Women’s Rights: An Artist’s Perspective
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Copyright 2013 by UniteWomen.org. The book author and each artist here, retains sole copyright to their contributions to this book. Catalog designed by Karen Gutfreund, Curator and Exhibition Director Cover Design by: Rozanne Hermelyn, Arc and Line Communication and Design
Rozanne Hermelyn DiSilvestro Arc & Line Communication and Design www.arcandline.com www.hermelyn.com 408.992.0903
Printed by: Instant Publishers, www.instantpublishers.com ISBN: 978978-1-939637939637-0202-4
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ABOUT UNITEWOMEN.ORG
UniteWomen.org was founded on social media, by one click of a mouse used to start a Facebook group. We have rapidly grown from that instantaneous start into having more than 80,000 followers and well over twelve thousand people working in the trenches with us on a daily basis. Everyone in UniteWomen.org is a volunteer, from the President to the volunteers handing out flyers on the streets. The fact that we are an organization comprised of people so devoted to equality that they are willing to donate their time to forward the cause brings us great pride, and it fuels our passion to work hard and accomplish our goals. Ten weeks into our birth, we achieved our initial goal of organizing and implementing 55 rallies in 45 states across the country – all held on one day. Our group was then called, “Unite Against the War On Women.” We utilized all aspects of social media, and continue to do that every day on the national and local levels. Those rallies may have been our initial goal but we soon realized in order to really make a difference in women’s lives, we needed to create an organization, using social media platforms to spread information about protests, campaigns, legislation, calls to action and unification. Hence, UniteWomen.org was created. On a daily basis, the executive, national, regional and state teams manage over 250 different Facebook groups and hold meetings on Google Hangout with volunteers from across the country in real time. We also have a Campus Division nationwide, a graphics, research and twitter departments, 12 monthly task force campaigns for various human rights issues, and state and regional directors. We have teams to manage each national campaign, each social media platform, fundraising, and much more. Social Media enables us to work as a cohesive team from our own homes, and we have already accomplished so much that sometimes it’s overwhelming to think about it all! Our groups have held vigils, protests, voter registration drives, volunteered at clinics and domestic violence shelters, held many coordinated social media events – including several Twitter bombs. We’ve met with legislators, joined with other groups for unification of human rights advocates, sponsored pro-choice events, co-sponsored the Suffrage Centennial Celebration in D.C., run campaigns such as Unite Against Rape and We Are Good Women. We have taken local initiatives started by others and brought them onto the national scale, such as Bethany Erickson’s Need Your Permission campaign. We have spoken at political and social conferences, protested conferences and statehouses. Most importantly, we have given a voice to tens of thousands of women in America who felt disenfranchised and wanted some way to take part in the now historic fight against the legislative War on Women. 3
There are two branches of UniteWomen.org: UniteWomen.org and UniteWomen.org Action. The former is for educational and social justice work. The latter is geared toward having a political voice to lobby for or against legislation. We want to speak loudly – we want ALL women (and men who support women) to speak loudly. UniteWomen.org wants our voices to resonate and be heard as we teach, contemplate, engage, volunteer, unite, sponsor events, protest, meet with legislators and members of our communities and arm our members with the tools they need to fully participate in the political process for women’s rights and human rights. SOCIAL MEDIA facebook.com/unitewomen | twitter.com/unitewomenorg | youtube.com/unitewomen | pinterest.com/unitewomen
Karen Teegarden President and CEO karen.teegarden@unitewomen.org
Patricia M. Gil EVP of Opera ons UniteWomen.org patricia.m.gil@unitewomen.org
Sarah Murrill Na onal Director of Crea ve Development UniteWomen.org crea ve.development@unitewomen.org
Renee Davis Former EVP of Programs UniteWomen.org. 4
UniteWomen.org and Women’s Rights: An Artist’s Perspective In September of 2012, I was asked to speak at the Honoring Women’s Rights Conference in Salinas on the Activism panel and as the closing speaker. The conference was an interesting mix of activists, artists and educators. I had the privilege of meeting so many amazing women and walked away with a strong desire to want to promote and feature artists speaking out for women’s rights through their work. In addition to fighting the issues that affect women’s lives, UniteWomen.org is educating the public about so many issues women face. Unite Against Rape brings awareness of the rape culture in which we live. We Are Good Women gives a voice to women who have experienced something in their lives that society deems “bad”. Women’s Rights: An Artist’s Perspective exposes our community to another expression of an activist voice. I am so honored to work with Karen Gutfreund on this project for UniteWomen.org to profile the many incredible artists in this catalog and their interpretation of women’s rights. Thank you all for adding your voice to this continuing struggle for equality. Karen Teegarden President and CEO UniteWomen.org/UniteWomen.org Action
If you would like to get involved with UniteWomen.org or make a donation, please visit our website at www.unitewomen.org
UniteWomen.org is a national non-partisan 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization that works to end inequality for women that stems from prejudice and discrimination and works to advance the human and civil rights of women and girls. Donations to the organization are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. UniteWomen.org Action is a registered 501(c)(4) nonprofit advocacy and lobbying organization for the cause. Contributions to UniteWomen.org Action are not tax deductible. 5
