T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
---|
748.1 | Two of mine | TWEED::B_REINKE | where the sidewalk ends | Tue Mar 08 1988 09:50 | 4 |
| One would be a planet forming out of a cloud of dust.
Another is from a movie of fertilization...the changes
captured in slow motion as an egg and a sperm cell combine
to form a zygote and the zygote begins to divide.
|
748.3 | | MSD36::STHILAIRE | 1 step up & 2 steps back | Tue Mar 08 1988 10:41 | 2 |
| I imagine an expanse of black emptiness, with a bright red fiery
explosion in one corner.
|
748.4 | | 3D::CHABOT | Rooms 253, '5, '7, and '9 | Tue Mar 08 1988 12:35 | 4 |
| I always think of a golden dawn, with the sun rising over a green meadow,
and the small birds are just stirring and calling,
and I'm below them just under a tree on a hill to the west.
And it happens every day.
|
748.5 | No images in Art? | REGENT::BROOMHEAD | Don't panic -- yet. | Tue Mar 08 1988 12:57 | 0 |
748.6 | all things great and small... | GNUVAX::BOBBITT | Tea in the Sahara with you... | Tue Mar 08 1988 12:58 | 14 |
| On a grand scale, I remember an animated film (done in Claymation)
called "Genesis" or something, narrated by James Earl Jones, which
starts something like, "In the beginning there was darkness...then
there was light...then there was God, and God said, 'I'm lonely,
I think I'll make me a world'..."
On a smaller scale, I picture a room full of creative energy (the
energy which is a part of us all), and pianos and paints and brushes
and calligraphy pens and sculpting blocks and kilns and looms and
papier mache and stained glass and violas and silver and euphoniums
and....
-Jody
|
748.7 | Music - and clay | MANANA::RAVAN | Tryin' to make it real... | Tue Mar 08 1988 13:00 | 21 |
| I like Lewis' "Narnia" imagery: out of pitch darkness, a song begins,
and as the song grows and changes, so is the world created. Light
appears, the terrain changes, living things spring from the ground
full-grown, and the singing reflects each movement, each shape.
And the new creations join in the song...
Tolkien used the "musical creation" theme in his mythology as well,
but I don't know which of them came up with it first, or if both
of them got it from somewhere else.
I find a more personal image of creation in throwing clay on a potter's
wheel. While I only did this for the space of one course at school,
the image is still powerful: the shapeless mass spinning and suddenly
changing into something completely different; the pressure of the
fingers altering the form, subtly or drastically; the difficult
decision as to whether the new creation is complete or not; the
risk that further manipulation will destroy it; and, sometimes,
the collapse of the entire structure - but then all one has to do
is re-mix the clay and begin again.
-b
|
748.8 | Two sets | VAXRT::CANNOY | I was so much older then... | Tue Mar 08 1988 13:11 | 22 |
| Well, there's two sets of images: those others have created and
that immediately spring to mind, and those images which are mine.
Others created:
God touching Adam's finger from the Sistine Chapel painting by
Michaelangelo.
One of Blake's (can't remember which one) with God (long white beard,
etc.) creating the cosmos.
Judy Chicago's Birth project.
The spaceship of the Imagination from the Carl Sagan PBS show, Cosmos,
traveling thru space/time.
My images:
Birth, that instant when the head crowns and you realize it's happening
NOW.
The Goddess, singing and dancing Creation into being.
|
748.9 | another vote for wm blake | DINER::SHUBIN | Life's too short to eat boring food. | Tue Mar 08 1988 18:02 | 18 |
|
The image by Blake is of a white-haired god, leaning down from the
cosmos to create the world. He's in an opening in the middle of a great
storm cloud, with the sun shining greatly behind him and the wind is
blowing. He's reaching down, making a measurement with a compass, or
some such device. The engineer in me loves that!. In the background
and below, there's darkness. (Sorry for all the masculine pronouns, but
he's obviously got a long white beard.)
The postcard I got at the British Museum (they were out of posters)
says: "`The Ancient of Days', William Blake. Frontispiece to `Europe, A
Prophecy'. Relief-etching and water colour."
That's always done it for me, as far as art. For a personal image, I've
always gone with something bursting in the middle of nothingness.
Kind of a big-bang thing, I guess.
