Abstract
This chapter focuses on women and their artwork.
The work of women artists may be constrained by
various forces, limiting their mobility and also their
ability to give voice to their work. In Melanesian societies that have traditionally been dominated by male
decision-making and male representations, women
have often been prohibited from speaking on behalf
of themselves, their families, and the larger community or representing these concerns in art. As I will
show, these restraints affect their ability to participate
in national and international art settings. In addition,
women’s art was less accessible to early collectors
(Hermkens 2007a: 9-12,18), and was often classified as
non-art by collectors, anthropologists and the global
art market. As a result, women’s work has become to a
large extent invisible.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Pacific Island Artists: Navigating the Global Art World |
Editors | Karen Stevenson |
Place of Publication | Oakland USA |
Publisher | Masalai Press |
Pages | 35-49 |
Edition | 1st |
ISBN (Print) | 0971412774 |
Publication status | Published - 2011 |