From the Trap of Difference to That of Excellence: The Women Artists, Their Works and the Artistic Field

The works produced both by ethnic artists and by women artists lead us to suspect that either the aesthetic sensibility of art experts has not evolved sufficiently or that it is not “pure” enough to free them from the load of prejudices surrounding such works and those who produce them. To illustrate this problem, we will first offer two substantially different examples. The first concerns Report No. 8 commissioned by Emakunde, the Basque Women’s Institute (Spain) and published in the mid-nineteen nineties. The second refers to the Kunstkompass, a tool used to establish the ranking of the one hundred most internationally recognised artists. Next, we will examine the four clearly ranked circles of recognition existing in the artistic field. Finally, to demonstrate up to what point the position of women artists in the artistic field is that of inside yet out, we will analyse the content of two articles published in mid-February 2008 in the Babelia supplement of the El País spanish newspaper about two exhibitions of works by women artists.