-- hs
|
748.10 | Xtk getting to me now.. | RANCHO::HOLT | Robert A. Holt | Tue Mar 08 1988 18:39 | 6 |
|
I'll take the white haired bearded god, put him in
jeans and a tie dye t shirt, put him in La Jolla in
an office with a view of Torrey Pines beach, and
have him realizing a top level Widget to the music
of Wagner ("Dawn", from Die Gotterdammerung).
|
748.11 | | TERZA::ZANE | freedom tastes sweet! | Wed Mar 09 1988 00:42 | 19 |
|
While the Big Bang idea presents many wonderful and glorious images,
I've always thought of it as rather masculine. I prefer to think
of Creation as being teased (or nurtured) slowly into existence.
Like:
A single thread forms itself out of a vapor. And then another. Then
another. Then the strands slowly weave themselves of every kind.
Then the patterns themselves form themselves into the objects of the
universe. And the objects themselves form into patterns of every
kind, seeking to fulfill every combination there can be. We ourselves
are patterns and objects. And in our striving to succeed and to fail,
we continue the same continuous creation and destruction of all
combinations.
Terza
|
748.12 | L'eau, source de vie... | SHIRE::BIZE | | Wed Mar 09 1988 04:57 | 21 |
| Whe somebody says "Creation", click goes my brain, and I see in
my mind's eyes the ceiling of the Sixtine Chapel; the painting is
so powerful that it even obliterates the fact that I don't much
like this sort of painting, or any of Michel-Angelo's work, for
that matter.
There's an image which I think is much nearer to my own image of
creation and it's the "Venus sortant de l'eau" by Botticelli.
First, she comes out of the sea, like earthly life did. Then, she
is the embodiment of "the Goddess", but also "the Mother", with
her wide hips and soft rounded stomach. She is just born out of
the water, but she is already, potentially, the creator of further
life. I find this painting exudes a quiet statement of strength,
an "here I am" devoid of all agression.
Joana
PS: re 0. and .5, you were trying to get us to mention Michel-Angelo,
right, Ann?
|
748.13 | one of my favorites | VIA::RANDALL | back in the notes life again | Wed Mar 09 1988 09:27 | 10 |
| I once saw an African painting in an exhibit somewhere, I don't
even remember where, of a stretch of burning sand that seemed
infinite. And there was water pouring down from the sky, and
where the water touched the sand, some of the most beautiful
trees I'd ever seen seemed to explode into jubilant life.
Being a painting, it didn't have any sound, but I could almost
hear the triumphant music echoing.
--bonnie
|
748.14 | Yes, and if you look real close... | REGENT::BROOMHEAD | Don't panic -- yet. | Wed Mar 09 1988 12:40 | 10 |
| Joana,
Yes, the Michelangelo picture is the famous one that I meant, with
God in long flowing beard and robes about to touch Adam's finger.
Something not everyone knows about that picture: Eve is represented
by the shape of the muscles in the calf of Adam's bent leg. She
is just a torso, no arms or head.
Ann B.
|
748.15 | The Intellectual View | HANDY::MALLETT | Situation hopeless but not serious | Wed Mar 09 1988 15:59 | 10 |
| At the risk of irreverence, I saw one recently by cartoonist
Gary Larson. The caption reads "In God's kitchen" and the
picture is of (the standard) white-bearded, robed "God". He's
obviously in the kitchen and, as well as several of the usual
kitchen implements, there are assorted planetoids, comets, etc.
floating around. God is removing a baking pan from the oven
in which is the Earth. The thought bubble above His head reads
(approx. quote) "Hmmm. This thing looks half-baked."
Steve
|
748.16 | The abstract and the fanciful | BRONS::BURROWS | Jim Burrows | Wed Mar 09 1988 18:14 | 45 |
| Here are two. One is extremely abstract and the other extremely
concrete. The concrete one is the "Rites of Spring" segment from
Walt Disney's Fantasia.
The other is rather abstract and has a couple of forms. It is a
simple diagram that got drawn on the blackboard numerous times
when I was studying philosophy in college. It goes something
like this:
\ /
\ /
o
/ \
/ \
although the aspect ratio should be much shorter and fatter,
rather than tall and thin, at least as I think of it.
It represents time. The center represents the present. The angle
to the right the future and the angle to the left the past. The
thing in the center, which I am more likely to draw as a
sideways tear-drop, represents an entity actual entity which is
experiencing the things in its past and creating a new present
out of the various possible futures.
