“Veils” digital print, 11”x14” in 16”x20” frame, 2009
Statement: Are we seen for ourselves or how we are packaged? Dare we walk around with naked faces and look people in the eye? Is the feminine so powerful it must be controlled, commodified, dissected, denied?
“SRO” digital print, 11”x14” in 16”x20” frame, 2009
Statement: Single room occupancy hotel (SRO). Rooms by the day, week, month. Threadbare carpet, long halls, thin walls, a bed, a chair, a sink. A chain across the door. I am in control.
These two works were exhibited in the CONTROL Show presented by the WCA’s South Bay and Peninsula chapters at SOMArts in San Francisco Aug. 6-29. The show was juried by Guerilla Girls West and curated by Karen Gutfreund. See the Control Exhibition's Facebook site. Photos of 88 of the artworks is at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=124262&id=117770210798.
I was impressed by the variety, quality and passion of the work, and by the formidable intelligence and organizational skills of Karen Gutfreund, who worked so hard to make it all happen. I was inspired to join the WCA’s Northern California chapter, which meets in San Francisco and the East Bay.
Much of my work in the 80s had to do with sexism and its effects on both genders. But in the past couple of decades, we as a society seem to have lost interest in reclaiming our full power as women. I tried to raise my children in a non-sexist household, but my daughters love their cosmetics and shoes, and don't seem to realize that just because their husbands do the dishes doesn't mean the battle is won.
Much of my work in the 80s had to do with sexism and its effects on both genders. But in the past couple of decades, we as a society seem to have lost interest in reclaiming our full power as women. I tried to raise my children in a non-sexist household, but my daughters love their cosmetics and shoes, and don't seem to realize that just because their husbands do the dishes doesn't mean the battle is won.
“Veils” and “SRO” are both experiments in combining paintings with found objects. The metal object in “SRO” is a brand-new, never used crampon (ice-climbing spikes for mountain climbers), which I found for a dollar at a sidewalk sale in the Haight. Esther, who runs the sale, is pretty remarkable in her own right.
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