In the Observer this morning, Rachel Cooke asks “Why can’t our women artists earn as much as the men?” What follows is mainly a piece on Tracey Emin and a new Channel 4 series “Art Shock” one of which Emin presents.

Cooke bounces around gathering evidence, posing questions and making assumptions that didn’t ring true - for me anyway.

At one point Cooke discusses the current emphasis on self promotion - but skates over the surface of this ignoring many great artists that thrive at the moment that are not massive self-publicists.

In one paragraph Cooke states “The other problem is that collectors of modern art are, by necessity, rich. They’re alpha males…” - err, not necessarily true according to this - “Figures from the Arts Council in England show 56 per cent of all contemporary art in the UK is now purchased by women.”

I’d like to see the figures on how many men and women are practicing artists - the premise of this article assumes the numbers are equal.

Didn’t do it for me - make your own mind up here

Art Shock starts 13 March Channel 4

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