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Glenn Ligon, a point that made Bartana’s neon work even more intriguing to her. “I had been thinking about a thirtieth-anniversary gift for the museum, and when I saw this work I immediately thought, ‘This is the one,’” she says. “I understand that Bartana’s neon is the most Instagrammed artwork at the museum this year. I particularly love seeing photographs of children posing with the work, as it means a lot to me that they might be inspired by its message.” // Kathryn Wat is the chief curator at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
WO M E N I N T H E A RTS
Yael Bartana, What if Women Ruled the World, 2016; Neon, 98 ½ x 38 ½ in.; Museum purchase, Belinda de Gaudemar Acquisition Fund, with additional support from the Members’ Acquisition Fund
© YAEL BARTANA; PHOTO BY LEE STALSWORTH
Note: 1. See Helaine Posner, “History Lessons,” in The Reckoning: Women Artists of the New Millennium, (Munich: Prestel Verlag, 2013), 175–76.