9 minute read
MARILYN ARTUS: Celebrating Women’s Rights by Following the Path of the 19th Amendment
By Emily L. Newman
The 36 collaborating artists that made a stripe for Her Flag
The battle for women’s right to vote in the United States was long and hard-fought, but in 1920 Tennessee finally became the 36 th state to ratify the 19 th Amendment. Alice Paul, one of the staunches suffragists and leader of the National Women’s Party, helped visualize the ratification process by contributing a star to a banner, horizontally striped in gold, white, and purple, symbolic of the party. Each time a state approved the amendment, another star was added. Unfortunately, the flag is now lost, but it exists in pictures and suffragist narratives. This flag was just one of many different elements that inspired Marilyn Artus to create Her Flag.
22 feature Her Flag is a bold ongoing endeavor, with many different parts and performances. Its complications only enhance the project, mirroring the long and frustrating years that many suffragists had worked so diligently. Artus’ ambitious project begins with the physicality of the flag itself; with the collaboration of 36 artists (one from each state that ratified the 19 th Amendment), Artus is making a large flag (intended to be 18’x26’). Each artist contributes a stripe to the flag, that is then attached to the flag by Artus. Significantly, she travels to each state to meet with the artist and stage a performance. As the gathering is held, Artus attaches the newly created strip to the flag.
These performances are celebrations, stories are shared, and the spirited atmosphere allows everyone to remember the importance of women’s right to vote. For Artus, diversity is key. However, and like many others, she acknowledges the that the amendment only guaranteed the right to vote for white women. At these events, Artus makes sure to tell stories of people of color and their important contributions. By incorporating these stories, she is working to change the narrative that has for so long deemphasized the role that women of color played.
To further encourage conversations of inclusion, Artus made sure that the performances and contributing artists reflected the current population of the United States. Interested artists submitted an application to be involved in the project. Over 240 people applied.
In searching for people to contribute, Artus accepted resumes, artist statements, and artwork samples. Looking for diversity in age groups, race, and art styles, she wanted to make sure to find artists whose work naturally complemented the project.
Importantly, and perhaps unusually, Artus has paid each artist involved in the project: every contributor who makes a stripe for the flag, the performance artists, and her assistants. By raising funds to pay everyone involved in the
Sewing event at the Oklahoma History Center, where Marilyn Artus sewed the shorter stripes onto the star field of the flag. Photo by Brett Deering
project, she is arguing for the importance of women’s worth. This has not always been easy, but Artus has been constantly working on grants and fundraising to make this project happen.
The project is not solely composed of the contributions and performances, but Artus has meticulously mapped out and visited the states that ratified the 19 th amendment in the order that they ratified. This had led to long and winding road trips and indirect flights all in the name of Her Flag. In fact, Artus put 22,000 miles on her car in 2019, but, these miles are all part of the project. Her commitment to this trip is all-encompassing. Simultaneously, this journey has allowed her to see the extent of the country, exploring places she has never been and allowing her to better see and experience the United States.
This is a critical part of the project for Artus–she sees the potential for Her Flag to unify the country. Intending the quilt and performances to be apolitical, she elaborates on the artwork’s website, “This project is not about Democrats or Republicans. It is about Americans. It is about celebrating an important anniversary in our history. And it is about evaluating how we can encourage more women to participate in their democracy.”
Calling this current moment “political mayhem” Artus hopes to find some common ground for people to unite upon. While that proves harder than articulated, it is a noble goal for this time and age. Artus envisions the last trip of Her Flag to be the most celebratory stop yet. In August of 2020 and in celebration of Tennessee’s ratification the 19 th Amendment, the last stop of the trip will be filled with special events (currently in the final planning stages). The Arts Company, a gallery based in Nashville, is coordinating a solo exhibition of Artus’ artworks to go along with the end of Her Flag. When asked about the future of the project, Artus hopes that Her Flag can end up in the Women’s History Museum (which, unfortunately, has still not been built yet) at the Smithsonian Institute, if not there, somewhere visible where it can be celebrated by the most amount of people possible.
