Georgia Totto O'Keeffe

Georgia O'Keeffe the recently released film depicting the famous artist's marriage and now appearing on the Lifetime Channel is gripping with emotion. The film is just a small fraction into the harsh reality of O'Keeffe's world. Unfortunately, the film does not showcase many of O'Keeffe's friendships, instead it narrows in on O'Keeffe's bohemian marriage to the photographer, Alfred Stieglitz.

Personally I believe O'Keeffe's life was not wholly defined by her marriage to Stieglitz. I imagined the opening scene to be of O'Keeffe's friend, Anita Pollitzer being so moved by Georgia's charcoal drawings that she took them to Stieglitz's 291 gallery. Instead, the opening scene is of O'Keeffe's famous confrontation with Stieglitz at the 291 gallery, where she demands he take the work down. And Stieglitz replies, "You don't know what you've done in these pictures" and she responds, "Do you think I'm an idiot". Although O'Keeffe marriage to Stieglitz is quite important, there are many other relationships that had just as much an impact on O'Keeffe's work and success.

And even though the film depicted Stieglitz's unfaithfulness, it did not show some of the more controversial affairs, such as O'Keeffe's sister, Ida. The film definately showed O'Keeffe's escape and love of the West, but it did not fully depict O'Keeffe's own love affairs; maybe this is because they are too controversial, or there is still too much speculation over their accuracy. Or maybe, the filmmakers did not want to shed such a light on the most successful female artist in America. I think that if that is the case, then they truly missed the importance of O'Keeffe and her work. I believe that Georgia Totto O'Keeffe was a defining figure for the emergence of the 1920s as well as the New Woman. O'Keeffe became a role model for woman and her achievement has continued to give women hope for success. Stieglitz was O'Keeffe's husband, but he is better defined as her marketing director, which the film accurately portrayed. Stieglitz needed O'Keeffe, not as his wife, but as his poster woman for the new art culture in America.

And as the film also states, O'Keeffe was an honest woman who lived by her own set rules, which she clearly defined when she responded to what critics made of her work: "They make me seem like some strange unearthly sort of creature," she complained, "floating in the air-breathing in clouds for nourishment- when the truth is that I like beef steak- and I like it rare at that". O'Keeffe also did not like words: "Words and I- are not good friends at all except with some people," she said. "The painter using the word often seems like a child trying to walk. I think I'd rather let the painting work for itself then help it with the word".