Unique Art Experiences: Fireflies on the Water and Between Light and Shadow

Anila Quayyum Agha: Between Light and Shadow.  
The brightly lit triangles rotate slowly, slowly
and shift the patterned shadows on the walls. 

Art installations encompass viewers in up close immersion in the art itself. It's a sensory experience. I'm reminded of Rebecca Louise Law's exhibit "Community," which was a blooming regalia of flowers and plants, garden flowers and Ohio wild flowers, leaf petals, cones and seeds strung in long garlands and magical strands from floor to ceiling. It was like walking into a beautiful painting.

Immersed in Yayoi Kusama's Fireflies on the Water.

Suspended in Infinity.

That 's what it felt like viewing avant-garde Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama's Fireflies on the Water, an installation of lights, water and mirrors. It was a bit disorienting at first. The viewer stands alone on a small platform in the dark surrounded by thousands of colorful lights in what seems like an endless space. Eternity maybe. Infinity. No walls, no boundaries, "no ground below us, above us only sky,"  as John Lennon sang in "Imagine."  I imagined myself floating in space, not as comforting as walking into a field of flowers, but fascinating. After a few seconds I felt as if I was being pulled in a different direction into the unknown. Lights streamed, melted, pulsed together. I found it more scary than exhilarating as the beauty floated away. 

Artist in Polka Dots

The TMA magazine (January-June, 2020) says it was Kusama's wish "to transport viewers to a space that seems endlessly expansive." She has done that. Fireflies on the Water speaks to Kusama's "ongoing investigation, from the time she was a child, into the relationship between ourselves, the space that we occupy, and the ungraspable concept of infinity."  This iconoclastic artist, who loved polka dots, born in 1929, always defied traditional perspectives. Kusama's long life and complex work encompassed quite a journey. 

On our way to the next installation, Anila Quayyum Agha's Between Light and Shadow, we passed a lovely exhibit in Gallery 18 entitled "ONE EACH: Still Lifes by Pissaro, Cezanne, Manet and Friends."  What a nice surprise! This little exhibit features a selection of fine still lifes painted by French artists in the 1860s. It was interesting, familiar, accessible. After floating in space, it brought us down to earth.  "ONE EACH"  examines what  artists were doing in the 1860s that point to the future, especially to Impressionism. These artists had different perspectives, objects, composition, but they were lovely depictions of the tangible world, the pure joy of "visual splendor," as curator Lawrence W. Nichols put it.  It made me think as well about the still lifes painted by women aritsts during the same era, such a rich treasure often hidden, perhaps a future TMA exhibit. 

Teddy and I between light and shadow.

We entered Between Light and Shadow with our feet firmly planted on the ground, but our eyes looking to the heavens. That's how the light and shadows felt as we adjusted ourselves beween them. We walked into rooms with shadows on the walls, not visual art, not paintings, not still lifes, but  stunning Illuminated objects. I caught Teddy in the shadows because the lighted structure was almost too bright.  We adjusted ourselves. 

Only after reading Pakistani-American artist Agha's description of her installation did I grasp its meaning. Adjusting ourselves was really the whole point of this installation.  

"Having lived on the boundaries of different faiths such as Islam and Christianity, and in cultures like Pakistan and the United States, my art is deeply influenced by the simultaneous sense of alienation and transience that informs the migrant experience."  (TMA magazine, Fall 2019).

For women artists contemporary with the artists featured in the ONE EACH exhibit:  https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/19wa/hd_19wa.htm, the Met's Heillbrun Timeline, "Women Artists in 19th Century France."

Visual Storytellers: Women Artist Document Women's Lives and Contributions

In honor of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, 
a haunting painting by Edith Hoffman Birkin, a Holocaust surviver.

Edith Hoffman Birkin, 1927-2018,  "The Last Goodbye."
How she ever survived the concentration camps is unimaginable. See note 10 below. 

"It was really I think the worst time of the war. Although we were free and liberated, it was the very worst time because we realised, or I realised that nobody was going to come back, and that life is never going to be the same, and what I hoped for would happen after the war is never going to happen. The hope was gone."   

Evelyn Mary Dunbar, 1906-1960, English War Artist,
Standing By on Train 21, a civilian evacuation train
 ready to evacuate casualties at short notice.  
Note 2 below.

 Maggie Laubscher or Laubser?,South African
See note 12 below.

Women artist have documented women's daily lives, their work, their  contributions, since time immemorial. They still are.  They are our visual storytellers.

Edith Marilyn Dunbar, "Bailing Hay"
Dunbar documented women's work in Britain during World War II

Jeanne Tominek, Laundry

I taught Women's History for many years wherever I lived, a 1975 PhD in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison who was never able to get a permanent teaching job in my field. I loved history and teaching so I taught as an adjunct wherever life took me. I wish I had known about these fantastic, talented women artists when I was teaching, beginning in 1975 to when I retired, because they are our, indeed, our "Visual Storytellers."