NOTE FROM THE EXHIBITION DIRECTOR I was pleased and honored to be asked to the be exhibition director for UniteWomen.org and be involved with the important work they are doing for Women’s Rights. We then announced the exhibition for Women's Rights: An Artist's Perspective in support of Women’s Rights and the passage of the ERA. Artists were asked to become part of the celebration and effort to ratify the ERA through expressing their voices and showcasing their art. We chose art in all media that speaks to, examines and explores the social, political and economic issues related to women’s activism; art that expresses the women’s perspective on issues of women’s rights, political rights, reproductive rights, the ERA and issues of societal control. The art ranges from literal to poetic, abstract to representational, and psychological, to social and political commentary. Many of the works explore the concepts of being a woman in today’s global society and how social constructs define their experience whether internal, external, imagined or imposed, and how this defined and shaped identities, relationships, ideas and politics. It is the intention of UniteWomen.org to present these issues in visual form, creating a public forum for action, reaction, and informed discussion. In addition to the 173 artists chosen for this catalog, the jurors (Karen Teegarden, Sarah Murrill, Renee Davis, Patricia Gil and myself) chose twelve artists to be featured monthly on the UniteWomen.org website which include Debra Dake-Morrell, Sally Edelstein, Jennifer Foley, Kelly Hammargren, Kay Kang, Deborah Landry, Deborah Morbeto, Monica Neiman Sotomayor, Sinan Revell, Dixie Salazar, Gail Smuda and Cristina Velazquez. We are excited that a selection of this great collection work will be shown at Pam Foss Fine Art. Pam and Bob Foss graciously offered their gallery, located in St. Michaels, Maryland for this exhibition. It will run from November 1 to November 24, 2013. You may learn more about the gallery at www.pamfosssculpture.com. The artists exhibiting at the gallery are: Suzanne Anan, Lauren Bettini, Kelly Blevins, Angelique Brickner, Jane Caminos, Debra Dake-Morrell, Sally Edelstein, Jennifer Foley, Pam Foss, Linda Friedman Schmidt, Parisa Ghaderi, Kelly Hammargren, Karen Henninger, Liora K, Kay Kang, Marky Kauffmann, Susan Kraft, Beth Lakamp, Deborah Landry, Linda McCune, Allison McElroy, Deborah Morbeto, Erin Murray, Indrani Nayar-Gall, Monica Neiman Sotomayor, Roxanne Phillips, Michele Pred, Barbara Reid, Sinan Revell, Dixie Salazar, Gail Smuda, Gail Stouffer, Victoria Szilagyi, Cristina Velazquez, and Tamara White. Art can be a powerful, productive force and instrumental in sparking change or critical thinking. As a feminist exhibition director, I am committed to promoting women’s art and supporting local, national, and global art activism. Art can produce a visceral response and can provoke, inspire, or disturb, and opens your eyes to worlds other than your own. While the artist may not consider themselves to be a revolutionary, by bringing to light issues and concerns, art can effect change. We need art that help us to understand what is happening in our society, who we are, where we come from and where we’re going. Karen M. Gutfreund, Curator/Artist 6
Artists
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Robyn Alatorre Redondo Beach, California www.robynalatorre.com
Innocent Oil on panel 15 x 15 inches 2010 My work is inspired by feminine allegories and symbols that tend to be universal in their scope and meaning. Metaphors based conception, birth, and liberty—or lack thereof—creep into my subject matter whether I begin a composition with that intent or not. My themes are directly in response to my womanhood and the experiences that are unique to my gender. Being a woman means I am a creator: I am Gaea. I bear the responsibility of developing a space, an enterprise, or perception but it is a responsibility I gladly accept.
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Linda Allen Grosse Pointe, Michigan lindaalleninmi@yahoo.com
Spirit Mixed media 60 x 45 inches 2011 The right to make art. The right for self expression. Doing, making and being what ever we want to be. Creative in my own world sharing inspiration, humor and taking my vision to new levels. Having an audience to appreciate that vision and enjoy the results.
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Suzanne Anan Belmar, New Jersey www.suzanneanan.com
Ain’t I A Woman Too? Oil on canvas 20 x 30 inches 2012 Suzanne Anan is an American artist who creates figurative compositions with women her primary subject. She portrays women under stress and the social inequalities they endure. Her painting Ain’t I A Woman Too? projects a little girl in a school uniform with a bar code tattooed on her wrist. She is portrayed in a play ground setting but the surroundings appear fenced in. Her watch reflects the passage of time. The title was inspired from Sojourner Truths famous speech given in 1851.
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Bonnie Askowitz Miami, Florida www.bonnieaskowitz.com
L’dor V’dor Digital photograph collage on fiber: quilted cotton and thread 12 x 12 inches 2012 L’dor V’dor, Hebrew for “From Generation to Generation,” is a self portrait and family biography depicting five generations of women. Bound by bloodlines, culture, religion, and nationality, these women are also an historical account: from the woman who left Rumania for a better life to the child whose life is just beginning. Each succeeding generation, with higher degrees in education and with clearer awareness, sought greater opportunities. I hope the child will have legal rights and opportunities denied her foremothers. I hope she’ll have access to reproductive choices; that she’ll have the freedom to marry whomever she wishes; that whatever work she chooses will pay her wages equal to her male counterparts. I want her and the women of generations to follow to only experience full freedom and equality.
