BEN SHAHN GALLERIES EXHIBIT FOCUSES ON WOMEN ARTISTS WORKING IN NEW TECHNOLOGIES
An exhibit that attempts to stretch the boundaries of digital art while exploring the role that women play in the real and cyber art worlds as we enter the 21st century will be on view from March 15 through April 16 in the Ben Shahn Galleries at William Paterson University in Wayne. An opening reception for the exhibit, titled "Virtual Artifacts: Computer and Mixed Media Works by 12 Women," will be held on Wednesday, March 24 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the galleries. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. The exhibit featuring 12 women artists is being held in honor of Women's History Month, says curator Leslie Nobler Farber. "Unfortunately, the underrepresentation of women artists in the traditional art world has carried over into the digital art field," she adds. "The selected works help to expose an attitude or thought process of women artists working in new technologies." While digital art is still in its infancy, many artists are experimenting with the computer to achieve new results in many mediums and materials. Farber describes the artworks as "tactile, warm and thought-provoking" and says that the exhibit is more about "meaning and content" than the technology. A common thread that emerges among the artists' works is the use of meaningful found objects that are rich in family and homespun imagery -- from tapestry and clothing to teacups and gloves. Farber's own work, featuring textile patterning and apparel artifacts, is an example of how many of the works juxtapose the traditional "domestic" art form and the new realm of electronic art. Artist Marna Goldstein Brauner of Wisconsin used text from a peculiar diary created by her grandmother from 1953 to 1971. "In it, she taped together words and phrases cut from newspapers and magazines," says Goldstein Brauner. "Her visual 'ransom notes' reflect her misanthropy, obsession with food and fear of both life and death." "Both the media and content of my work are full of allusions to the fact that I am female," declares artist Ann Baddeley Keister of Grand Rapids, Michigan, whose art refers to things that interest her -- cooking, gardening and her home. Patricia Swain of New York City, whose selections from her Civilization of Fruit series include works like "Crucified Banana," aims to challenge the viewer through readjustments of perspective. "The fruit reminds us of the feminine nature and the trials that go along with that gender," she says. Other artists participating in the exhibit include Lynn Foster, Madge Gleeson, Sharon Marcus, Hollie Heller Ramsay, Naomi Ribner, Laurinda Stockwell, Joan Truckenbrod and Anna Ursyn. Also on view in the Ben Shahn Galleries from March 15 through April 16 are "The Digital Canvas: An Exhibition of Work Produced by 12 Women Artists on a Personal Computer Printer" and "Tova Beck-Friedman - Drawings and Maquettes for Sculpture Projects." For additional information, please call the Ben Shahn Galleries at 973-720-2654.
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