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Undistributed Documentary of the Day
Feb. 12th, 2009 11:43 amLast night, several of us went to see Who Does She Think She Is?", which looks at the extreme under-representation of women artists, and the even more extreme under-representation of mothers within that subgroup.
The director wasn't there at the start of the showing, but she was there at the end to field and answer questions.
One fascinating thing that the director expected to find, but didn't, was resentment on the part of the children that their mother was not paying attention to them. As it turns out, all of the artists in the movie included their children in their studio time (not all the time, but at least some of the time). When the mother/artists needed solo time, the kids understood (unless they were too young to do so).
But their husbands: only two of the artists studied (out of six) had intact marriages at the end of the film. One divorced father was the co-pastor of the church with his wife. And even he couldn't accept that her art was taking time and attention away from him. The director met with him a year or so after she wrapped the film, and he expressed true sorrow that he couldn't deal, but he still couldn't deal.
One fascinating case of a marriage that both survived and thrived the artist's career was a Mormon couple that got married when they were both 18. They had five children, which was as hectic as you'd expect, but Mom sold an average of a sculpture a month, bringing in approximately $33K per year. Her work shows internationally, for all that she hasn't really traveled very far outside of Columbus, Ohio. (We did get to see their whole family at a major art show in Chicago.)
The major differences seem to be basic: in the marriages that worked, both of the couple knew exactly what they were signing up for. In the ones that didn't, the woman could no longer suppress her art to simply "be the housewife" (or co-pastor), and the dynamic within the marriage changed radically.
And all of this is within the context of the art world mostly ignoring women artists, and women artists disdaining or resenting artists who are also raising a family.
For all that seriousness, there were many very funny moments during the film. It's a loving and sympathetic portrayal.
And, like any good documentary, or any good art, it raises at least as many questions as it answers.
If you have an indie cinema or a sympathetic academic hall near you, work to get this documentary shown. It's important.
The director wasn't there at the start of the showing, but she was there at the end to field and answer questions.
One fascinating thing that the director expected to find, but didn't, was resentment on the part of the children that their mother was not paying attention to them. As it turns out, all of the artists in the movie included their children in their studio time (not all the time, but at least some of the time). When the mother/artists needed solo time, the kids understood (unless they were too young to do so).
But their husbands: only two of the artists studied (out of six) had intact marriages at the end of the film. One divorced father was the co-pastor of the church with his wife. And even he couldn't accept that her art was taking time and attention away from him. The director met with him a year or so after she wrapped the film, and he expressed true sorrow that he couldn't deal, but he still couldn't deal.
One fascinating case of a marriage that both survived and thrived the artist's career was a Mormon couple that got married when they were both 18. They had five children, which was as hectic as you'd expect, but Mom sold an average of a sculpture a month, bringing in approximately $33K per year. Her work shows internationally, for all that she hasn't really traveled very far outside of Columbus, Ohio. (We did get to see their whole family at a major art show in Chicago.)
The major differences seem to be basic: in the marriages that worked, both of the couple knew exactly what they were signing up for. In the ones that didn't, the woman could no longer suppress her art to simply "be the housewife" (or co-pastor), and the dynamic within the marriage changed radically.
And all of this is within the context of the art world mostly ignoring women artists, and women artists disdaining or resenting artists who are also raising a family.
For all that seriousness, there were many very funny moments during the film. It's a loving and sympathetic portrayal.
And, like any good documentary, or any good art, it raises at least as many questions as it answers.
If you have an indie cinema or a sympathetic academic hall near you, work to get this documentary shown. It's important.
