by Patricia Frischer
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| Marty Ornish |
Master Glitch is a
show of unity. The works speak for
themselves, needing no clarification from the artists. The Feminist Image Group
(FiG) organization name tells it all. These are feminist artists. They draw
attention to issues of concern to women. Their “mission is to champion
equality, diversity, and empowerment in the arts through exhibitions,
collaborations, and community-building”.
The topics covered on display are as varied and topical as
one can imagine. Started in 2009, by Anna Stump, our world has seemingly not
improved with the current political unrest. But there is still beauty and humor
to be found here.
Master is taken to be someone who has become proficient in
a certain field. But master is also the masculine form of dominance. Just like
Mistress has changed from the female head of a household, to the sex partner of
a married man. Glitch, in this context, is an interruption in the normal flow of
things, but it also symbolizes that moment in time when things can change.
Marty Ornish is the true example of “women’s
work is never done”. She takes old threads and gives them new life. They are
soft but they speak loudly.
Anna Stump takes found needle
point rescued and embellished with messages that ring so true. “Safety is an
illusion.” “My God is Not Listening.”
Daphne Hill “interrupts the male
glaze” from these playboy pin-up images by layering them with children’s
illustration. The result is that we get to reclaim our femininity.
Linda Litteral is
speaking up about sexual abuse and domestic violence when she gives us a wall of
ceramic faces, some turned away with child-like messages on the reverse. But most
have eyes closed, and silent mouths. Her chest sets with charming tea sets,
however, as asking us to have a conversation.
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| Marty Ornish |
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| Anna Stump |
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| Anna Stump |
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| Daphne Hill |
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| Linda Litteral |
Linda Litteral
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| Linda Litteral |
Jeanne Dunn has taken images from
Lee Miller, surrealist and photojournalist, and made them a back drop for the
recreation of a scene from one of her photo documentations of World War 2. In
her statement, she asked, is not the same thing happening today “absent the
ovens.”
Jiela Rufeh uses the power of small
gestures, a slew of words, a protest march (just a moment in time), but up
close or from a distance these actions are meant to be catalyst for change.
Helen Redman presents her monsters and monsterias which are frightening but she hopes also motivating. She
states we are “all on the spectrum, dancing with survival.”
Lisa
Hutton’s use of Art Nouveau to make palatable (thus draw attention
to) the abuses to our environment.
Stacie Birky Greene also
draws our attention to the blight of animals, especially endangered birds.
Nanette Newbry is not
fooling anyone when she states, “She was a very good girl.” The use of
encaustic is always a way to show that life is layered and mysterious.
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| Jeanne Dunn, detail |
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| Jeanne Dunn |
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| Cindy
Zimmerman, detail |
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Cindy
Zimmerman |
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| Helen Redman |
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| Lisa Hutton |
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| Lisa Hutton |
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| Stacie Birky Greene |
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| Nanette Newbry |
We are so glad that Cindy Zimmerman can’t accept the
way things are. Her brain glitches give us a world better than the real one.
G. Pasha Turley says,
“I don’t explain, I can only explore” and her box of images titled See No Evil, Hear No Evil, She had to speak Truth is proof of
that.
Doris Bittar’s ancestral
home in South Lebanon no longer exists on Google Maps so she brings it back to
life in this complex work.
Bridget Rountree has long
been working with things that don’t fit together. By resolving the composition,
she makes a place to hold more than one truth at a time.
Kim Reasor knows that wildlife is
being robbed of its passages through nature from over building and the rollback
of environmental protection laws.
Susan J. Osborn finds
the joy in her collaged created worlds
Kathy Nida literally presents hate
and fear and gun control in her quilted tapestries
Irene Abraham works
with the subatomic and microscopic, but her abstractions are where the glitches
occur as uncertainly is allowed full reign.
Jane E Hindman gives
us this haunting and haunted figure made even more poignant with the words, I
am going to be dating her in ten years. Can you believe it?
Terri Hughes-Oelrich has
created a whole new substrate made from waste material like coffee grounds and
orange peels. Patterns are created as the surface dries and cracks.
There are 150 works in this show from 28 FIG artists and the others not in this article include Kirsten
Aaboe, Judith Elaine Christensen, Kelly Clark, Ann
Olsen, Momilani Ramstrum, Alise Sheehan, Ruth Wallen, and Kelly Watson. The enormous space at Techne Art Center continues to be a mecca for our arts community.