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Mariona Barkus Culver City, California www.marionabarkus.com
We’re Mad As Hell & We’re Not Going To Take It Anymore Mixed media, painted plastic fist and speculum on wooden base 9 x 9 x 5.5 inches 2012 Women are under siege all over the world—and right here in the United States there is truly a War on Women taking place. Across the country, state legislatures are passing laws to restrict health care for women, chipping away at abortion rights and access to birth control by cutting off funding for Planned Parenthood, mandating vaginal ultrasounds, imposing abortion taxes and waiting periods, prohibiting insurance coverage. We must speak out. We Are Mad as Hell and Not Going To Take it Anymore.
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Kyra Belan Matlacha, Florida www.kyrabelan.com
Mother God of Sedona Digital art on paper, 24 x 30 inches, 2011 For decades I have been creating artworks that reected my concerns regarding the rights of women living within a patriarchal society. Often these concerns were about the spirituality of women, and the lack of equal access and representation within the male dominant religions. I have been tapping into the mythologies of the world, from prehistoric to current times. I have also been incorporating symbols and archetypes of the sacred feminine into my art. 13
M. Bellavia New Orleans, Louisiana www.bellaviamia.net
Bathing the Self Conscious Oil on Masonite, 9 x 12 inches, 2013 My explorations of art is a process of defining/redefining an image of the self/body as woman. Public opinion and disapproval is still something that women are still essentially bound by and our societal teachings about the many aspects of “self”, are generally distorted and inaccurate. I am interested in presenting the viewer with a look into those distortions and giving glimpses of the possibilities in transforming that fear of disapproval or censure. 14
Susan Bennett Auburn, Maine www.SusanBennettSculpture.com
Watching and Waiting in a Slough of Despond Wood, drawing embedded in encaustic medium, metal objects 7.5x 7.5 x 7.5 inches 2011 I revisited several of my mixed media reliefs through a lens that I call Watching and Waiting. The phrase signiďŹ es passivity associated with women. This is delusory in that it is an unpractical and unattainable ideal of perfection, and belittling in its quixotic forfeiture of power. Waiting is inaction, and if the implication of an action not taken can be culturally perpetuated in a subsistence vacuum, the end result is the preservation by those who have assumed, with impunity, a powerful position.
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Lauren Bettini Edgewater, New Jersey https://sites.google.com/site/laurenbettini
Bound 4 Ceramic Relief 17 x 10 x 4 inches 2012 My present body of work is categorized as feminism. My sculpture is a direct response to my own personal experiences with domestic violence. I am creating this art as a way of survival. My work therapeutic and a way to express how I feel as I begin to go through a new transitional period of my life. I hope that by creating this work, it brings much needed attention to this overlooked societal issue of violence against women.
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Kelly Blevins Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania www.kblevins.com
Untitled II Charcoal on paper 33 x 47 inches 2013 Untitled II is an image that suggests the covering up, with-holding and protection of the self in a woman. It represents the feeling one has when stripped of security and balance. Learning how to be comfortable as a woman in society without the stigmas of feminism, or being too powerful of a woman. To break free of the lines that separate us and understand we are just human and as fragile as anyone else.
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Dare J. Boles Glen Allen, Virginia calvinboles@comcast.net
Little Bride Found papers, hand made papers 19 x 23 inches 2012 A women’s role in society has historically been dictated by the male population. Women have been relegated to the status of 2nd class citizen with an emphasis on servitude and nurturer. This art depicts her struggle to rise up to equality. I like to explore the female role in diverse cultures through my art, emphasizing her place in society.
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Amber Bonnici Kamuela, Hawaii www.amberbonnici.com
She Honors the Calling of Her Heart Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 48 inches, 2013 In order to believe in equality, we have to believe we deserve it. So many times as women we give ourselves away—to our partners, to our children, to our friends until there is nothing left. This piece reminds us we all have a Heart Calling and we have to honor ourselves before we can expect others to do the same. 19
Angelique Brickner Greenville, South Carolina www.angeliquebrickner.com
A Slap at Convention Ceramic with multiďŹ red underglaze, wax, lucite box 17 x 17 x 17 inches 2011 Transparent Barriers: My latest work is an exploration of the barriers, real or imagined, that constrain us. This state of being trapped or boxed in, either by external or internal forces is universal. Whether constrained by the mores of culture, ideology of governments and religion, perceptions of race or gender, or the limitations and fears within our own psyches, my fascination lies with our ability to understand our entrapment and the varying responses we have to this state.
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Melody Brown Hermosa Beach, California www.melbrownstudio.weebly.com
Woman’s Struggle To Stand Oil on canvas, 72 x 30 x 2.5 inches, 2008 Melody Brown is fulďŹ lling her soul journey as a woman through paint. She claims her right to stand strong and be recognized among her fellow women artists to share her views and expression of beauty and life in a world most often dominated by male energy. Her creations invoke volumes of images that bring pleasure to her viewers. Melody Brown is an Interactive Expressionist, a term coined by her through her process of creating art. Her visual images emerge through the excavation process in response to the subconscious mind. 21
Tracy Brown Tucson, Arizona www.tracybrownart.com
Beware of the Wolves Digital archival 16 x 20 inches 2012 Beware of the Wolves (series) serves as a public announcement against the hazards of an unattainable beauty standard which is deeply engrained in our societal psyche. Companies spend millions annually aimed primarily at women, convincing us that we are not beautiful enough, thin enough, or ďŹ t enough to meet these astronomical ideals. The Beware of the Wolves announcements encourage viewers to take action against an industry and societal mind-frame which exploits our women, land, health and well-being.
