Which woman artist do you want to go to dinner with and why? (a crowd-sourced post)


By Paulette Beete
Female head with the blog title text: "Which woman artist do you want to go to dinner with and why?"
To celebrate International Women's Day, we're throwing a (virtual) dinner party! We asked you on Facebook which past or present woman artist—of any discipline—would you like to have dinner with and why? Here’s what you said! “Niki de Saint Phalle because I love her mosaics and use of mirrors.”— Stacy O.W. “Gabriele Münter because she’s thoughtful and articulate.”— St. Rita's Amazing Traveling Bookstore and Textual Apothecary “Yoko Ono because she's lived through some of the biggest changes in history. I think her perspective is fascinating and I know I would leave with a lot to think about inspired by her thoughts.”— Caryl “Frida Kahlo because she had a very interesting life which gave her a perspective that intrigues me.”— Lorena “Mary Pratt because she can take us into the very soul of an iceberg.”— Dorothy “Given my interest in spirituality and the arts, I'd probably go with M.C. Richards or Agnes Martin.”— Christopher “Mary Cassatt because being a woman, leaving home in the U.S. to go be an artist in Europe, to do etchings, hang out with impressionists, is amazing!”— Laura “Louise Nevelson Assemblage took what was around her while being really poor and gathered objects made of pieces of wood and fitted them together to make some breathtaking works of art. Why would I love to have dinner with her? To admire her mink eyelashes.”— Martha “Judy Chicago because she never gave up trying to establish herself as an artist in the 60s in a male dominated art world.”— Monique “Jenny Holzer is my choice. I would love to sit down and talk to her about her ideas, influences, and memories of Ohio University.”— Cindy “Alice Neel. I would ask her what it was like to struggle between being a mom and an artist and how she dealt with the abandonment of her daughter. Also, what it was like living in NYC in those times…so many questions.”— Anna “Georgia O’Keeffe because she breathes life into the inanimate by honoring each subject as if it had breath and soul. She was a mystic artist.”— Wendy “Anna Hyatt Huntington. I would love to just sit and watch Anna at work on those huge sculptures [Brookgreen Gardens]. I love her.” — Carolyn “Camille Claudel. It must have taken great courage to depart from the decorative and classical thematic presence of the period and formulate work that was raw, emotive and extremely individualistic. To me, her work represents an outburst of suppressed energy.”— Vandana “I would love to have dinner with Cindy Sherman. To see what the real Cindy looks like, but mainly to hear how she develops the concepts for the various characters she portrays. I would ask her about people or events in real life that have inspired those characters. I would also love to know what interests and hobbies she had as a child.” — Kelly “Oh, definitely Jen Stark. Her vibrant work energizes anyone who views it and her humor and refreshing take on life would make for fun conversation!”— Ashley “Judy Chicago for sure! Her ability to pave the path for future female artists was monumental and her autobiographies were like reading my own journal entries at times.”— Jessica