art activists, and presented as a series of podcasts, in which Hessel acts as both content creator and interviewer. Listening to the podcasts, dedicated to some of the living women artists featured in Hessel’s book, is a highly rewarding experience, as readers can hear their actual voices, thus bringing us even closer to their vitality, urgency, and importance.

Varvara Keidan Shavrova is a visual artist, curator, educator and researcher. She is currently a PhD Candidate at the Royal College of Art. Born in the USSR, she lives and works between London, Dublin, and Berlin. Shavrova will present her research at the IMMA international research conference, ‘100 Years of Self Determination’ (9-12 November).

varvarashavrova.com

Katy Hessel, The Story of Art Without Men, 2022, front cover; image courtesy the author and Hutchinson Heinemann.

Katy Hessel; photograph by Luke Fullalove, courtesy the author and Hutchinson Heinemann.