Pat Steir: “I made my paintings big because the nature of the image had to be big. I want to make a large doorway, not a small window”

During Armory week last Saturday in New York, I attended a talk by Pat Steir (American, b. 1940). In close relationship with John Cage and Agnes Martin, Pat Steir gained recognition in the 80s with her Waterfall paintings. The talk focused on Pat’s work, her influences and her experience as a woman in the arts. She started by thanking another woman, Marcia Tucker, founding Director of the New Museum at the time, for propelling her career by exhibiting her work in 1987. However, it was refreshing to hear Steir walking gently on the gender-driven topic and wanting to talk about her work, regardless of gender. Soft as a feather, Steir is certainly not a guerrilla girl.

“Work, work, work, work every day. The work has to be good. It can be great and people may not be able to see it. But just work. The time might come for your work. Be friends with other serious artists and never say ‘It’s hard’. Everything is hard for women so don’t dwell on it.” Pat Steir

On International Women’s Day, I am going to dare and say that I am at odds with the expression ‘female empowerment’. Indeed, I believe there is a lot to be done towards gender equality. However, I don’t think it can be the indiscriminate sweeping claim that seems to have become. I believe the issues women face in their day-to-day life are not motivated because we, women, lack power but because some people lack education. At best, cultural prejudices are still ingrained hard. At worse, they become criminal offences. I take very seriously that there is a pervading looming hypocritical view towards women. We are still judged on looks first and on intelligence second. We are still considered flawed if we question motherhood. We are expected to abide a narrow role as ‘good girls’, smart but not direct and outspoken, otherwise we come across as aggressive. Popular language and sexist expressions continue to have a demeaning effect in the perception of women’s aptitudes.

“Don’t confuse misogyny with the fact people don’t like your work. Although there is misogyny, men have a hard time too. Things have opened up now. They used to be much harder. We need to look at the quality. When I started making work, I was very aware of a previous generation who had been judged on personality and not on quality.” Pat Steir

I am at odds with women having a day to be celebrated because the emphasis is on us proving a point, defending our value, whilst the emphasis should be on shaming reactionary thinking and behavior. If we are talking about helping women to be stronger and more confident, especially in claiming equal treatment on a personal level and in the professional environment, by all means. I, like Steir, prefer to focus on her signature large scale, pouring and dripping, enveloping work.

“I think my work got good because I was on top of a ladder. I couldn’t think about the work. I had to think about not stepping back”