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Jessica Burke Statesboro, Georgia www.jessicaburkeartist.com
Jodie as Princess Leia of the Rebel Alliance Graphite on Arches 27 x 35 inches 2011 This work is part of a series that explores identity and gender politics filtered through the lens of popular culture. These drawings explore the influence of popular culture’s constructed fictional characters on the collective consciousness of its audience. The media we eagerly consumed as children and continue to consume throughout our adult lives has unequivocally influenced how we see ourselves.
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Jane Caminos Watchung, New Jersey www.janecaminos.com
Acid Madonna Oil on linen 16 x 20 inches 2013 On Women Bound is a series of 24 narrative paintings which expose violence against women and girls across all cultures, around the world. In addition to increasing awareness of this universal problem, I also include the positive stories of brave, outspoken women who are ďŹ ghting back against their oppressors, giving hope to women who have yet to experience the freedom of being educated, employable, safe in their own homes, and free to move in their communities without fear of attack.
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Christine Cianci San Francisco, California www.ccianciart.com
Rex ab Nemo Wood 48 x 36 inches 2003 Before the 20th century, it was accepted that even a woman’s mind was inferior to a man’s. This work is a portrait of a physically powerful, sexual, fiercely intelligent, gay, scholar. She could not have been out and proud to be who she is in any other time and place, before the advent of the women’s rights movement. Represented by the swirling faces in the dark red background are all the voices of her demons—her oppressive past and right wing society howling their disapproval. She is strength.
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Perry Conley Amherst, Massachusetts www.waterlifearts.com under construction
Binders of Women and Poem Photograph 13 x 19 inches 2013 My work is in Photography, Acrylic Painting and Poetry—frequently combining these media. My heart is in the right of women to be free.
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Nena Creasy Somes Bar, California nena.creasy@yahoo.com
Metal Bra Steel, copper and brass, found objects, 2012 This metal piece is all hand made, with no welding or soldering. It is a piece celebrating Breast Cancer Awareness Month here in our small rural town of Happy Camp California 27
Sarah Cyr Naugatuck, Connecticut www.sarahcyr.wix.com/artofsarahcyr
Objectified In Her Country Watercolor on watercolor paper 2012 This watercolor painting depicts my inner most feelings about being perceived by the patriarch government in the United States. Politicians and priests in the background are represented by the peering dark figures as if they are invading nightmares. The sky and cracked parched ground also offer no comfort for me. The only solace I have is the comfort of the flag as I sit vulnerable to judging eyes. My body is shameful to them. I am the object they wish to control in my own country.
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Debra Dake-Morrell San Jose, California ddakemorrell@gmail.com
90-Year Crucifiction Plaster and mixed media 8 x 4 feet 2013 The Equal Rights Amendment, embodied in a mummified female figure, has been crucified and hanging in limbo for 90 years. In this piece, the three states short of ratification are represented by the three stakes piercing her breast—from which hang the four “blue” states still withholding their support. Above the body of Ms. ERA, hang the names of the remaining states that have yet to ratify the amendment.
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Lynn Dau Los Altos, California www.lynndau.com
Instrument of Change Cast Bronze 17 x 10 x 6 inches 2009 The title, Instrument of Change refers to women’s reproductive organs and the changes in identity a woman undergoes throughout her life in relation to her fertility. It also explores the idea of women as the instruments of political and social change. This incomplete tilting ďŹ gure represents a world gone askew with men possessing inordinate policy making power. The policy making process is inherently broken as long as women’s voices are minimized and excluded.
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Mary Lou Dauray Sausalito, California www.maryloudauray.com
Speak Up Mixed media: oil, graphite and watercolor on gessoed paper 22 x 15 inches 2011 I returned in 2011 from visiting numerous holocaust death sites in Eastern Europe and I could only deal with the outrage I felt by turning to my art. It was as though a spark ignited a creative flame in my work. I began painting a series of women’s faces reflecting how I felt about living in a world that ignores, discounts and denies women the right to exist without fear, with dignity, and in equality.
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Deborah Davis Lafayette, Colorado www.deborahdavisdesign.com
Freedom Of Choice Archival inkjet print 8 x 12 inches 2003 When I think of women’s rights, my heart breaks. Why don’t we have them already and although we have some it’s not enough. I have a heart, a soul, arms, legs, a brain, parents and a birthday. I’m a human being. Why doesn’t that count. It doesn’t. Everywhere I look, I see our progress, and our regress. I measure that distance with my camera. From bathrooms to fashion, and everything in between, society is speaking to us. The idea is, don’t stop looking, revealing, understanding, fighting, ever.
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Jammi De Silva Newcastle upon Tyne, UK www.facebook.com/JammiArt
‘Almighty Injustice’—Execution of Rizana Ink on rice paper 20 x 16 inches 2013 Rizana was a poor, helpless child. She did not have any legal help, an interpreter or know how to deal with what she was faced with. She was brutally executed by oppressive regime and ‘the western human rights brigade’ fell silent or looked away in the face of Saudi oil money. They have power and they buy weapons, so why worry about a poor girl.