Helen Steinthal, Washing Line. Note 3.

But alas, these artists were hidden from view, in the shadows of their contemporary male artists, as I've written before. I focused on original texts and documents, a growing body of scholarship, on the written word.  I did add segments on women composers with the wonderful help of old friend Sandy Craig, a fellow Old West Ender at the time. His vast collection of music by women remains unparalleled. My students loved these classes.

Elizabeth Catlett, Woman dreaming. Note 9.

Things have changed. Beginning in the late 1970s women artists started emerging from the shadows, their work every bit as fine and accomplished as any of their contemporary male artists. Art auction houses and galleries paid attention. Collectors started collecting women's art from across the different eras of the Western canon. Art museums began holding special exhibits, an exhibit of Georgia O'Keeffe's work, an exhibit of Frieda Kahlo's work, exhibits of  Hispanic and African-American women artists. The scholarship on these artists has taken off as well. The women are being studied, their biographies written, their work publicized.  And museums are finally beginning to add women's art, from all eras, all places, and in all  mediums, to their permanent collections.

Won't it be wonderful to see women's art covering the walls of  our art museums?  Like we see them at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, their holdings now numbering 5,000, or discover them through the projects of Christa Zaat, Female Artists in History, and Rita M. Sjoholm, Celebrating Women Artists in History.  Some institutions, like the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Baltimore Museum of Art, are devoting this year to diversifying and evening out their permanent collections, even de-accessioning some of their male artists to buy women's art.

Berthe Morisot, Lady at her Toilette,
1875

Once women's art is up and accessible to the world, most of us won't be able to say whether the artist was male or female, unless the subject of the art is clear, and even then, who knows? It will be like listening to the music of women composers.  You cannot tell what the gender of the composer is, but the music is being heard, as it is meant to be. The sonata could be a Robert Schumann or a Clara Schumann. And in the visual art world? Well, it could be a Leonardo de Vinci or a Plautilli Nelli, or a Claude Monet or a Berthe Morisot.  The art, however, will be seen, as it is meant to be.  That's the key.

Mary Cassatt, Child's Bath, 1893.Note6 

Yelena Bryksenkova, born St. Petersburg, 
RU, lives in Canada. Midnight concert . Note 4.

Plautilla Nelli, Mary Magdeline at The Last Supper, c. 1568,
as only a woman artist could  document and paint it.
Note 7.

"While we often associate Last Supper depictions with Leonardo da Vinci, it was a popular subject for artists at the time. Plautilla Nelli’s rendition (c.1568) is a stunning achievement, particularly when one looks at her aptitude for painting the human body. Her apostles are expressive and full of emotion, with their features laid out in precise detail. The work is made all the more impressive when one considers that at the time, women were barred from studying anatomy."   https://mymodernmet.com/plautilla-nelli-last-supper.  

Nelli’s Last Supper has taken its rightful place in the Santa Maria Novella museum in FLorence as part of its permanent display. No longer destined to the background, Nelli has gained increased fame thanks to the work of Advancing Women Artists. Learn more about the epic restoration and Nelli’s Last Supper in Visible. Plautilla Nelli And Her Last Supper Restored.

M Laubser, Girl with Geese 2 

Maria Magdalena Laubser, known as Maggie Laubser (14 April 1886 – 17 May 1973) was a South African painter and printmaker. She is generally considered, along with Irma Stern, to be responsible for the introduction of Expressionism to South Africa. Her work was initially met with derision by critics but has gained wide acceptance, and now she is regarded as an exemplary and quintessentially South African artist

Sources
1.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Hyde
Hyde was  known for her woodblock prints of Japanese life and was influenced as well by the paintings of Mary Cassatt, an American impressionist. Mary Cassatt's paintings were significantly inspired by Japanese works of art, and many of her paintings were women and children themes.

2.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_Dunbar, (1906 – 1960) was a British artist, illustrator and teacher.^[1] She is notable for recording women's contributions to World War II on the United Kingdom home front, particularly the work of the Women's Land Army. She was the only woman working for the War Artists' Advisory Committee on a full-time salaried basis. Dunbar had a deep devotion to nature and a particular affection for the landscape of  Kent. I discovered Kent a few years ago visiting friends James and Edward in Rochester, Kent, UK. Lovely.  For another important British woman war artist see http://www.damelauraknight.com/tag/wartime/

3.  https://www.arcadja.com/auctions/en/steinthal_helen_marguerite/artist/515641/Helen Marguerite Steinthal was born in Manchester, UK in 1911 and died in 1911.

