One year later: Hold on to your hats
“Imarched. My daughters marched. My friends marched. We wore our pussyhats. We raged, wrote, posted and called. Then we artists got busy. We had to.” — The Pussyhat Series, Bette Yozell
A year has passed since Donald Trump’s inauguration, with worldwide women’s marches occurring the following day. Here in Santa Fe, I joined the throngs downtown, swept along by the energy of people who had been outraged by his policies and his cruel utterings.
I will again join like-minded Santa Feans this weekend for the second Women’s March. I will don my pink, hand-knitted pussyhat, a reminder of Trump’s now notorious statement. Last year, this iconic headgear could be seen in a sea of pink at the Washington, D.C., gathering and at marches worldwide. This symbol somehow touched me. It entered my consciousness and my studio.
My studio. After 27 fulfilling years teaching art to teenagers at Santa Fe Prep School, I retired to this waiting space. My work has consisted mostly of delicate watercolor paintings and intricate etchings, often inspired by nature and the human form. After last year’s Women’s March, I felt compelled to give rein to images of, you guessed it, pussyhats! This was no delicate theme. I turned to the boldness of acrylic paint on canvas. I was obsessed. I painted seven canvases in quick succession.
Their narrative qualities led me to make a book, The Pussyhat Series, with short ruminations on each image. The books were well received at last year’s Santa Fe Studio Tour sale, at other venues where I sell my work, and the national Pussyhat Project has shown interest in sponsoring it on its website. I think I hit a national nerve.
One of my favorite images and the cover illustration is a closeup of hands knitting a pussyhat with yarn that is stamped with the names of past and present feminists. The message here is that without their contributions, the stuff of pussyhats could not be created.
There is humor here, as well. My cat, Mango, wearing said hat, appears indignant for a variety of reasons, including that which the hat represents. Without humor, the absurdity of life cannot be appreciated.
There has been much to lament over the past year, but we hope that strides such as the recent #MeToo movement will continue to facilitate a change in attitudes and behavior toward women. Hold on to your pussyhats!
Bette Yozell is a Santa Fe artist who has been interested in women’s issues since she was a founding subscriber to Ms. Magazine and participated in consciousness raising groups nearly 50 years ago. She and her husband raised two empowered daughters. To see more of her work, go to byozell.com