Was the Matter Settled? Else Alfelt, Lotti van der Gaag, and Defining CoBrA
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Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK
2020
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| Online Access: | http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1586786734877754 |
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ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-bgsu15867867348777542021-08-03T07:14:18Z Was the Matter Settled? Else Alfelt, Lotti van der Gaag, and Defining CoBrA Boroff, Kari Art History Art Criticism European History Gender Studies Museums Womens Studies CoBrA Cobra COBRA Else Alfelt Lotti van der Gaag Art Movements European History Art History Patriarchy Art Museums Art Collections Avant-Garde The CoBrA art movement (1948-1951) stands prominently among the few European avant-garde groups formed in the aftermath of World War II. Emphasizing international collaboration, rejecting the past, and embracing spontaneity and intuition, CoBrA artists created artworks expressing fundamental human creativity. Although the group was dominated by men, a small number of women were associated with CoBrA, two of whom continue to be the subject of debate within CoBrA scholarship to this day: the Danish painter Else Alfelt (1910-1974) and the Dutch sculptor Lotti van der Gaag (1923-1999), known as "Lotti." In contributing to this debate, I address the work and CoBrA membership status of Alfelt and Lotti by comparing their artworks to CoBrA's two main manifestoes, texts that together provide the clearest definition of the group's overall ideas and theories. Alfelt, while recognized as a full CoBrA member, created structured, geometric paintings, influenced by German Expressionism and traditional Japanese art; I thus argue that her work does not fit the group's formal aesthetic or philosophy.Conversely Lotti, who was never asked to join CoBrA, and was rejected from exhibiting with the group, produced sculptures with rough, intuitive, and childlike forms that clearly do fit CoBrA's ideas as presented in its two manifestoes. Examining Alfelt's and Lotti's individual roles within CoBrA through the feminist art theories of Linda Nochlin and Laura Mulvey, writings by scholars and art historians, and exhibitions and collections, I focus on individual and institutional influences, and patriarchal contexts that shaped these two artists' status in relation to CoBrA membership. In doing so, I also pose questions about who belongs in any art movement, and who gets to decide who belongs, and how all of this is defined complexly over time. 2020-05-04 English text Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1586786734877754 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1586786734877754 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws. |
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NDLTD |
| language |
English |
| sources |
NDLTD |
| topic |
Art History Art Criticism European History Gender Studies Museums Womens Studies CoBrA Cobra COBRA Else Alfelt Lotti van der Gaag Art Movements European History Art History Patriarchy Art Museums Art Collections Avant-Garde |
| spellingShingle |
Art History Art Criticism European History Gender Studies Museums Womens Studies CoBrA Cobra COBRA Else Alfelt Lotti van der Gaag Art Movements European History Art History Patriarchy Art Museums Art Collections Avant-Garde Boroff, Kari Was the Matter Settled? Else Alfelt, Lotti van der Gaag, and Defining CoBrA |
| author |
Boroff, Kari |
| author_facet |
Boroff, Kari |
| author_sort |
Boroff, Kari |
| title |
Was the Matter Settled? Else Alfelt, Lotti van der Gaag, and Defining CoBrA |
| title_short |
Was the Matter Settled? Else Alfelt, Lotti van der Gaag, and Defining CoBrA |
| title_full |
Was the Matter Settled? Else Alfelt, Lotti van der Gaag, and Defining CoBrA |
| title_fullStr |
Was the Matter Settled? Else Alfelt, Lotti van der Gaag, and Defining CoBrA |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Was the Matter Settled? Else Alfelt, Lotti van der Gaag, and Defining CoBrA |
| title_sort |
was the matter settled? else alfelt, lotti van der gaag, and defining cobra |
| publisher |
Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
2020 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1586786734877754 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT boroffkari wasthemattersettledelsealfeltlottivandergaaganddefiningcobra |
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1719456880981442560 |