British artist Tracey Emin told Red Magazine that motherhood would “compromise” her career and claimed sexism is still prevalent in the art industry.
Emin praised women who find the contradicting lifestyles manageable but said that’s not the type of artist she wants to be. Furthermore, working male artists are better suited for parenthood because of the emotional struggles that follow.
I would have been either 100 percent artist or 100 percent mother. I’m not flaky and I don’t compromise. Having children and being a mother… it would be a compromise to be an artist at the same time.
There are good artists that have children. Of course there are. They are called men. It’s hard for women. It’s really difficult, they are emotionally torn. It’s hard enough for me with my cat.
The famous artist is outperforming many of her male counterparts and is one of two appointed female professor’s at London’s Royal Academy of Arts but persists in her belief that women are still viewed as inadequate.
“It’s changing slowly. We probably just need another 200 years,” she stated.
Emin gained moderate recognition in 1997 after “Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995” was displayed at the Royal Academy in London. The art piece has names of her former lovers embroidered on a tent.
The same year, she received significant media exposure after appearing on a live television broadcast where she cursed repeatedly and admitted to being intoxicated.
Here is a sample of what she said while “>conversing with fellow British artists:
Are they really real people in England watching this program now, they really watching, really watching it?… They’re 25 minutes behind us, think about that… I’m here, I’m drunk. I had a good night out with my friends. I’m leaving now, I wanna be with my friends, I wanna be with my mom. I’m gonna phone her, and she’s going to be embarrassed about this conversation, this is live, but I don’t care. I don’t give a f*ck about it. You people aren’t relating to me now. You’ve lost me.
Emin’s other bodies of work include “Every Part of Me’s Bleeding” and “My Bed,” which is an installation of a tousled bed surrounded by used condoms and underwear stained with menstruation blood. Her next exhibit, called “The Last Great Adventure Is You,” debuts on Oct. 8.
The artist once told Telegraph that she’s been ridiculed by peers over her political preferences and that she feels like an outsider. She reportedly voted for two Republican candidates in past elections and was labeled as a “criminal” by artist Dinos Chapman because she supported conservatives.
“I voted as an individual. I live in a democracy. I’m allowed to vote for what I want and I wish people would understand that,” she said
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