The image comes from process philosophy which is a school of
metaphysics which instead of thinking of the world as composed
of static bits of matter or moments of time sees the smallest
constituent of reality as the "actual entity", something which
is affected by (or "experiences") events that have already
occurred and in reactyion to them actualizes one of the many
possible futures. Process holds that the simple act of "being"
is creative in that it synthesizes past events into a new whole
that is more than just the some of the past. "Being" is always
"becoming".
The idea that creativity and experiencing are fundemental, and
that an experiencing and changing entity is a better model for
the constituents of reality than static little beads is very
powerful to me. The image above reminds me that every moment is
one of creation, and that creation didn't stop 4600 or 15
billion years ago.
JimB.
|
748.17 | THE BIRTH PROJECT | SALEM::LUPACCHINO | From All Walks of Life 6-5-88 | Thu Mar 10 1988 09:39 | 23 |
| The following announcement appeared in my mail last week:
"The Women in Theatre Festival, in conjunction with Northeastern
University, Division of Fine Arts, and AAMARP Gallery present
THE BIRTH PROJECT
by
JUDY CHICAGO
March 11-April 3, 1988 (excluding Mondays), 12 noon-8:00pm, AAMARP
Gallery, Ruggles Building, Northeastern University, Forsyth St.,
Boston. Suggested donation $3.00. (Nearest "T" stop: Ruggles on Orange
Line or Northeastern on Green Line.)
"From the Creation to The Fall": A lecture by Judy Chicago,
March 12, 12 noon, Rabb Hall, Boston Public Library, Copley Sq.
Admission Free.
[Funded in part by the Mass. Council on The Arts and Humanities and
National Endowment For The Arts, through The New England Foundation
for The Arts]
|
748.18 | water and gardens | XCELR8::POLLITZ | | Thu Mar 10 1988 16:44 | 3 |
| Danae by Klimt. c. 1907. Also 'Water Serpents'.
Rodin's Lover's and Klimt's 'The Kiss' are possibilities.
|
748.19 | Ann grabbed the reader's lapels, and spoke... | REGENT::BROOMHEAD | Don't panic -- yet. | Fri Mar 11 1988 13:12 | 29 |
| I entered the base note because I really wanted to talk about Judy
Chicago's "The Birth Project".
I haven't seen it yet, but I intend to, since I've read the book
she wrote about the project. In the book she explained that she
started the project when she realized that there was a conspicuous
dearth of creation ior birth images in [Western/European] art.
This note has confirmed this lack. The images people gave came
overwealmingly out of reality and out of their own imaginations.
The images that came out of Western art were of a patriarchal male
god creating in a cool, detached manner. (See 518. :-) Judy
Chicago set out to change all that. She created images of women
giving birth, of the goddess creating&becoming the world and more,
much more. Then she found women all over the country who could
turn her images into needle-based art, using the colors and materials
she selected. The results were mounted and turned into a series
of exhibits that could be stored centrally, and shipped anywhere
for display.
What you will see is series of the same image, done over and over,
in different color schemes, in different sizes, and in different
media. There will be quilting, appliqu�, petite point, silk
embroidery, -- all sorts of things! And there will be writeups
by and about each woman and her piece[s].
It's wonderful. You've gotta go.
Ann B.
|
748.20 | something that bothers me | VIA::RANDALL | back in the notes life again | Fri Mar 11 1988 14:02 | 20 |
| re: .19 --
I've seen some of Judy Chicago's other work and it's incredible
and beautiful, but there's something that bothers me about the
way she did the Birth Project.
I would like a chance to interpret my views of birth and creation
in a 'plastic' medium, or even a verbal one, with the intent of it
being a public expression of me. I could even get into
investigating my interpretation of a central image, such as
the onces Chicago uses.
But using HER colors and ideas and materials strikes me as somehow
deeply opposed to the ideas she's trying to present. I mean, if
the power of the goddess is in each of us, why shouldn't each of
us express it in our own colors?
Does the book address this issue at all, Ann?
--bonnie
|
748.21 | As tidy as a plate of spaghetti | REGENT::BROOMHEAD | Don't panic -- yet. | Fri Mar 11 1988 16:27 | 21 |
| Yes, the book does talk about it, and it is worth reading for that
alone.
