Karissa Roberts
For The Clock
klroberts1@plymouth.edu

Watercolor landscapes.Textile art.Figure work. Abstractions. Ceramics.Process Meets Practice: Balancing Creating and Teachingoffersall of thesestyles ofart, createdby fivewoman artists.There have been countless all men’sart exhibitions, whether that is the intention of theexhibitionor not.MaladoBaldwin points out, “even though 51% of visual artists working today are women, just 5% of artwork featured in major U.S. museumsis made by women” (Baldwin).With this context,I believe that all women’s shows are necessary andespeciallyrelevant to our contemporary times.This exhibition has connections to national and international art movements, underscoring the importance of what artistscreatelocally in New Hampshire, all created through the lens of women.Here I will be discussingwhy shows like this are relevantbyanalyzingthree artworks,allfocused on figures,from this exhibition: Cynthia WorthenVascak’spiecesLady HawkandGesturealong with Annette W. Mitchell’sPortrait of Steve Sweedlerin the context of genderandcontemporaneity.

Gesture, created by Cynthia WorthenVascak, is an energetic,and as the title says, gestural, charcoal piece.The main subject of the drawing is a figure, presumed to be a woman, who has heavy shading in the hair, between the arms, and in the lower right-hand corner to make the woman’s shadow. Other than this heavy shading,the piece is mostly linework and open white space, with the exception of some light shading behind the woman on the left side. It features the womanwith her head down and arms stretched out in front of her. This position could be seen asthe model bowing to the observer. This piece is a good example ofthe importance of gender andhowincludingcontext about the artist affects the way the art is perceived. If this piece was created by a man, I would have come to the conclusion that he was drawing thewomanto inflate his idea of being dominantover her. This relates to CarolDuncan’s idea of the women being portrayed asan“obedient animal” (Duncan, 297)by male artists.Despite this, to an extent,Gesturestill possesses these connotations even though it was created by a woman artist. This isdue totheextensive history of women being used as objectsin art and societyand the subsequent internalized oppression that this creates.

According to the artist, this piece “is very quick, fluid, and spontaneous”. This idea of gestural mark-making and spontaneity relates to the Abstract Expressionist movement. Many Abstract Expressionist artists, like Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, worked with large scale paintings. This piece is much smaller and much more representational, but still carries that concept of creating action through gesture. It allows for movement and looseness while still representing the human body. For teachers specifically, these are very valuable skills to teach students, as they allow for exploration and therefore foster deeper learning.Ialso think this piece teaches viewers that for an art piece to be worthy of a gallery you do not have to spend hours upon hours creating it.

Lady Hawk, also by Cynthia WorthenVascak, is egg tempera on gesso panel, and according to the artist was inspired by Arthurian legends. It features a woman with long, wavy,red hairin a blue robe holding a hawk. The primary color is gold, which shines over the entire background and accents the woman’s robe andbird handlingglove, which are both intricately detailed. One distinguishing quality of the robe is the abundance of folds and the movement that they create throughout the piece.This movement continues in the woman herself. Unlike what is commonly seen in the history of the representation of women in art, this woman is in action. Although it is not an extremely dynamic pose, like what is often seen in ancient Roman sculptures of men leaping, fighting, stabbing, etcetera, by having both of her arms raised and one of them holding a bird of prey she is shown asmore than an object.

One of the textile works present in this show, Annette W. Mitchell’sPortrait of Steve Sweedler,is made of cut pieces of cotton fabrics. The focus, Steve Sweedler,is shown at profile view wearing a coordinating blue shirt, jacket, and hat.The piecealso has a green, leafy background. This background is relevant because it connects to the man’s personal life as he, according to the artist, “was our [Plymouth State University’s] resident tree expert”.The warm tones in the man’s skin are brought to life as they are complimented by the cool toned blues and greens. I find the inclusion of this piece, and Mitchell’s other fiber piece,Color of the Soul, to be important in representing a media that has historically been linked to women and therefore pushed aside. This relates to LindaNochlin’sanswer to the question “Why have there been no great women artists?”, that “There have been no great women artists because women are incapable of greatness”(Nochlin, 1).Underour current and historicviews,men andthe art they createare the standard andthereforearewhat is considered to begreat.Portrait of Steve Sweedleralmost looks as if Mitchell is“painting”with fabric. Because of this, even though the artist does not mention it, I see this piece as a response to fiber artbeing regarded asworth less than the traditional male dominated mediums.

There are a couple things this exhibitioncould have benefitted from.The curator could have utilized the digital format more effectively. Including more images from different angles would have made it easier for those viewing online to have anexperiencemore similarto actually being there in person. A video walkthrough could have worked to accomplish this as well.One positive aspect isthebrief statement describing the show at the top of thewebpage,butI would have preferred it to go deeper into the making of this exhibition and why these artists were chosen for it.Providing some information on what challenges the artists have encountered while being a woman artist would have bettered my experience and understanding as well.Anotherweakness ofProcess Meets Practice: Balancing Creating and Teachingis that it lacks in diversity, comprised of all white(and/or white passing womenas their specific identities are not mentioned).With this said,due to the majority white population in New Hampshireand in Plymouth specifically,this makes for an accurate representation of the professors at Plymouth State University. This brings me to a quote from Maura Reilly, “While I yearn for a moment when there is no longer a need for women-only exhibitions, we are not there yet (just as we are not with all artists from marginalized communities)” (Reilly) which points to the necessity that is intersectionality. While this show is successful in highlighting women artists, I wish it could have highlighted artistsof coloras well.

As a woman artist studying at Plymouth State University, I enjoyed learning about some of the influential women artists that have helped to shape our universitythrough this exhibition. Thisshowwas successful in showing a wide range of art by including differentconcepts,sizes, subjects,movements,and mediums. AnalyzingGesture, Lady Hawk,andPortrait of Steve Sweedlerallowed me to see how recent works by female artists differ from historical works by male artists and the importance that representing them in a museum holds.