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Cat Del Buono Brooklyn, New York www.catdelbuono.com
Blah Blah Blah Video, 1:53 minutes, 2012 As a female artist, I have been exploring social and gender issues through video. My most recent videos point out inequalities in our country by using video footage found online. Using footage from Sandra Fluke’s testimony to Congress and Rush Limbaugh’s disturbing commentary about her, Blah Blah Blah comments on recent events that challenge women’s reproductive rights. 34
Sally Deskins Omaha, Nebraska www.femmesfollesnebraska.tumblr.com
Split Self Acrylic and ink on white board 30 x 44 inches 2012 I explore appearance’s reflection and disguise of inner self to turn the view of the female form from decried or distanced to acceptance and affection, as I see it in a feminist world. My body prints abstract the female form; sensual but not ascribed to culturalideals, offering a vital alternative to society’s flood of gender violence and objectification. Inspired by Klein’s “Anthropometries” I work a feminist approach, as artist and model. The guise evokes inkblot tests challenging viewers: what do you see?
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Debra Dobkin Studio City, California www.art.debradobkin.com
Veiled #3 Oil on canvas 9 x 12 inches 2013 In the last few years, women’s rights have been under siege by religious and political forces that would turn back the clock. We are subject in degrees to deal with antiquated laws that impede women’s progress throughout the world. My painting Veiled #3 reflects the incongruity of the many meanings of the veil in women’s history: the repression, the violence, the sadness of secrets we cannot tell, but also, it can symbolize the sweetness of the marriage, hidden desire and the promise of new life.
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Liz Dodson Minneapolis, Minnesota www.LizBrennerDodson.com
Emerging Activists Mixed media, 11 x 7 inches, 2013 The hydrologic cycle is a dance: between, land and sky, “masculine” and “feminine”. Because living in a U.S. culture with “masculine” values of intellect that takes economic and political action to meet short-term goals, the harmonious relationships are out of balance. How may “feminine” qualities of intuition, creativity, and connection act to restore balance and meet all our inhabitants needs? By the political will and legislative action to ratify the ERA to make the effective change and create a true balance. 37
Betsyann Duval Acton, Massachusetts www.duvalart.com
Free Radical: Grace Paley Mixed media on panel 12 x 12 inches 2010 In my work I pose questions that engage viewers through a concept, humor, or direct interaction. By questioning issues such as the “female gaze,” the objectification of women, cultural pressures, and the societal taboos that surround sexuality, I seek to drive viewers to see our culture from a different perspective. Many of my questions address how women are portrayed in art, culture, and commerce. And how specific women have been able to break free of their cultural stereotypes to become roll models for us all.
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Emily Dvorin Kentfield, California www.emilydvorin.com
BIG FAT HAIRY DEAL Hardware cloth, hair curlers, cable ties, 17 x 25 x 18 inches, 2012 Stereotypes of women’s work, women’s interests and women’s issues abound in today’s society. Through sculptural basketry, I comment on some of these with familiar kitchen items, hair items and household items. I like to express some of the serious whimsy connected to the everyday acts we women perform. Being a woman in today’s society has its challenges, even internally and psychologically as we relate to our home environment and our personal self-images. 39
Kerry Eddy Lincoln, Nebraska www.kerryeddy.com
Barbie Girl Watercolor pencil 8.5 x 12 inches 2009 This piece was conceived in reaction to the impossible ideals women are held to and often hold themselves to. Women and girls are subject to a constant barrage of mixed message about how their bodies should look from an early age. The classic Barbie Doll is the perfect embodiment of this distorted ideal that not only my mother’s generation grew up with, but my generation. This image reects, in somewhat graphic detail a more sexualized version of the Barbie Standard. It is grotesquely beautiful, and completely impossible.
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Sally Edelstein South Huntington, New York www.sallyedelsteincollage.com
A Storms Approaching Collage, 48 x 84 inches, 2008 Over the past 60 years women have consumed an abundance of conicting and conďŹ ning media imagery about our role in the world and fragments of these media representations remain in each of us. The collages, composed of hundreds of vintage images, become the perfect expression for the fragmentation we have all experienced. The art work is a visual smorgasbord of mid century gender stereotypes that littered a pop culture landscape that eventually would erupt in a woman’s movement. 41
Laura Elkins Washington, Dist of Columbia www.lauraelkinsartist.com
Self as Betty with Coat Hanger Necklace Oil on canvas 20 x 16 inches 2011 This self-portrait as Betty Ford is from Dirty Words, the latest series in The White House Collection, selfportraits as First Ladies. By embracing First Lady imagery, I create selfportraits that are contemporary and personal, while inherently historical and political. The work addresses social and cultural issues, including current events, while maintaining the everywoman quality of the self-portrait. Dirty Words addresses hot-button social and political issues, such as abortion, marriage equality, race, and sexuality—the real dirty words of our time.