The first thing to remember is that Judy Chicago was the artist,
and all the other women involved were volunteers who accepted that
this was the nature of the project.
The second thing to realize is that Judy also drew images to match
the ideas that these women had, that the colors were agreed upon
together, and that there was a great deal of corresponding, argument,
and hag-ling going on throughout the project. (One woman persuaded
her that batik could be sufficiently precise; another did a piece
in bead-weaving (!) that Chicago designed just for her.)
The third thing to realize was that many of these women were suffering
from Just a Housewife Syndrome, and this was their first step out.
And think of Judy Chicago, handing out *her* artwork for *someone
else* to implement!
Ann B.
|
748.22 | Ooo! Oo! Rodin! | BRONS::BURROWS | Jim Burrows | Fri Mar 11 1988 18:19 | 18 |
| The miention of "the Kiss" immediately reminded me of Rodin'
"The Hand of God" which shows a lerge hand holding a block of
stone partially carved into an almost foetal positioned woman
embracing and embraced by a man. It's hard to convey in words,
but it very much bespeaks creation to me, and although God's
hand is masculine, it doesn't strike me as the "male creating in
a cool detached manner" that Ann rightly points out as
dominating Western creation images.
Most of Rodin's work strikes me as extremely passionate, and
much of it besides illustrating creativity, bespeaks it as well.
Others that touch upon the theme, in my eye, are "Eternal
Spring", "The Creation of Woman", (but not "Eve"), "Psyche",
"The Oceanids", and in a sense (which I can't explain), "The
Bronze Age". Many of these are half-formed images or statues
"out of focus", giving a sense of mystery and emergence.
JimB.
|
748.23 | It doesn't fit | VIA::RANDALL | back in the notes life again | Mon Mar 14 1988 08:17 | 33 |
| re: .21
I accept that Chicago was the artist and had the right to control
the project in any way she wanted, any way she could persuade
her volunteers to implement for her.
But a woman of Chicago's ability, power, and passion could have
done so much toward helping the women you talk about explore and
depict their *own* feelings about creation and creating. I see no
reason why she had to make these women into amaneuses for her own
artistic views.
I'm speaking here as a writer and a needlewoman. The person who
creates a painting, a story, or a crocheted bookmark, brings to it
her whole personality and all her beliefs. If she presents
something that's in contradiction to her beliefs, she endangers
something inside her. I'm not talking here about morality so much
as that when you produce something you don't believe in for the
sake of money or approval or even the good of others, you haven't
been true to yourself.
And if you keep on being not true to yourself, before too long you
begin to lose your capacity to say anything worthwhile. The truth
denied goes looking for another, more honest channel.
Judy Chicago knows this. She's said it far better than I can.
Unless she has changed some of her ideas about the nature of
art, I find it hard to understand why she chose this way.
Maybe I'd better buy the book. Can you post vital statistics
so I can get my booknook to order it for me? Thanks.
--bonnie
|
748.24 | Just my understanding of it all. | BUFFER::LEEDBERG | An Ancient Multi-hued Dragon | Mon Mar 14 1988 09:54 | 23 |
|
Bonnie,
I understand what you are saying about the integrity of the artist,
but I think if what I have read and heard is correct the project
was a JOINT effort with Chicago acting as the central focus point
and final decision maker - the ultimate artist. The WHOLE exhibit
is the work of art not an exhibit made up of works of art. This
is a very hard concept to explain and I am trying to think of an
example in other art forms that we are more fimilar with.
I do not believe that there was any heavy-handedness by Chicago
in putting the Birth Project together. As I work with more groups
of woman I see in action the Feminist concept of "non-ownership"
by the individual but TRUE "ownership" by the group.
_peggy
(-)
| The Goddess speaks to each individual but her
greater voice is the unison of many different voices.
|
748.25 | maybe too simple | HEFTY::CHARBONND | JAFO | Mon Mar 14 1988 12:46 | 2 |
| Does a comparison with dance help ?
Many dancers, one choreographer ?
|
748.26 | I'll be back after I read the book | 4GL::RANDALL | back in the notes life again | Mon Mar 14 1988 12:46 | 18 |
| re: .24 --
Peggy, I hope you're right; however, too much of what I've heard
about this exhibit sounds like rationalization for some attitudes
that won't quite stand up to examination. (And Ann's summary
is one of the worst for that.)