Born and raised in Oklahoma, Artus has often centered her artistic practice on being female. Her work often includes discarded objects that she repurposes and sews into a new art piece. For example, in her series Works on Vinyl, she explores the graphic of a women’s skirted body that is often used to designate female restrooms. At first glance, these works appear simple, but up close the evidence of hand and machine embroidery quickly appears. Textural and layered, these pieces bear close examination while challenging the overly simplistic representation of womanhood.
Her Flag has its roots in a series of American Flags that she been making in 2015. Again, she is using vinyl and stitching, but further incorporating objects like playing cards, slides, measuring tapes, tickets, pages of Playboy magazine, and more. They are all arranged to visibly mimic the stars and stripes of the flag, a subject that many artists have historically explored, including David Hammons, Faith Ringgold, and most famously, Jasper Johns. Yet Artus’ flags are distinguished because she has utilized combinations of objects sewn together on vinyl and then covered with multiple layers of resin to create poster-sized objects. Filled with different symbolic objects, these works allow for multiple viewpoints including feminist interpretations, nostalgic representation, and even commentary on the American Dream among others.
Tirelessly, Artus has worked hard to create art that aligns with her belief system. From her house, she can see the Oklahoma State Capital Building, undoubtedly encouraging her to think about her position in the political arena. In particular, she has focused on equality for all women, hoping to use her art and her skills to make a difference. As the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) has begun to garner attention again recently, Artus is watching closely as this important discussion could serve as the basis for future projects.
Her Flag is supported in part by a Creative Projects Grant from the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition. n
23 feature Emily L. Newman is presently Associate Professor of Art History at Texas A&M UniversityCommerce, specializing in contemporary art, gender studies, and popular culture.
Ekphrasis is an ongoing series joining verse and visual art. Here, poet Cameron Brewer responds to two images from Shane Brown’s “Life Out There” series, which explores the mythology of the Atomic Age in the cultural landscape of the Desert American West.
Extinction Level Events and Other Bargains
And so I told the man, “I’d like to buy something that can end the world.” He replied “I only sell rocks here.” I make some witty comment about how he’s selling himself short, how rocks are the only thing that have ever ended the world. I tell him how millions of years ago, rocks fell from the sky and turned our planet into a dull, red hot mass of aching potential. Nothing should have been able to grow there, and yet, it did. I tell him how things settled down, how it rained until there was nothing but an ocean, how that ocean held new life in itself until the children decided to play upstairs. And this new life thrived and adapted and grew in this world of green and chance and wonder until, one day, a rock fell from the sky and killed most of them. The survivors endured millennia without light or heat, with air that burned to breathe. Nothing should have been alive after the dust settled, and yet, it was. More time and more change until, one day, some particularly smart apes decided beating each other with rocks would be easier than talking about their problems. And so they set to the task of devising increasingly efficient ways do so. Clubs then swords, cannons then guns. And then the smartest of the apes, inspired perhaps by some genetic memory of cosmic trauma, remembered that, once, rocks fell from the sky and destroyed everything. Now, a button and good intentions are the only things between us and a burning world. No one should be allowed to hold apocalypse in their hand, and yet, we do. So, how much does yours cost?
Cameron Brewer is an activist, poet, comedian, and writer in Oklahoma City. For nearly a decade, he has been writing and performing poetry addressing themes of race, pop culture, and American trauma.
Shane Brown is a photographer and cinematographer living in Tulsa. “Life Out There” is one of his latest documentary photography projects.
At The University of Tulsa’s School of Art, Design and Art History, students thrive as individuals. Our aim is to help them discover and express their unique goals, talents and visions.
For fine arts junior Josue Saucedo, making art is an exercise in problem solving: “Each project presents obstacles as you transfer visual information onto a piece of paper.”
Saucedo’s professors encourage him to approach art from multiple perspectives. From the lighting on a still life to the message of a piece, Saucedo finds the creative process calming. “As someone living with focus issues, making art is a way to ground myself in the very intuitive task at hand,” Saucedo explained.
During his undergraduate studies, Saucedo has worked at Third Floor Design, TU’s student-run graphic design studio. The opportunity provides hands-on experience with real-world clients. “Third Floor Design is intense, but it offers a unique chance to learn and has helped me improve at an incredible pace,” Saucedo said.
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