Femininity, feminism and diversity
Issues explored in Lyme Academy exhibition
In a side room of the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts gallery plays a projection video set to the energetic beats of electronic music. Two heavy-set feet standing in platform heels decked out in jewels dance and stomp confidently through metallic water. Questions of who this woman is and who she is dancing for, if anyone, are never answered. The viewer never sees more than a few inches above her ankles, in fact. At the end of the minute-long video, she kicks through a glass wall — shards shatter to the floor as the woman keeps moving.
This work is one of 19 selected from professional artists, many based in New York City, that have been included in the academy’s “Female/Feminist” exhibition. But if there is any one work that might encapsulate the essence of the show, it is this video. The images of un-ladylike feet dancing in such a self-assured manner, co-curator Alva Greenberg says, seek to redefine our ideas of what a woman needs to look like in order to be confident.
These themes, along with body-image insecurities, sexual assault and sexuality in general, are explored throughout the show, alongside overarching themes of femininity, feminism and diversity in the context
of 2017. The show will run until Nov. 4.
Curated by Lyme Academy professor Nancy Gladwell and local independent curator and art collector Greenberg, the show emerged after a controversy arose on campus last year — a senior art student presented sketches for a future project that many of his peers considered offensive.
The works, Gladwell says, were “propagating views of how females and how heroines, in particular, should look … It was exploiting female sexuality.”
Fellow students retaliated in response to the works, and organized talks between faculty and students concerning the female image in general were held.
“We talked about femininity, gender and pushing the conversation around these topics forward, not back, especially in the art world,” Gladwell says. “That is what we are
supposed to do as an institution — we are preparing these students for the world. And it was clear, as educators, that we were missing something and couldn't drop the ball on these topics.”
Fueled by the 2016 presidential campaign, the dialogue surrounding these issues continued into 2017, ultimately serving as an inspiration for the exhibition.
The show seeks to challenge more than notions of how women are and should be perceived, however. It also raises the question of the gender imbalance that has existed in the art world since its inception.
That, in part, came largely from Greenberg, who used to run a gallery on Bank Street in New London and who is a long-time art collector. Most of her collection consists of works created by females, she says.
“Women aren't represented in shows and museums in the same sense as male artists are,” Greenberg says. “It's important to keep that in mind. And as a buyer, you also have to buy female artists, so I made that a priority for myself over the last five years.”
Greenberg's expertise in female artists and New Yorkbased galleries presenting female subjects became a valuable asset for the show.
But the two curators want viewers to know that the show doesn't exclusively present female artists. It also seeks to present male artists sensitive to these issues, along with artists from other countries, gender identities and backgrounds.
“We didn't want it to be just women artists, white artists or American artists. With feminism, there is more awareness of different people all around the world now, that's what it's developing into,” Greenberg says.
“We're entering into a sort of third-wave feminism, where feminism is more than just about women,” Gladwell added. “It's becoming more inclusive and against the oppression of anyone, and this show brings those ideas in, too.”
Throughout the show, a variety of different artistic styles and mediums, ranging from paintings to videos to sculptures, are on display.
One of those sculptures quite literally lies on the floor of the gallery. The piece, created by Ella Tulin, depicts a woman's torso propped over her elbows, which is seen between two separate sculptures of her thighs — both of which are disproportionately larger compared to her torso. “It's meant to be a comment on women's insecurities with their own bodies,” Greenberg says. “That issue in particular is a very female-oriented issue. And you have to wonder why that might be.”
Also striking is the large painting by New Yorkbased Robert Kushner. His painting uses images of floral-vegetation painted in vivid pinks.
“The color palette and subject matter identify with that of females typically, but what might surprise viewers is that it's by a male,” Greenberg says. “It's supposed to bend the stereotyped ideas of what male art is versus female art.”
Photographs by the Brooklyn-based photographer Lissa Rivera also stand out. She presents two images that, on first glance, look as if a female is delicately posing for the photographs. Upon close inspection, however, it's clear that the model is a male. Her photographs are meant to comment on the postures typically used by females.
The painting titled “Jil Ker Conway After Rafeal's St. Michael” by Lyme artist Judy Cotton serves almost as a counterpoint to Rivera's photographs. Her painting depicts Smith College's first female president dressed as a knight in armor — an image reminiscent of Joan of Arc as she stands confidently with a sword in her hand after slaying a dragon.
“It's a powerful woman, standing in what would be perceived a masculine way,” Greenberg says. “We can still be feminine and be strong, and that's another part of the dialogue. Because what happens when we look at strong woman? We say that she is aggressive or overbearing. And those are points that we need to re-examine in our society.”