But I admire Chicago and her work too much to condemn her on the
basis of two newspaper articles and a couple of summaries in
notes. I'm not going to comment any further until I have the
chance to read the book.
--bonnie
P.s. The artistic integrity I'm talking about has nothing to
do with who gets the public credit or whether the cooperation
was voluntary. It's your relation to yourself and your own
truth that gets hurt.
|
748.27 | KP7 or Select | REGENT::BROOMHEAD | Don't panic -- yet. | Mon Mar 14 1988 14:04 | 11 |
| The order information for _The_Birth_Project_ may be found in
Note 152.3 of the ERIS::THREADS notefile.
Collaborations form a difficult puzzle. Did Gilbert's choice of
words unduly restrict Sullivan's musical creativity? Did Sullivan's
choice of notes unduly restrict Gilbert's versal creativity? Where
does art end and craft begin? Can one be a good craftsman without
being an artist? Is it right to talk about "art" and "craft" in
this context?
Ann B.
|
748.28 | man's medium = art, women's = craft | VIA::RANDALL | back in the notes life again | Mon Mar 14 1988 14:31 | 21 |
| Drat, not another notes file to read! Oh, well, if I want
the book, I suppose I'll have to.
The difference between 'art' and 'craft' is usually in the
eye of a definer who values oil paints and marble while he
devalues thread and wood!
It's possible to be a good craftsman (I presume you mean that
in the sense of a technician, one who merely executes without
caring?) without being an artist, but you can't tell by looking
at the person's chosen or imposed medium. Marble statues,
crocheted edgings, clay pots, Shaker tables, quilts, and chocolate
cakes can all equally be artistic creations.
I think this might be a subtle motivation behind my reservations
about the Birth Project -- I'm afraid Chicago didn't adequately
respect the creativity and emotional integrity of the women
who executed her ideas in media that are not traditionally
considered artistic.
--bonnie
|
748.29 | Bingo! | REGENT::BROOMHEAD | Don't panic -- yet. | Mon Mar 14 1988 15:36 | 7 |
| Yes! That was precisely her point: These media are not respected
*because* they are women's media. (Well, one of her points. It
was something she realized from the reviews of "The Dinner Party".)
You don't have to read -- or even keep -- THREADS. Cajole, cajole.
Ann B.
|
748.30 | now look what you've done :) :) :) :) :) :) | VIA::RANDALL | back in the notes life again | Mon Mar 14 1988 16:03 | 14 |
| re: .29
But if she respects those media so much, why didn't she let
them --
Never mind, I'll read the book first. I added THREADS to my
notebook. I printed out the note about the book. I'll stop at
the bookstore tonight. (It does look like an interesting
conference. I had no idea it was there. I never can find
a crochet pattern when I need one.)
I knew this was going to happen!
--bonnie
|
748.31 | DO GO SEE The Birth Project | VAXWRK::GOLDENBERG | Ruth Goldenberg | Mon Mar 14 1988 19:57 | 51 |
| I bought The Birth Project book a couple years ago and was pretty amazed
at it. I had an opportunity to see 8-10 of the pieces exhibited in
Greenfield, Mass. late this past summer.
I find Chicago's images very powerful and moving, although many are graphic
and might offend some people. Chicago's imagery is magnificent, but,
to anyone into needlework, the needlework is *incredibly* inspiring. I
wouldn't have believed it was that powerful a medium.
They also ran a ~40-minute videotape containing interviews with Chicago,
some of her needleworkers, and her main assistant. It's worth watching.
Different exhibits get different selections of pieces, so I'm hoping this
one will be different. The people in Greenfield felt somewhat constrained
by their townspeople not to show some of the more graphic works.
The people who ran the exhibit in Greenfield said that *part* of
Chicago's problem in getting the Birth Project accepted as ART was that
the established view of serious art didn't really encompass a piece of
art designed by one person and executed by another.
They also said that the foundation formed to exhibit the Birth Project pieces
has a limited lifetime, soon to be up (a year or so from now).
The foundation tried to donate the pieces to the Smithsonian, who refused
them. That really angers me. The pieces of needlework are therefore now
being sold to private buyers, with proceeds going to repay the needleworkers
for some of their time and, I believe, Judy Chicago for her efforts and early
funding of materials, expenses, etc.
.re .20, .21, .23, .24, etc. ...