4.  https://www.yelenabryksenkova.com/ABOUT  "I was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, grew up in Cleveland, and studied illustration at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore (BFA, 2010) and the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, Czech Republic. Now I live in Montréal, Canada and work as a freelance illustrator and fine artist. My small pen and acryla gouache paintings are inspired by my love of home and the comfort of everyday objects, as well as more magical, mysterious and melancholy themes. For more information about me and my work, please visit my blog and follow on instagram for updates."

5. https://www.facebook.com/female.artists.in.history/ Christa Zaat is doing a remarkable job of identifying, organizing into albums, and making public women artists from early times. See also Rita Sojborn, Celebration of Female Artists in history. https://www.facebook.com/groups/864751373634163/?fref= . Since the beginning of the project in 2011, Christa has posted about 7000 artists a year. That's a lot! Each artist comes with her own "album," and Christa and Carel have now created and posted 2,000 albums. The art is fantastic and almost overwhelming in its numbers, depth, scope, and diversity. You wonder how these works could have been hidden, how such talented artists who happened to be women remained invisible for so long.

6.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Cassatt,1844-1926, born in Pittsburgh, "lived much of her adult life in France, where she first befriended Edgar Degas and later exhibited among the Impressionists. Cassatt often created images of the social and private lives of women, with particular emphasis on the intimate bonds between mothers and children. She was described by Gustave Geffroy in 1894 as one of "les trois grandes dames" (the three great ladies) of Impressionism along w/Marie Bracquemond and Berthe Morisot."    The Museum of Women in the Arts, in Washington, DC, has several Mary Cassatt's, a joy to view.

7.  https://mymodernmet.com/plautilla-nelli-last-supper/?fbclid=IwAR3ZAUvsH6Z2io5NFy49GDb2BGoS6muLRv_cqtFdHKtICTVQGX10AYut0Ok
"Unfortunately, when it comes to art, women often aren’t recognized in history. Many talented female artists are often overlooked in favor of their male contemporaries, simply due to circumstance or the opportunities presented to them because of their gender. But in Florence, there’s a group working to make sure that women get the acknowledgement they deserve. And thanks to their efforts, one incredible painting by a 16th-century nun is getting its rightful place in the spotlight.

Advancing Women Artists is a non-profit committed to identifying and restoring works of art by women throughout Tuscany. They highlight these often unknown artists from the Renaissance through their extensive online database and publications. One of their most recent efforts focused on a vibrant mural by Plautilla Nelli. Nelli was both a nun and a self-taught artist. Her enormous, 21-foot painting of the Last Supper, created around 1568, was brought back from the brink of decay by an expert set of art restorers (who all happened to be female) working with the organization.

While we often associate Last Supper depictions with Leonardo da Vinci, it was a popular subject for artists at the time. Plautilla Nelli’s rendition (c.1568) is a stunning achievement, particularly when one looks at her aptitude for painting the human body. Her apostles are expressive and full of emotion, with their features laid out in precise detail. The work is made all the more impressive when one considers that at the time, women were barred from studying anatomy." 

These restorations are incredible.  From this . . .

to this:

8.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUO7GGoH5hc&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR2j0nZuDQWFGj0OtfiZI5ujL0EryXu1hyVjTDkbnpLwjQoxZLHP8CTUWgE The Quiltmakers of Bee's Bend, Alabama, "From Quilt to Print." Just fabulous!  Watch this!

9.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Catlett,1915–2012 was an American and Mexican graphic artist and scupture best known for her depictions of the African-American experience in the 20th century, which often focused on the female experience. She was born and raised in Washington, DC to parents working in education, and was the grandchild of freed slaves, It was difficult for a black woman in this time to pursue a career as a working artist. Catlett devoted much of her career to teaching. However, a fellowship awarded to her in 1946 allowed her to travel to Mexico City, where she worked with the Taller de Gráfica Popular for twenty years and became head of the sculpture department for the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas. In the 1950s, her main means of artistic expression shifted from print to sculpture, though she never gave up the former. 

10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Birkin.  Edith Hoffmann Birkin was born in  Prague in 1927. In 1941, aged 14, she was sent with her family to the Lodz ghetto in Poland. Her parents died within their first year there. When the Lodz ghetto was liquidated in 1944, Birkin was sent to Auswitzch, where she spent the rest of her time there working in an underground munitions factory. Hoffman-Birrkin was liberated fromBergen-Bergen in 1945, having survived a death march to Flossenburg camp. She returned to Prague at the end of the war to discover that none of her family had survived.  

11. Learning that Birken worked at a munitions factory reminded me of the wonderful children's book "Making Bombs for Hitler" by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch.  It's really a book for readers of all ages.

12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggie_Laubser, 1886 – 1973, South African painter and printmaker. She is generally considered, along with Irma Stern, to be responsible for the introduction of Expressionism to South Africa. Her work was initially met with derision by critics but has gained wide acceptance, and now she is regarded as an exemplary and quintessentially South African artist.