Janet Sobel ( 1894 - 1968)
The Widow
1942
Oil on canvas
Promised Gift to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas
North Temporary Exhibition Gallery
The Widow
ALICE WALTON: Janet Sobel is a really fascinating artist. She immigrated to the United States in 1908. Woman artist, self-trained. Janet was a Jewish immigrant. They fled the atrocities in the Ukraine, her family did with her. And when you look at this beautiful, beautiful painting, you see those atrocities in so many of the figures. They also refer back to the ancient tradition of folk art in the Ukraine. She actually lived in New Jersey and borrowed her child's school art supplies to make her work on the kitchen floor.Gertrude Whitney happened to see Janet Sobel's work and was so enthusiastic, that she gave her a one-woman show. As it happens--for those of you that are interested in art history, but it's really interesting anyway--Jackson Pollock came to that show, and there were drip paintings, some of which Crystal Bridges owns, in that show. And shortly thereafter, Jackson Pollock started dripping.
Crystal Bridges is very proud to try to bring her back into focus in the canons of art history, because of the very dominant role she played even as a self-taught artist in the world of art history.
The way art history gets written is that, it's only important artists that the curators and critics deem, that go into the canon. And because Janet Sobel was self-taught, and a woman, and a housewife, she was never really entered into that canon. And we hope that today's curators fix that oversight.
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Janet Sobel ( 1894 - 1968)
La viuda
1942
Óleo sobre lienzo
Promised Gift to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas
North Temporary Exhibition Gallery
La viuda
ALICE WALTON: Janet Sobel es una artista realmente fascinante. Inmigró a los Estados Unidos en 1908. Una artista mujer y autodidacta. Janet era una inmigrante judía. Ella y su familia escaparon de las atrocidades de Ucrania. Cuando se observa esta hermosa pintura, es posible ver esas atrocidades en muchas de las figuras. También hacen referencia a las antiguas tradiciones del arte popular ucraniano. Sobel vivía en Nueva Jersey; tomaba prestados los suministros de arte de la escuela de su hijo y realizaba sus obras en el piso de la cocina.Gertrude Whitney vio las pinturas de Janet Sobel y le parecieron tan buenas que le ofreció realizar una exposición individual. Como a veces sucede —cuento esto para aquellos interesados en la historia del arte, pero es un detalle atractivo, en cualquier caso—, Jackson Pollock asistió a la exposición y vio allí pinturas realizadas con la técnica del chorreado. Algunas de esas hoy pertenecen a Crystal Bridges. Poco tiempo después, Jackson Pollock comenzó a usar esa técnica.
Crystal Bridges se enorgullece de intentar volver a destacar a Janet Sobel en los cánones de la historia del arte, en función del importante papel que jugó, incluso siendo una artista autodidacta.
Los críticos y curadores son los que deciden quién ingresa en el canon. Así se escribe la historia del arte. Debido a que Sobel era autodidacta, mujer y ama de casa, nunca se la tuvo en cuenta realmente. Esperamos que los curadores de la actualidad subsanen tal omisión.
[Fin de la parada]