In the Spirit of Art Criticism: Reading the Writings of Women Artists

Abstract

This article focuses on a newly developed college course in art appreciation and art criticism titled, “In the Words of Women Artists.” This introductory level course yields credit in fine arts and women's studies and draws students from a variety of disciplines within the arts. The purpose of the article is threefold. First, it describes the theoretical foundations of the course as it is grounded in postmodern and feminist criticism. Second, it offers a rationale for teaching about contemporary women's art through postmodern and feminist critical theory and practice. Third, through examples drawn from class assignments and discussions, it explains the theoretical background and instructional advantages of rotating frames of reference, that is, of requiring students to reason and respond from multiple points of view: their own, as both viewer and reader; the perspectives of the artists, as they are intertwined within their visual and verbal creativity; and those of the critics who write about the artists and their works.