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Alyssa Eustaquio San Jose, California www.alyssaeustaquio.com
Keeping FEMINISM Fresh Mint chewing gum, paper box, plastic sleeve and Wrigley’s foil gum wrappers, 3 x 2.5 inches, 2013 With these entries I am exploring feminism, as well as the freedoms gained from their struggle and how it compares to the current attitude. 43
Karen Cauvin Eustis New Orleans, Louisiana www.karencauvineustis.com
FREEDOM Cast bronze, 12 x 8 x 4 inches, 2010 To me this sculpture was of a woman in a yoga position. But because it was the same as the prayer position of the main religion in her country, a woman emotionally explained to me, it represented a personal freedom that was hard for most women in her land to even imagine. Something like this is totally forbidden. A woman nude in the prayer position would be seen as evil and if attempted could result in almost unthinkable consequences. This experience touched me deeply and made me think of this simple sculpture in a new way. 44
Jennifer Foley Long Island City, New York www.jennyfoley.com
The Sanctity of Nature Bonded bronze 22 x 18 x 14 inches 2012 We are the bird’s eggs. Bird’s eggs, flowers, butterflies, rabbits, cows, sheep; we are caterpillars; we are leaves of ivy and sprigs of wallflower. We are women. We rise from the wave. We are gazelle and doe, elephant and whale, lilies and roses and peach, we are air, we are flame, we are oyster and pearl, we are girls. We are woman and nature. And he says he cannot hear us speak. But we hear Woman and Nature, The Roaring Inside Her, Susan Griffin. We are nurturing and everlasting; rising far beyond our imaginations.
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Pam Foss St. Michaels, Maryland www.pamfosssculpture.com
Vote for Women Paper casting relief 30 x 40 inches 2012 Vote for Women is my tribute of leading suragette Inez Milholland. Inez, astride her horse, led a parade of thousands of women down Pennsylvania Avenue on the eve of President Wilson’s inauguration demanding the right to vote.
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Ilana Frank Chicago, Illinois www.studioilana.com
Inside the Veil Pencil and charcoal on canvas 24 x 18 inches 2012 The veiled woman communicates with her eyes. Both frightened and deďŹ ant she calls out to us from within the fabric of her prison.
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Mary Annella Mimi Frank Brinklow, Maryland www.maryannellafrank.com
Jane Addams’ Chair Copper plated steel, 24 x 23 x 14 inches, 2012 This piece is a tribute to one of America’s most formidable women: a diminutive glowing copper-clad chair modeled after the nursery rocker of the early 20th C reformer Jane Addams. Addams struggled all her life with illness, pain and depression, but her passionate devotion to improving public health, advancing social justice, furthering world peace, and attaining the vote for women led to her being awarded the Noble Peace Prize—the first awarded to a woman. Like its namesake, Jane Addam’s Chair has a compelling strength that far exceeds its small, unassuming presence. 48
Linda Friedman Schmidt Franklin Lakes, New Jersey www.lindafriedmanschmidt.com
Contagious Silence Discarded clothing 44 x 24 inches 2009 The oppression of women worldwide is the human rights cause of our time. I protest my own lack of freedom growing up and how women today are still controlled and silenced by the dictates of society, government, religion, family, husbands, fathers, other men, and fear. Living in fear of speaking your mind is no way to live as a free human being. I have found my own voice and power through narrative textile art, yet cloth can also silence and disempower women when they must dress in a burqa, niqab or the latest trend.
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Wendy Gell Talent, Oregon www.wendygell.com
Sudanese women Paint, 16 x 20 inches, 2013 This painting is inspired by Sudanese women. This is a joyful picture of oppressed women ďŹ lled with hope. 50
Parisa Ghaderi Ann Arbor, Michigan www.cargocollective.com/parisaghaderi
I’m Decaying in My White Dress Digital photography 22 x 14 inches 2012 My current body of work, which I call visual poetry, is based on the poems of Forugh Farrokhzad, one of Iran’s most influential female poets of the 1950s and 60s. Through the form of staged photography, I translate her words for a contemporary audience. Forugh was a controversial modernist poet and her poems are full of contrasts: captivity and freedom, desire and repulsion, hope and despair. These are the very sorts of issues that women are dealing with everyday. For this project, I work with Forugh’s text, in Farsi letters.
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Elizabeth Gibbons San Francisco, California www.enchantedeye.net, www.glitteracy.com, www.thepalaceofthesoul.com and www.redthreadnation.com
‘The Madonna of Many Races’ a.k.a. ‘The Mother is in the White House’ Acrylic and oil paint on canvas with vintage jewelry and beads, glitter, glass, embroidery scissors 68 x 31 inches 2012 In this piece entitled The Madonna of Many Races I have purposefully depicted the face of the Madonna so that it is ambivalent what race she is, for she contains all the races and is the cosmic mother to us all. Tracing the origins of humanity we all come from Africa and are all one race. Below is the symbol of the phoenix, the mythical bird who burns itself and is born anew from it’s own ashes. This is what we as women do to bring healing. We are the peace makers. A Mandala, symbol of unity and the sacred circle is above.
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Linda Gleitz Longmont, Colorado www.lindagleitzart.com
We Chose to Tell You That You Have No Choice in This Matter Oil on canvas 36 x 36 inches 2013 This is a painting about a woman’s right to make choices about her own body. It is about other people making judgments and abortion. It is one of the most difficult decisions any woman might have to make and I am attempting to point out the absurdity of other people making this “choice” for any woman. This has been a very personal issue for me in my life.
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Marci Goldberg Woodland Hills, California marcirgoldberg@gmail.com
All The Rules Canvas, acrylic, twine 20 x 16 inches 2011 Don’t sacriďŹ ce you. A wake up call to women trapped in controlling and painful relationships. By nature, women thrive on intimacy and connection. For many women, the drive to create relationship success burns stronger than the instinct for selfpreservation. Behind closed doors, even the most dynamic of women forget themselves. They soothe, please, and accept...fearing failure, hoping for love. Over time, more ropes. Tighter ropes. Less self.