Although it's been a while since I read The Birth Project, I am left with
the feeling that Judy Chicago kept reasonably tight control over this
particular project. Some of her needleworkers did hag-le with her and
control some of the color gradations, but I suspected she kept as tight
a rein as possible over that many people working remotely. As much as
I'm an admirer of her art, looking at her face and reading her words,
I don't think she'd be an easy a person to work with or for.
I've read her autobiography, Through the Flower, and she has indeed
been in positions/projects where she seemed more interested in encouraging
the growth of her students/fellow workers. I think in this one she was
more interested in seeing her particular images realized than in the
artistic growth of the needleworkers. I think she felt she was doing
some of them a favor in giving them an opportunity to step out of their
usual roles to do something of greater import (greater from Chicago's
point of view).
I definitely agree with Ann in .19 - go see this exhibit!
reg
|
748.32 | | 3D::CHABOT | 4294967294 more lines... | Tue Mar 15 1988 13:26 | 5 |
| I really would encourage women to see the works. And to pay particular
attention to reviews that criticize Judy Chicago's vision and
implementations of this art: why is it _too_ female? why does she
come under fire for being controlling? why all this energy to
denigrate her work? Must be something to see, if it's that controversial.
|
748.33 | reference | TWEED::B_REINKE | where the sidewalk ends | Tue Mar 15 1988 13:40 | 4 |
| There is an article about Judy Chicago and her project in
today's Boston Herald.
Bonnie
|
748.34 | now there's a moral dilemma | VIA::RANDALL | back in the notes life again | Tue Mar 15 1988 14:24 | 34 |
| re: .33
Lord have mercy. Even for an article on Judy Chicago, can I stomach
buying the Herald?
re: .32
Lisa, the denigration of the masses, usually represented by the
art critic, is just one of the crosses we great artists have to
bear :) :) :) :) :)
Seriously, there is a connection between the power of an artist's
message and the amount of criticism that artist receives from the
"establishment". This is true of both men and women. If Chicago
were a man, they'd find something different to criticize her for.
Art deals with the expression of truth as perceived by the artist.
Society (I'm speaking only of Western society here, not of all
societies) tends to deal with suppressing the truth in favor of an
agreed-upon version of life that's somewhat more palatable. In
particular, society frowns on the messy realities of dying, and hence
on birth since the two are intimately connected.
So an artist who goes deep into the truths of life and death is
going to make "society" extremely uncomfortable.
I knew a sculptor who used to guage the success of his exhibits
by how many people he disturbed. He didn't use any obscene or violent
images, so he wasn't into shock art, but he felt that if an average
middle-class person walked into his exhibit, looked at his sculptures,
and wasn't challenged or threatened by them, then he wasn't adequately
communicating his ideas.
--bonnie
|
748.35 | don't buy it, check the trash cans :-) | VOLGA::B_REINKE | where the sidewalk ends | Tue Mar 15 1988 15:44 | 6 |
| in re .34
Bonnie, I know how you feel, I *borrow* my neighbor's copy after
I finish the Globe at lunch time.
Bonnie Jeanne
|
748.36 | Boggle, boggle. | REGENT::BROOMHEAD | Don't panic -- yet. | Thu Mar 24 1988 17:06 | 88 |
| Well, I got to see "The Birth Project" over the weekend.
Ann B.
Oh, you wanted details? Okey-doke.
I looked up Forsyth Street on a map, and found that it was disjoint,
and ran roughly north-south to the east of the Fenway. I saw that
it intersected Ruggles Street, and brilliantly deduced that the
Ruggles Building was liable to be near there.
So, bright and early on Sunday, I drove into Boston with Suford
navigating. We came into the Fenway area, and drove east on Ruggles,
to sneak up on it. Just before the Forsyth-Ruggles intersection came
up, Suford yelled, "There!" and pointed to a little side street [Leon
Street] on my left. Luckily, I made the turn. It was lucky because
there was a parking lot I could use there, and because Forsyth Street
is one way the *other* way. We parked, walked deasil (Well, "clockwise"
won't be a useful term for much longer, will it?) around this large
building, which *was* the Ruggles Building.
We got in on the far side (People in the know had found how to come
down Forsyth or Leon from the north and park in the near lot.) and took
the elevator up to the fourth floor.
