CAN YOU NAME FIVE WOMEN ARTISTS?

Here is a hint:

T-shirt design from the Corita Art Center

We all are familiar with Frida Kahlo, who has become a cult figure, but few of us, including me, can make a list of women artists beyond Mary Cassatt, Berthe Morisot or Louise Nevelson.

Still flummoxed about these five first names?

courtesy of Corita Art Center

The first name on the T-shirt belongs to Corita Kent, an artist and nun, who became a popular artist because of her bright colors and simple expressions. She used silkscreen to produce her colorful message at a time when the world rocked with the Vietnam War and civil rights demonstrations.

Ray Eames partnered with her husband Charles to design what is now called Mid-Century Modern furniture. They are best known for the Eames lounge chair and molded wood or plastic side chairs. Ray produced many textile designs as well.

Hilma de Klimt, inspired by her quest for spiritual awakening, painted geometric shapes, used vivid colors and intricate patterns in the early part of the 20th century long before her more well-known contemporaries, Kandinsky and Mondrian. Born in Sweden, her work has remained hidden until the Guggenheim's exhibit from last year.



courtesy of https://www.antheamissy.com/tag/hilma/

Faith Ringgold, known for her quilts and large paintings depicting civil liberties and conflicts, also has published 17 books including Tar Beach, which is based on one of her story quilts. She is a retired art professor from UC San Diego.

courtesy of Crocker Art Museum 

Elaine L. Cohen, a prolific graphic designer and artist, created Mid-Century work in collage, designed interiors of buildings and book jackets, museum catalogs, and paintings. She incorporated geometric shapes into her public spaces and women's images into her artwork. She was one of the first to develop a complete identity program throughout a building such as in the Seagram Building in New York City.

courtesy of Elaine Lustig Cohen

I have been on a hunt to discover who the five artists are. I can now name all the artists on my T-shirt as well as a few more.

I am standing in front of a serigraph print by Sudi McCollum, an illustrator and artist, while holding two beautifully illustrated books. One is The Four Seasons by Mary Azarian, a Vermont woodblock printer and the other is Sherrie Lovler's On Softer Ground.

Women artists are everywhere. You just have to look for them.

For more information on these five women artists as well as the three artists in my photograph:

https://corita.org/collection

https://www.eamesoffice.com

https://www.hilmaafklint.se/en/

https://www.faithringgold.com

https://elainelustigcohen.com/artwork/

https://www.sudimccollum.com/new-index-1

https://www.maryazarian.com

https://www.artandpoetry.com/pages/sherrie-lovler.html