Duchamp's urinal was art once he put it in a gallery. In fact, one working definition of art is anything that is in a gallery.
Matthew SlotoverGraffiti is something written on a wall, and, of course, art can be exhibited or produced anywhere: a wall is just another venue.
Matthew SlotoverArt and society was a lot more subject to sexism 50 years ago than it is now. Since that period, there have been plenty of very good female painters, 2006 Turner Prize-winner Tomma Abts among them. How much history needs to pass before an artist is called 'great'? That is the real question.
Matthew SlotoverArt is about the context in which it is made as much as the object itself; objects take on different meanings in different contexts. If the artist is unaware of the context, it's very unlikely the work will be very good.
Matthew Slotover