We paid our money, signed the guest book, and walked to this
intersection. Nothing to the right. To the left -- no question about
that! We trotted left. [Note: The following page references are to
_The_Birth_Project_ by Judy Chicago, ISBN 0-385-18710-6, Doubleday,
1985, paperback, $17.95, which I checked out of the Wayland Public
Library. (Your public library is an invaluable resource. Use it.)]
The first piece is "Earth Birth" (pp. 100-101), and, at over 5 feet
by 11 feet, it is very hard to miss. The shading that looks like
lighting effects is really Judy Chicago's terrific airbrush painting.
The quilting was done by a Massachusetts woman, Jacquelyn Moore, the
associated text includes a poem she wrote about the piece, and the
"Boston Herald" had an article on her as well as on the entire exhibit.
The next piece to the left of that is "Birth Tear/Tear" (pp. 71, 72),
which is done in macram�. The text with this reminded me of some things
I had forgotten: Chicago had taken to sending a small drawing on
fabric of a womb containing a proto-mammal as an audition piece to
the people who wanted to volunteer to work with her. When she got
back something she liked, she created a piece to complement that woman's
skills. She could not figure out the technique in Pat Rudy-Baese's
sample (p. 70). (The photos do not do it justice; it is present at
the exhibit too.) She was surprised to find that it was macram�; she
had disliked macram� because of its non-pictorial qualities, but she
designed "Birth Tear/Tear" to use Rudy-Baese's skills. The result is
very far from the ~slick, sentimental~ work that the "Boston Globe"'s
reviewer claimed.
The next piece (deasil) was "Birth Goddess Embroidery 4" (p. 174), done
with umpteen zillion French knots. The photo does not do it justice.
Then came "Creation of the World Embroidery 3/9". The womb/egg/flower/
sperm really caught my eye. The photo, which is only black-and-white,
does not do it justice. Next to that were "Birth Power" (p. 59),
"The Crowning Needlepoint 4" (pp. 45, 46-47), and "Smocked Figure"
(p. 73, 74, 75). Across from them was the very large (4 feet by
11 feet) "Birth Trinity Needlepoint" (pp.114-115) done by a team of
women in 6-mesh canvas.
On the far wall opposite "Creation of the World Embroidery 3/9" was
a different version of the same image/idea, "Creation of the World
Needlepoint 3" (p. 50). This was done on (shudder) 24-mesh canvas.
It has the same meticulous blending of shades as all of the pieces.
Beyond that was "Fingered by Nature" (p. 127) which was done in silk
thread, in wonderful, luminous colors that the photos could not begin
to capture. The last piece is "Birth Certificate" (p. 202-203, 201),
done in Pennsylvania Dutch style as a giant show towel. It symbolizes
Patriarchy, and Chicago clearly had a lot of fun with it, for all
that the top half looks so ugly.
This is my technique for viewing: I looked at a piece from a distance,
then I looked at it from a few inches away. I read the documentation
panels (again; they're in the book.), broke away to examine some point
in the piece mentioned in the documentation, and finished reading the
documentation. Then I looked at the piece up close, and then from a
distance again. After I did this for every piece, I went around again
and looked at each one just from a good distance.
The eleven pieces took less than two hours to see. I wish I had not
been carrying a heavy purse.
Ann B.
|
748.37 | Birth Project April 3 close moved to April 16! | PNEUMA::SULLIVAN | Singing for our lives | Tue Apr 05 1988 12:11 | 5 |
|
I went to the exhibit (again) this weekend, and I found out that
it will be at Northeastern through April 16.
Justine
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748.38 | "The Rainbow Goblins" | YODA::BARANSKI | Words have too little bandwidth... | Thu Apr 07 1988 17:38 | 18 |
| RE: Images of creation
I have a in mind a picture from "The Rainbow Goblins" by ?Ul De Rico?. It is a
picture of rainbow over a large canyon. The colors of the rainbow
metamorphisize from the sun into the myriads of creatures which populate the
canyon. The book is a collection of cibachrome artwork folowing a storyline. A
wonder for adults and children.
RE: too female
Well, I might term something 'too female', if it were something that males could
not relate to, or if it represented little or no 'male creation'. Possibly those
remarks were made while judging the artwork by the wrong standard, a male one,
or even a (male & female) one if the exhibit is solely for and by women, and men
or people used to judging on a male standard or even an integrated male and
female standard.
JMB
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