At The Chicago Urban Art Retreat Center
Art from past art show:
WOMEN SPEAK OUT ON SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES
Monica Mills of Czech Republic
Monica Mills
Monica Mills
between culture and tradition, examining how societies have evolved and progressed to
get to where we are today, by focusing specifically on barbaric acts that have seemingly
withstood the test of time.
● Is it the human race’s moral obligation to eradicate a cultural tradition that is as
violent and unnecessary as Female Genital Mutilation, and if so, how do we put
that into practice?
● What gives anyone the right to dispute a culture that is not their own?
Some information about Female Genital Mutilation. According to the World Health
Organisation:
● Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes procedures that intentionally alter or
cause injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
● The procedure has no health benefits for girls and women.
● Procedures can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later cysts,
infections, as well as complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn
deaths.
● More than 200 million girls and women alive today have been cut in 30 countries
in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where FGM is concentrated.
● FGM is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and age 15.
● FGM is a violation of the human rights of girls and women.
I wanted to work with traditionally feminine tools such as fabric, needle and thread,
which adheres to the concept of femininity, innocence and purity.
Rozsika Parker, in her
book The Subversive Stitch, (1984), reflects on the history of embroidery, where
‘embroidery also evokes the stereotype of the virgin in opposition to the whore, (it’s) an
infantilising representation of women’s sexuality,’ (2), which begs the question of the
necessity of FGM. Children are pure and innocent, yet FGM has to first destroy that with
which it wants to preserve.
The more I learned about FGM, the more I did feel obliged to create an artwork that
could spread awareness of the abhorrence of FGM, though initially I felt uninformed to
do so. I also chose to sidestep ‘culture’ as much as possible, focusing rather on the act
of violence towards innocent children, which, in my opinion, can never be validated.
Through my research, I discovered that this point of view was shared by international
organisation, and scores of women from a variety of different cultures and backgrounds.
More importantly, I discovered that art has the ability to create meaningful
conversations, which can lead to positive change in the world. I’m not naive enough to
think that this piece is going to be the end of FGM, but if it can have a powerful impact
on each of you, then I feel vindicated in choosing a topic that was emotionally difficult to
research but that I felt was too important an issue to not address.
Reena Hilton of Chicago
so many layers to a woman that can be unpeeled. When I think of a
woman, I think of strength, life, power, resilience, nature, and nurture”
The piece Strange Fruit I created is about the past and the present. The
representation of the apple is significant of the infamous apple that Eve
ate. Also the blood on the leaves of the Strange Fruit, represents the
lynching of slaves. This piece speaks of the past, but symbolizes the
strength in women and how we were able to rise above. As we see today,
racism continues to exist but we as people and especially women have to
continue to move forward, but remember what our ancestors have gone
through for us to be standing strong today. We continue to fight and
never give up on the movement called freedom and equality.
Olaosun Oluwapelumi of Nigeria
Roses and Thorns – The inspiration behind this work was gotten from domestic violence. How ladies remain in a relationship due to what dey gain from d relationship and their love for the guy.
Silence – The inspiration behind this work was gotten from child abuse. How children are maltreated and abused but silence by force or afraid to speak out.
Brandy Gonzalez of Texas
“Basura”
The legacy of white supremacy needs to be addressed in America.
My work is a simple but powerful statement.
White supremacy is trash.
We can just throw it away.
Brandy González was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. González completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts with a major in drawing and a minor in sculpture from Southern Methodist University where she received the “Zelle Award” for outstanding artistic merit.
González was the art professor at Lassen College located in the beautiful rural town of Susanville in Northern California. Currently, she and her husband have moved back home to San Antonio, Texas to be closer to family as her first child will turned 1 this past October. She is the advanced art teacher at Clark High School.
Sylvia Gallant of Switzerland
between low and high culture to discover and create deeper meanings.
Based on my own life experience and surrounded by historic and social
events that intrigue and interest me I create unique and ageless art,
that has different levels of lecture and interpretation. Coincidence,
similarity, and synchronicity are concepts that are often shown in my
work”.
“Isolation”
(created the year 2020, reproduction 2021 the original masks are sold out)
Picture designed by Silvia during the quarantine. It shows
biographical episodes of her life during this time: the isolation in her
own apartment, the changed sleeping times and dreams, as well as
the consumption of films in Netflix. “The time during Corona has
awakened new sides in me. The introspection has taught me a lot. The
first weeks were difficult, but then it became more and more enriching
to be at home and enjoy the time with simple things. A good film, a
good read or the work itself”.
“Metamorphosis” (created the year 2019; reproduction, 2021)
Metamorphosis of Madamme Butterfly, based on the opera of Puccini,
the first draw was created during the graphic design school at Eina
University of Design and art in Barcelona ( 2002), this is the second
version that Silvia created the year 2019. The image was exhibited on
the Greek gallery Karouzou in Zurich, the show was called
Metamorphosis.
“Stop Global Warming” ( created the year 2018)
This is a design poster created by the artist, an unlimited edition. She
did create the poster with a vector art software.
Jessica Willis of Los Angeles
Linda Gleitz of Arizona
Saved as a favorite, I love your site!
How are you doing? I have not heard from you in awhile! Dianna from Chicago Urban Art Retreat