Once again, as part of the celebrations for International Women’s Day, the Faculty of Humanities got together with Cases Singulars to organise a conference focused on women artists. This year, the talk was titled “Visionaries and Transgressors: Contemporary Women Artists”. The talk was given by Anna Pou—with an introduction by the Dean of the Faculty, Judith Urbano—and focused on four artists who have shaped the history of art and fashion: Hilma af Klint, Elsa Schiaparelli, Coco Chanel and Marina Abramovic.

Art historian, art educator, lecturer and PhD student at UIC Barcelona Anna Pou gave a talk reviewing the lives and work of these trailblazing women: “I have chosen four very different women, all of whom were game changers and pioneers in their field. We will discover them in chronological order, starting with Hilma af Klint and ending with Marina Abramovic—who is still active today—since it is important to talk about women today and the women who came before them”, clarified the lecturer.

Four unique women

The talk made sure to highlight that Hilma af Klint was the world's first abstract artist. “Until recently we thought it was Kandinsky, but the truth was discovered when her legacy resurfaced in 1986. It was one of the most important events in the history of art”, said the expert.

The discussion about af Klint was followed by an analysis of the life and work of Coco Chanel, a leading pioneer who broke the mould for clothing and gender roles. “She wore trousers and a boater, a type of hat worn by gentlemen at the time”, explained Pou. “Chanel can also claim the achievement of being the first to create a bag with a strap, leaving your hands free”, continued the lecturer, stating that the designer created the “garçon” haircut.

The polar opposite to Chanel is Elsa Schiaparelli, a fashion designer with very close ties to surrealism and the avant-garde. “She broke stereotypes with her trouser skirts, created pictures on her clothes and added zippers to dresses for the first time”, explained Pou.

Finally, the lecture was rounded off with review of Marina Abramovic’s work, an artist known as the grandmother of performance art: “A radical woman from a radical family”, explained Pou. The expert highlighted some of her most internationally renowned works, in which “the body is the medium to make art” and where “physical and spiritual pain take centre stage, as the themes that most interested the artist”.

This talk is the second in the conferences series, which has been organised by Cases Singulars and UIC Barcelona for the third consecutive year. The next talk will take place in June, on World Art Nouveau Day.