Workshop: between role clichés and rebellion – women in art history
Museum Lyonel Feininger, Quedlinburg | March 22, 2025
The Museum Lyonel Feininger invites you to the interdisciplinary workshop “Between Role Clichés and Rebellion: Women in Art History and their Representations”. The event offers an in-depth examination of the role of women in art – both as artists and as depicted subjects within historical and contemporary contexts.
The workshop ties in thematically with the exhibition “T. Lux Feininger | Magic Moments”, which deals with the artist’s depictions of women, and at the same time forms a thematic bridge to an exhibition on East German women artists planned for 2026. The focus will be on questions relating to the visibility of female artists, the influence of patriarchal structures on art production and reception as well as feminist perspectives on art history.
Central aspects of this complex topic are dealt with in three thematic segments:
- Segment I: Women artists in art history
Which women artists have asserted themselves against existing conventions and what barriers did they have to overcome? Which art movements have been shaped by female artists or received decisive impulses from them? This segment sheds light on the historical challenges and successes of female artists and shows how their influence is still reflected in art history today. - Segment II: The counter-gendered gaze – women as a motif and projection surface
How were women portrayed in art and what social norms did these images correspond to? What stereotypes and role clichés are reflected in art and how have artists challenged these representations? This section looks at various case studies on representations of the female body – from traditional ideals of beauty to provocative, norm-critical positions. - Segment III: Feminism and intersectionality in art
How does feminist theory influence the production and reception of art? What role does intersectionality play in dealing with gender issues in art? This segment focuses on artistic strategies that deal with identity, power relations and social expectations.
The workshop is aimed at art historians, artists, cultural studies scholars and anyone interested in questions of gender representation in art. In addition to specialist lectures, the event offers space for discussion and reflection on the historical development and current challenges in this subject area.
Program
10:00 a.m. – Welcome by Museum Director Dr. Adina Christine Rösch
10:30 a.m. – I. Segment: Women artists in art history
- Dr. Nina-Marie Schüchter (Düsseldorf): “On the (‘male’) art history of abstraction and gender-specific stigmatization in artists’ texts”
- Andrea Aranda (Berlin): “The demolished architect – Marlene Poelzig in the field of tension between role models”
12:00 noon – Lunch break
1:00 p.m. – Segment II: The gendered view
- Dr. Stefan Matysiak (Göttingen): “The image of the newspaper-reading woman – a historical look at the artistic consequences of a gender stereotype”
- Anke K. Hoyer (Münster): “The exposed female breast in the self-act”
- Sandra Richter (Hamburg): “Provocation and Destruction: The Pregnant Nude in Modernism”
- Mona Behfeld (Hamburg): “The (im)possibility of solidarity using the example of Alfredo Jaar”
16:00 – Break
16:30 – III. segment: Feminism and intersectionality
- Anja Ilka Schneider (Cologne): “Lavender Scarescapes? The subverted gaze in Jenna Gribbon’s lesbian nude”
- Alexandra Karg (Marburg): “Her own voice – subaltern articulation and representation in Nil Yalter and Cana Bilir-Meier”
- Paula Gauß (Braunschweig): “Empowerment, subversion and affirmation by women artists of Pop Art”
Concept and moderation: Dr. Adina Rösch, Teresa Kompart
The workshop will take place in hybrid form and will also be broadcast on the museum’s YouTube channel.
Registration for participation (in person or online) by March 18, 2025 to:
More information: www.museum-feininger.de