A Complex Weave: Women and Identity in Contemporary Art

This is the first stop on what will be a national touring exhibition of the work of sixteen contemporary women artists, all of whom deal with identity in their work. The exhibition was organized by Dr. Martin Rosenberg, Professor of Art History at Rutgers University and Dr. J. Susan Isaacs, Professor of Art History at Towson University. Exhibition coordination is by nancy Maguire, Director of the Stedman Gallery at Rutgers’ Camden campus.  This exhibition is sponsored by the Visual Arts Department at Rutgers Camden, the Institute for Women and Art, and the Feminist Art Project.

Featured artists include: Siona Benjamin, an Indo-Jewish artist now residing in New Jersey, whose work combines elements of Indian and Euro-American art; Sharon Harper, a Missouri artist whose work addresses such themes as sexual orientation, body image, religion, and identity; Julie Harris, an Ohio artist now residing in New Jersey, who uses handmade paper and various printmaking techniques to deal with issues of identity and biography; Zoë Charlton, an African-American painter and video artist teaching at American University, who plays with stereotypes; California artist Flo Oy Wong, a Chinese-American artist, whose work deals with family and cultural heritage; Lalla Essaydi, a Moroccan photographer, whose work deals with women’s place in Muslim society; Fujiko Isomura, a young Japanese-American artist who uses digital manipulations of traditional Japanese images to make statements about women’s place in society; Tatiana Parcero, a Mexican photographer, now living in Argentina, who combines images of herself with colonial maps and other overlays; Sarah Amos, an Australian artist, whose work draws on a wide range of sources including indigenous Australian art; Helène Aylon, a Jewish feminist artist who interrogates the text and patriarchy of the Hebrew Bible; Philemona Williamson, an African-American artist, who creates fanciful narratives about childhood and adolescence; Annet Couwenberg, a fabric, textile, and installation artist who creates forms which reference clothing and structure; April Wood, a sculptor who works with decorative objects which reference the body; Judy Gelles, a photographer whose work centers around identity and women’s place in the family; Blanka Amezkua, a Mexican-American artist whose imagery draws on stereotypes of women drawn from Mexican comics; and Sonya Clark, an African-American artist who uses combs in emulation of human hair to explore aspects of ethnicity.

FALL EXHIBITION PROGRAMMING:

Interdisciplinary Symposium Sept. 24th, 1:30-4pm at the Gordon Theater

Speakers include Anthropologist and Adjunct Professor of Sociology Dr. Cynthia Saltzman, Associate Professor of Psychology Dr. Char Markey,  Dr. Lynn Valone of Childhood Studies, and Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion Dr. Shin-yi Chao.

Oct. 9 – Keynote, Symposium and Reception

1-5pm at the Gordon Theater with reception immediately following.

Keynote speaker Eleanor Heartney, with artist talks by Siona Benjamin, Flo Oy Wong, Philemona Williamson,  and Blanka Amezkua.

Buses will be provided free of charge (first come-first serve) to attend the symposium and/or the reception for October 9, 2009.

See schedule below:

Bus to reception only:

New Brunswick-Rutgers Student Center
126 College Ave
New Brunswick, NJ- at 3:00 pm on Friday, Oct. 9th

Buses to symposium and reception:

New York City
Puck Building
295 Lafayette St (at Houston in SOHO)
NYC- departing at 10:15 am on Friday, Oct. 9th

Rutgers Newark-Paul Robeson Campus Center 350 MLK Blvd.
Newark, NJ- departing at 10:30 am on Friday, Oct. 9th

New Brunswick-Rutgers Student Center
126 College Ave
New Brunswick, NJ- at 11:00 am on Friday, Oct. 9th

All buses will return to their departure points at 7:00 pm after the reception.
To reserve a seat on any of the buses, e-mail (specifying the bus you wish to take):  caralad@camden.rutgers.edu

Gallery Talks:

Gallery Talk Oct. 15th at 12-1pm with Co-Curator Dr. Martin Rosenberg

Gallery Talk Oct. 22nd at 12-1pm with artist Zoë Charlton

Gallery Talk Oct. 29th at 12-1pm with artist Julie Harris

Gallery Talk Nov. 5th at 12-1pm with artist Judy Gelles

Gallery Talk Nov. 12th at 12-1pm with Co-Curator Dr. J. Susan Isaacs of Towson University

Gallery Talk Nov. 19th at 12-1pm with by feminist Art Historian Dr. Roberta K. Tarbell

Gallery will be open the following select Sundays during this exhibition:

October 18th, November 1st and 15th, December 6th

Sounds From the Weave: Installation performances organized by the The Rutgers Electro-Acoustic Lab (REAL) supporting A Complex Weave. Dates TBA – Stedman Art Gallery.