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Art (re)Presenting Woman adorned the gallery space in Arctic Java, UAF Wood Center throughout March, Women's History and Culture Month.
Dr. Zoë Marie Jones, Assistant Professor, Art History, shared the following words to open the show, to acknowledge the student artists, and to celebrate their contributions to the artistic presentation, representation, and (re)Presentation of Woman.
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As most of you
know this exhibition is in celebration of Women’s History Month, an event that
seeks to recognize the contribution of women both in contemporary times and
throughout history. As an art historian I am very aware of the difficulty that
women and women’s issues have faced (and continue to face) in the field of art.
Although much work has been done to recuperate the feminine role in our
traditional canon of art, it remains an under-recognized area of study. Much of
this is due to the unavoidable fact that in many cultures a woman’s ability to
contribute to culture was extremely limited. Unfortunately this still continues
to be a problem, albeit somewhat mitigated. In today's world the challenge has
expanded to include larger gender identity issues, a topic that is far from
being satisfactorily explored.
The theme of this
exhibit is (re)Presenting Women. Historically women were very much marginalized
in the arts. Obstacles ranged from a lack of educational opportunities,
restricted movement and travel, and a general bias against the female psyche.
Often women’s creative endeavors were deemed craft instead of high art and even
the few women who managed to break into the male art world were constrained by
a lack of models, poor access to materials and difficulties in acquiring
adequate training. As a result, well into the 20th century the
majority of female artists were known for their self-portraits, portraits of
other women, and for paintings of domestic settings. Woman as subjects in
paintings is another problematic field. Early depictions of female subjects
showed them as passive or subservient or else as allegories referring to either
their purity (ie. the Virgin Mary) or supposed degeneracy (ie. Eve). This
dichotomy also existed through the early 20th century as women were
consistently either depicted as either a pure soul or a temptress. In the late
twentieth century there were a number of female (and sometimes male) artists
that challenged these archetypes in often militant and blatantly confrontational
ways. This was a necessary step in the re-cooperation of the female image and
our current artistic culture is indebted to these pioneers.
In conclusion I
would like to acknowledge all of the artists who have submitted art for this
exhibition. You represent a wide range of backgrounds, cultures and gender
spectrums and your participation in this event reinforces the view that artists
interested in gender equality can come from all walks of life. Thank you for
your contribution.
Dr. Zoë Marie Jones
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