ABSTRACT
Closed Systems: Alexandra Luke, Hortense Gordon
and the Canadian Art History Canon
Janice Anderson
1995
The marginalization of women's art within the Canadian art
history canon articulates the dichotomy which exists between the practice of making art in
a Canadian context and the selective recording of that practice within written history.
Canadian painters Alexandra Luke and Hortense Gordon made significant contributions to the
development and acceptance of abstract art in Canada, not simply through their own art
practice, but also as teachers, lecturers and exhibition organizers, especially in
Ontario. In spite of this contribution and the local, national and international
reputations that both women enjoyed, their work does not appear in a position of
significance in Canadian art history texts. The origin and meaning of this marginalization
is based on the social construction of gender with the standard canon privileging male
production. Feminist intervention in this system has failed to fundamentally improve or
change the structure which is power-based and difficult to destabilize.
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