Female Voices in Art: Joyce Roodnat, Journalist, Author
“I know many incredible female artists. I write about them, many people are writing about them. And still they are routinely being overlooked. Which means that the world misses a lot, all because of sexist prejudice.”
Joyce Roodnat (b. 1955, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) studied at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. She has been a reporter and art critic for the Dutch daily newspaper NRC Handelsblad since 1979. She was head of the art department for ten years (1995-2005) and is now editor for cultural affairs, writing editorials, a weekly ‘critic’s notebook’, and essays. She has written short stories and two novels for which she was awarded several literary prizes. Her book on the films of photographer Ed van der Elsken Hee … zie je dat!? (2017) was awarded the Louis Hartlooper Prize for film critique. Joyce wrote two volumes of essays on women and the arts. Her lifestyle guide for women over 50 Een kwestie van lef (2007) was a bestseller.
Could you tell us something about your role in the art world?
I have written about the arts throughout my career. And I never stop feeling compelled to push everyone to go and see, hear, feel what I saw, heard, felt.
What did you enjoy about being a part of this project?
I admire the idea of this growing collection of photos combining fashion and women dedicated to the arts. And I felt blessed to experience first-hand the artist Carla van de Puttelaar at work.
Do you have a favourite artist?
I have many. Novelist Hilary Mantel for her incredible sensitivity. Novelist Elena Ferrante for her audacious story telling. Filmmaker Federico Fellini for his self-evident exuberance. Choreographer Hans van Manen for his bold austerity. Performance artist and musician Melanie Bonajo for her freedom of thought and quest for beauty.
What is your earliest memory involving art?
As a ten-year-old I attended a concert in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw organised for school kids. I did not know orchestras existed, let alone Tchaikovsky or his ‘Capriccio Italien’. It changed my life. I never forgot the name of the conductor: Anton Kersjes.
Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world?
I know many incredible female artists. I write about them, many people are writing about them. And still they are routinely being overlooked. Which means that the world misses a lot, all because of sexist prejudice.
What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it?
A creation by Rotterdam designer Isabell Schulz. I saw it in Carla’s studio and immediately wanted to put it on. It reminded me of Holbein’s lady portraits and it made me think of Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones. Wearing it I felt like Isabell Schulz was sculpting me.
What impact has the current health crisis on your daily practice?
The health crisis has a raging impact on my views and with that on my daily practice as an art critic and art writer. As an ardent art watcher I can’t help seeing that in the end all art seems to reflect on live, health, decay, death.
Is it changing your views on Art?
Art pieces I know and love now reveal a deeper layer of meaning that I never noticed before. So my thinking distinctively differs from the times of innocence, when no one knew the word Covid-19, let alone its meaning and its severe impact on ‘our little lives’, as Shakespeare so aptly has defined our time on earth.
Are you creating new initiatives and ways of working?
I am a writer. I write.
