I am no artist. Have zero skill in anything artistic but I enjoy a wide range of artistic expressions. I walk away from good art not understanding the technical aspects of why it worked but just knowing it worked for me. Our daughter therefore has been subjected to museum tours from the time she was a toddler. Any trip we undertook was never complete without a stop at the local museum - whether it is natural history or national art. This year she decided to take an Art History class at school for a bunch of reasons but the primary one was to enjoy these "unavoidable trips to the museums with mom" better. I am happy to report that she enjoyed the class (kudos to her wonderful teacher) and I offer incontrovertible proof - of her own volition she asked for a trip to the Getty villa and the Center this summer.
Although I don't need any special motivation to visit these places, two women reached out from the past and offered us inspiration. One was the world's first known author/poet and the other was a brilliant painter whose achievements are finally being acknowledged by the world at large. From the villa to the center we went from 1800 BC to 1600AD and through the lives of these two women one can trace an arc of women's role in society.
The Villa hosted exhibitions which featured artifacts from Mesopotamia and of all the things on display this tablet was my favorite! This was Princess and High Priestess Enheduana's work "Exaltation of Inanna" from 1850-1700 BC. Although the original is lost this is a copy done by scribes who preserved the hymn in clay tablets. Enheduanna was the daughter of King Sargon who upon conquering Ur made his daughter the High Priestess of Nanna the moon god. It is interesting to note that during a time of crisis she composed the hymn not to Nanna (her husband, the moon god) but to Inanna the Goddess of love. Sisterhood rules!
Granted she was the daughter of a king, but she was powerful in her own right. After all she remained a priestess through the reign of her father, her brothers and her nephew. She certainly was not an exception. Right next to this artifact there was a small statue. It showed another powerful woman, a priestess and it seemed to be fairly common in Mesopotamia 4000 years ago! These women controlled large tracts of land, received huge dowries which remained their possession throughout their life and were theirs to dispose of at the time of their death. Many scribes were women (the kings were illiterate) and the patron deity of scribes was also a goddess!
Standing in front of this object with my daughter (who is a budding writer) next to me I was covered in goosebumps. Never did I imagine that the world's first author was a woman! There is no doubt we've made significant strides in women's education in the past 50 years but when I look back to the early civilizations I can't help wonder how far we've actually fallen! Women priestesses, women writers, women in control of their own finances - this is humanity's collective past.
From Old Babylonia to Baroque Italy - our next stop this summer was at the Getty Center to see their latest acquisition - Artemisia Gentileschi's painting of Lucretia. Artemisia has become a feminist icon these days and in the era of #metoo it is not hard to see why. Her story adds to her art as she usually painted "donne forti" or strong women and thereby carved out a unique space for herself in the world of Baroque art. Raped by Tassi who then reneged on his promise to marry her, she took him to court, testified against him despite being tortured and got him convicted. She then married another, got accepted into the Academy at Florence, went on to paint a number of masterpieces in many famous courts.
I love this painting of Lucretia about to stab herself due to her rape proclaiming her innocence. A woman having faced sexual violence is about to commit a violent act on her own body. Historians remind us not to see everything Artemisia created from the perspective of her rape. She after all lived a long life and saw much professional success after the rape. Perhaps that is the message here. Women who have faced sexual assault don't have to be defined only as victims. She seems to have taken charge of her career and her destiny. Both the art and the artist are emotionally complex and they evoke complex feelings in the viewer too.
That wrapped up July for us! I was thrilled my daughter loved both the trips and she got so much out of them. Walking from room to room with her and hearing her talk about things that she loved was one of the most memorable experiences for me in recent times. My daughter always saw art everywhere. We went on a grocery run recently and as I parked my car and got out, a leaf that got painted over caught her eye. She snapped these three pictures and forced me to look closely even if it was just a parking lot in Costco!