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Janice Gossman Garwood, New Jersey stormkinger@msn.com
Respect My Boundaries II Mixed media, plastic, insulation foam, glue, and paint 60 x 22 x 22 inches 2013 This sculpture is the second in a series relating to personal boundaries. It is about a woman’s right to not have her body violated in any way.
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Mary Lou Greene Northville, Michigan greenedarn@gmail.com
Health Digital photography, 9 x 9 inches, 2012 These images are part of a series entitled ‘women issues’. The series was inspired by the loss of my mother and a reflection on her strength and perseverance. 56
Karen Gutfreund San Jose, California www.karengutfreund.com
Never Enough Mixed media on board 24 x 24 inches 2012 My work reects the women’s experience of never doing enough, never being able to say no, gender biases inherent in our cultural and the reinvention of self.
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Julia Hacker Toronto, Ontario www.juliahackerart.com
The Naked Weight Canvas, paper print, oil, resin 24 x 24 inches 2011 Being a mother and a conscious individual I often think about our future generation, about the state of our planet that we are leaving to them. I am most concerned about what we teach our kids and what values we are imparting to them. Constant craving for truths and meaning whether they be material or ephemeral blindfolds and isolates us. Cataclysms and disasters of nature, should unite us globally. We are inter-related and inter-connected.
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Lucy Julia Hale Cave Spring, Georgia lucyjulia@live.com
Ladies’ Room: Still Asking for Full Recognition Paper, glue, photo negative 5.5 x 8.75 inches 2013 Like our great-grandmothers. Still asking. As we leave, without permission, the ladies’ room. Where we were all assigned to stay...without full recognition as citizens. Still asking. For all the rights. The red, white and blue ones. Yes, even a woman’s right to privacy.
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Mary Hamill New York, New York www.maryhamill.com
regardisregard (documentation of installation) Videos by homeless collaborators projected onto stacked cardboard boxes, 10 x 17 x 2 feet, 2007 In pioneering socially-engaged art over 13 years, I have kept my focus on the poor and the ill in the US and in Asia. My emphasis has been on women: they bear the burdens disproportionately; and when given their rights, they tend to make the most signiďŹ cant impacts on their communities. Activist collaborative art installations include Beijing and Chinatown elderly; the US Navy with Project HOPE in the South China Sea; the poor in rural Vietnam and Cambodia; and, pictured here in their own images, Boston’s homeless. 60
Kelly Hammargren Berkeley, California www.hankkellyartists.com
Jane Crow Forced Ultrasound Ceramic sculpture with slips and glazes fired to cone 5, 5 x 10 x 8 inches, 2013 On January 25, 2013 the Bill Moyer PBS show Moyers & Company had two guests on reproductive rights and access to abortion. One of the guests, Lynn Paltrow used the term the New Jane Crow. The term had resonance with me as I was halfway through Michelle Alexander’s book The New Jim Crow and I am very much concerned about women’s reproductive rights. I started on a series of imaginary ceramic creatures half crow half woman. The series is ongoing, one is entered here - Jane Crow Forced Ultrasound. 61
Karen Henninger Maxatawny, Pennsylvania www.karendee57.wordpress.com
I am Not A Hole Mixed media, oil and marker 24 x 36 inches 2004 She believes paintings do not have mono-meanings but multiplicity and can serve multiple purposes depending on the location of exhibit, motivation, intent and connection with her audience. Work is DeďŹ ned by a Hole book art, I am not the Hole. Video clip. And 2 drawings, 1 painting. This, for me, was a big part of what I came to understand from my studies of women’s artists in contrast to men’s art that traditionally tended to treat the work as having independent meaning. Multiple meanings emerge and dilute dominance.
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Melanie Hickerson Austin, Texas mellypaint331@yahoo.com
BREAKING WALLS Acrylic on canvas 20 x 16 inches 2006 By using realistic forms to make the compositions I can freely play in the paint. I like the suggestion of a narrative, too. The idea of wall as both barrier and security parallels some of my feelings or the feelings that I’m painting about. The balance of Freedom and Security is a dichotomy and most things, in my life anyway, are dichotomies.
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Terra Holcomb Kirkland, Washington www.terravision.etsy.com
Mine Photography 4 x 6 inches 2012 Mine is simply stating what no woman should have to say. My body, fertility and reproductive choice is mine and mine alone.
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Shelah Horvitz North Andover, Massachusetts www.shelahhorvitz.com
We Tell You What to Think Acrylic on paper, 30 x 19 inches, 1996 These works are part of my Thoughtcrime series, which explores the ways we are indoctrinated by media and religion to accept sexist cultural norms. The goal was to help point out the injustice of these cultural norms, and how both men and women suffer the ramifications of women’s subjugation. 65
Jan Hoy Coupeville, Washington www.sculpture.jhoydesign.com
Crevice Bronze, 8 x 12 x 12 inches, 2007 As a woman and a sculptor my work embraces being female. It is unapologetic, strong, and yet organic and sensuous. I believe by producing genuine work with a clear vision I can do no more to help deďŹ ne what it is like being a woman in today’s world. 66
Sandra Hunter Woodland Hills, California tinyhuntress@roadrunner.com
Stand in Grass Digital photograph, clear acrylic sheets 11 x 17 inches 2013 Surface Scratch is a series focused on the subsuming of female identity at social and political intersections where choices are often forced on women.
