ADVANCED SEARCH  

Support WWEnd

WWEnd Blog

WWEnd BookTrackr™

Synopsis

Women of Wonder: Celebrating Women Creators of Fantastic Art features works from 66 women artists working in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres. Introduction by Lauren Panepinto.

See some of the gorgeous artwork featured in the collection at Tor.com.

Artists Featured:

• Kei Acedera
• Mia Araujo
• Alicia Austin
• L.D. Austin
• Anita Kunz
• Anna Balbusso
• Elena Balbusso
• Wylie Beckert
• Jasmine Becket-Griffith
• Kelsey Beckett
• Mary Blair
• Laurie Lee Brom
• Margaret Brundage
• Marina Bychkova
• Rovina Cai
• Kristina Carroll
• Echo Chernik
• Hannah Christenson
• Kinuko Y. Craft
• Camilla d'Errico
• Mélanie Delon
• Zelda Devon
• Diane Dillon
• Julie Dillon
• Lisa Falkenstern
• Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale
• Anne Yvonne Gilbert
• Elizabeth Shippen Green
• Christina Hess
• Kimberly Kincaid
• Andrea Kowch
• Jody A. Lee
• Sacha Lees
• Vanessa Lemen
• Rebecca Leveille-Guay
• Lindsey Look
• Alexandra Manukyan
• Carly Mazur
• Tara McPherson
• Ilene Meyer
• Brandi Milne
• Rowena Morrill
• Sho Murase
• Winona Nelson
• Victo Ngai
• Tran Nguyen
• Terese Nielsen
• Rose O'Neill
• Karla Ortiz
• Barbara Remington
• Forest Rogers
• Virginie Ropars
• Ruth Sanderson
• Marie Severin
• Cynthia Sheppard
• Yuko Shimizu
• Jessie Wilcox Smith
• Annie Stegg
• Heather Theurer
• Heather Watts
• Shelly Wan
• Claire Wendling
• Terryl Whitlatch
• Sulamith Wülfing
• Rebecca Yanovskaya
• Chie Yoshii
• Lizbeth Zwerger

Excerpt

Women of Wonder (Introduction)
Lauren Panepinto

I've always found it amusing when people talk about science fiction and fantasy as a relatively modern invention. Was Jules Verne the first author of science fiction? Was it Mary Shelley? Were the Pre-Raphaelites the first fantasy artists? Does the movement we call "Fantastic Art" start with illustrations for the Gothic novels of the eighteenth century, or not until the Pulp Era in the twentieth century?

I think we're not only looking at the wrong centuries, but at the wrong geologic age. I believe we have to go back to the roots not just of civilization, but of humanity itself to find the beginnings of "Fantastic Art." Around ancient campfires, the first humans tried to explain the universe using their imaginations, creating gods in their own image. They saw thunder and lightning and volcanoes, and created stories to explain them. Now we call them myths. Seen in this light, is there that much difference between the ancient myth of Zeus and the modern myth of Superman? J. R. R. Tolkien himself said that he did not set out to write a fantasy trilogy, but instead to create a new mythology for his beloved Britain. Myths and fantasy and science fiction all spring from the same well of imagination.

Anthropology tells us these pre- and proto-literate cultures were often led by priestesses, and female deities were supreme in their pantheon of gods. Archaeological evidence proposes that women were the makers and keepers of myth in those Stone Age civilizations. Those times are shrouded in the dense mists of history, but it is very possible that the oldest art we have painted on the walls of caves was religious and fantastical and was very likely created, at least in part, by women. I find it fitting to recall this as we embark on a tour of modern women mythmakers and visual storytellers.

Over time, our cultures and our civilizations shifted to a more patriarchal view. Although women continued to participate in both the fantastic and artistic, the spotlight mostly belonged to men. We are only recently unearthing and lauding the lives of women like Artemisia Gentileschi and Camille Claudel, who fought uphill battles to carve out careers in art for themselves. Women never stopped making art, but the writers of history often overlooked their accomplishments.

In the last few generations we have seen our society inch closer and closer to equality between the sexes in many areas,and yet women who were artists with successful careers still remained the exception. There are many debates over why this has been the case -- societal pressure, sexism, the responsibilities of motherhood, a lack of self-confidence -- the same arguments about women dropping out or "leaning in" in any career also apply to art.

As an Art Director, it is my job to know all the up and coming talent in my field. In the six years I have been at Orbit Books, and specifically commissioning Fantastic Art, I have reviewed countless portfolios and met hundreds of artists atall stages of their careers. I am in a perfect position to observe the deep currents of change that move our field. In recent years, it feels like the gender ratio in the art world is shifting. I look at this newest generation of artists working in Fantastic Art, recently graduating and now trying to establish their careers, and women are not only present, they are definitely no longer the exception. I see young women refusing to accept the sexism in our genre. I see them choosing to have children and careers. I see them decimating the antiquated clichés of what subjects "lady artists" are allowed to paint. And if you talk to these young artists, they immediately name the women who serve as their own artistic heroes -- the ones a generation ahead of them, who showed them the way. These womendon't question their right to a place in the world of Fantastic Art because of the trailblazers who fought for a woman's right to prosper in this genre. For every Karla Ortiz and Rovina Cai and Rebecca Yanovskaya there has been a Kinuko Craft and a Terryl Whitlatch and a Rebecca Guay who forged the path, and who are still shining the light on the road ahead.

Copyright © 2015 by Cathy Fenner

Reviews

There are currently no reviews for this novel. Be the first to submit one! You must be logged in to submit a review in the BookTrackr section above.

Images

No alternate cover images currently exist for this novel.