MASP

In response to the persistent exclusion of female artists from the hegemonic narratives of art history, EvaMarie Lindahl and Ditte Ejlerskov proposed an intervention using one of the main channels that legitimate the condition: art history books. Based on the Basic Art series published by Taschen—a publishing house that specializes in visual culture books—Lindahl and Ejlerskov mapped the percentage of female and male names that make up the series. In 2014, the first year of About: The Blank Pages, there were only 5 women amongst the 97 names published by the series. To call attention to this discrepancy, the duo carried out extensive research, surveying 100 female artist names that would fit all the criteria established by the publisher when editing the series, including, most of all: participation in museum exhibitions and presence in major art collections. The list was sent to Taschen with a letter questioning the reasons behind the exclusion. They are yet to receive a response. About: The Blank Pages consists of 100 new, similarly-designed book covers with the listed women. These are displayed on shelves similar to those found in bookshops, amongst other books published by Taschen. However, the content of these “new” books is left blank, materializing the absence of their stories, which are still to be written and published. With their independent productions that delve into the issues of gender and feminisms, Lindahl and Ejlerskov constantly question the protagonists and methodologies of professed official narratives.

— Talita Trizoli, postdoctoral researcher, IEB-USP, 2019

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