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Stacy Isenbarger Moscow, Idaho www.stacyisenbarger.com
THIS rock in wait Found image, graphite, paint, concrete, yellow and gold string and rock 8 x 15 inches 2013 THIS rock in wait addresses the conicting projections of the sacred feminine in Catholic iconography and the psychological weight of manmade barriers still built for women associated with the church. As a foundational necessity of any continuing generational community, the notion of a female rock to build a human church upon is still neglected.
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Olivia Jane Las Vegas, Nevada ohliviajane@gmail.com
Crash Dance Avi digital recording, 44 minutes looped, 2013 Vulnerability is what attracts adult males to the school girl fantasy, and what forces women into believing that evidence of aging is ‘unsexy’. It coincides with the social pressures of beautification rituals, we all want to remain youthful and sexy forever. As we attempt to up keep this physical desire, women who are raped, if they are beautiful, or dressed in a sexy manner, they were ‘asking for it’. This performance was conducted and choreographed by Yasmina Chavez and Olivia Jane, video documentation by Jo Russ, performance participants clitoraid.org, Yasmina Chavez, and Olivia Jane. 69
Jo Jayson Mamaroneck, New York www.jojayson.com
Blue Whispers of Truth Oil and collage on canvas 18 x 36 inches 2009 Blue Whispers of Truth, is the expression of a woman’s right to stand in her truth...and speak it. Truth should be bold, brave but embraced with integrity and compassion. In the 5th chakra of the body, the throat, lies the power to speak ones wisdom and authenticity, whether it be a whisper or a cry out loud...the time for women to stand in their majesty and speak and become their truth is now.
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Delanie Jenkins Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania www.delaniejenkins.com
Raveling in the New Year Archival inkjet print, 20 x 14 inches, 2013 This image predicts a moment from a durational performance and sonic work commissioned to address silence. The body of work, Raveling in the New Year, explores the attentive dedication and repetition of the historic domestic labors of women through the choreography of the hands: as she ravels and untangles she simultaneously weaves anew. 71
Krista Jiannacopoulos Los Angeles, California www.krista-art.com
Combat Confidential Digital art and hybrid techniques 16 x 20 inches 2013 Combat Confidential speaks to rape and sexual assault of enlisted women in the military, especially during basic training, where it is almost commonplace. It has gone unreported and off the record for years because of a fear of retribution and a culture climate that undermines the effective punishment of the attacker. Jiannacopoulos asserts that decisive action must be taken now to address the legacy of military rape and provide adequate remedies for victims.
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Judy Johnson-Williams Oakland, California www.judyjohnson-williams.com
Protesting Women Cardboard, paint, plexi, 48 x 60 x 9 inches, 2011 My work is about what we can do with art activism and what we can’t. With Protesting Women I wanted a way to show the brave women around the world that I support and admire the way they truly put their lives on the line--in ways that I cannot or will not. Is it that our time for active protest is over and it’s 3rd wave’s turn or are we too passive or fearful? 73
Liora K Tucson, Arizona www.liorakphotography.com
Smile =/= Consent Photography, archival print, 16 x 20 inches, 2012 The oppression of women seems to always be about the body—what can be shown and what must be stopped. I want to communicate the injustice and horror that can accompany being a woman in today’s world. The painted phrases and nudity to me are illustrative of how directly we are each affected by each law brought to the table, each enabled abuser, each slut shamed woman. Laws and social structure that bind us are enacted upon us, painted across us. My goal with the project is to make these binds visible. 74
Kay Kang San Francisco, California www.artspan.org/artist/kaykang
It’s A Girl!! Acrylic, charcoal, hemp ropes and dried red pepper on door jam 82 x 55 x 70 inches 2002 My work has a very special relevance in today’s world. I speak in a voice those talks directly to the experience of the Diaspora of Asian feminine identity and the experience of female submission in a male dominated society. Many of my works coalesce around a common theme; Korean patriarchal customs. Several of my works focus on issue of gender— specifically the naming of female newborns with what are generally considered male names. This informal Korean customs is a reflection of the preference for sons over daughters and was practiced in hope for a male baby.
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Marky Kauffmann Milton, Massachusetts www.markykauffmannphotography.com
Lost Beauty Margaret Acid Peel Ink jet print from scanned silver print 26 x 16 inches 2011 These images are about aging and the loss of patriarchal culture’s idea of physical beauty. Why do women succumb to the knife, the chemical, the poison in an attempt to change what is inevitable? The photographs are bleached. I use the bleach symbolically. It represents all the ways in which women alter themselves to delay aging. The question I am asking is, what is lost? The answer is complicated—body, mind, soul.
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Carole Kaufmann New York, New York www.carolerichardkaufmann.com
guerilla girls: conscience of the art world.... Mixed media 20 x 16 inches 2012 Pencil drawing depicting seemingly happy family at beach house with written story on sidewalk—back view shows mother pinching daughter to make her smile—body positions say it all.
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Nancy Kells Dendron, Virginia www.spartanjet-plex.bandcamp.com
Drawers Found objects 6.5 x 3 x 1.5 inches 2010 My work has been inuenced by the minimalist and conceptual art movements, often referencing artists such as Donald Judd, John McCraken, Mike Kelley, and Je Koons. I draw from my past experiences and perspective as a woman, educator and activist to infuse form with emotion through my work. While many minimalist artists strove for purity and its inherent divinity leading them to create the perfect rational form, my work attempts instead to create the perfect irrational form.
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