Please pardon the photography. I took these photos on my phone and didn’t want to wait too long to post a few of my favorites from Open Studios this weekend. I highly encourage visiting their sites and taking a look around. Obviously, their work is so much better in person but these were definitely some of the pieces I enjoyed. Click on the artist’s name to learn more about them: Diane Komater, Jonathan Barcan, and Sonya Philip
Take Off Your Pants for Women!!!
Artists, Emmanuelle Namont Kouznetsov and Elyse Hochstadt certainly caught my attention when I read their request for participation in their latest work.
They are developing work around the current political climate. One piece is addressing the ever-changing status of women in culture and how the extreme right/religious right/Tea Party is changing not only legislation but undermining the overall perception of the role of women in society.
They are reaching out to friends and family and asking us to dig through our closets for those unused “work” pants.
Specifically, the artists are looking for the following:
- Black, Grey, Dark Blue or Pin Stripe pants
- Pants considered as proper office attire for a professional woman
Size doesn’t matter, but time does!! Please go check your closets and contact the artists with additional questions. The artists are also willing to arrange for a pick-up, if necessary.
Please contact Emmanuelle Namont Kouznetsov (Location: San Francisco) via e-mail at elle@emmanuellenamont.com
OR
Elyse Hochstadt (Location: East Bay) via e-mail at elyseh1@gmail.com
Donors will be acknowledged as a participants. The artists will keep everyone informed of the developments of the piece as well as where it will be exhibited. More to come…
Source: Original Artists’ Call for Participation
LJ Roberts: shifting textiles, queer craft, and resilience – Interview
I’ll write a little something today but not very long due to yesterday’s post on my impressions of the current exhibition, It’s All a Blur, at the SomArts Cultural Center. THAT, my friends, was A LOT.
Instead, I’ll recommend reading my dear friend, L.J. Roberts, interview with the Social Media Management for Contemporary Art organization. It’s a fantastic interview. LJ discusses her art practice, a ‘love affair’ with New York, and her thoughts regarding censorship in the arts (specifically the work of David Wojnarowicz being removed from the Smithsonian)!
Great interview!!! Please click here to read the full interview!
Enjoy!
The Truth in our bodies: Reflections Sonya Clark’s Work
Some time ago, I was introduced to the work of Sonya Clark. It encapsulates the truth, which resides in our bodies. Hair, for example, contains information about our biology that we often neglect or forget. Our predispositions, if you believe they exist are engrained in every part of the body. Clark explores hair in such a way that brings her understanding and experiences to everyone (not just African-American men and women). One of the many reasons I love Clark’s work is in large part due to use of the body and the tools we use to maintain our bodies. The Combs Series evokes how something so simple and trivial can reflect complexities and intricacies of beauty and self-care. Clark’s utilization of simple materials to create visual complexity contrasts how combs are often seen as cheap, plastic, low quality tools used simply to groom unruliness.
Clark notes on her site, when talking about her projects entailing use of human hair,
“Deep with each strand, the vestiges of our roots resound. In this work hair is formed into markers of chronology, wisdom, and adornment”.
Much of her work resonates with me because in the past few years, I’ve had probably close to a dozen different hairstyles in the past couple of years. Co-workers even rumored that I had shaved my head, which is far from the truth. I merely had an extremely short pixie hairstyle someone misspoke and interpreted as a shaved head. In any case, it dawned on me the importance people hold on hair and beauty. Some women allow such an external characteristic to define their femininity. Yet, Clark doesn’t (only) re-make and re-interpret her body to create beautiful pieces of sculptural work. She believes in showcasing how the body itself can serve as a medium. She profoundly sculpts the truth in our bodies within her work.
Please visit her site here
