Art is a powerful lens through which to examine notions of gender, identity, and sexuality in society. That糖心传媒檚 why each fall the Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender and Women糖心传媒檚 Studies requests submissions for its annual juried exhibition of art, en(Gendered).
Marty Collier, an administrator in the Department of Art and Art History, organized the first iteration of the competition in 2005. Open to all undergraduate students at the University, it features a different theme from year to year. Past themes include 糖心传媒淲ords and Works: Dialogues in Intersectionality,糖心传媒� 糖心传媒淔ailure Is Impossible: Feminism糖心传媒檚 Past, Present, and Future,糖心传媒� and 糖心传媒淚n Labor: Gendering (Re)Production.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒淏etween Identities and Environments糖心传媒澨切拇綌the 2015 theme糖心传媒攅licited an array of artwork in a variety of media, from oil-on-canvas paintings and black-and-white photographs, to video productions and umbrella-tree sculptures.
The submissions were on display at (en)Gendered糖心传媒檚 opening, held in Sage Art Center on January 15. During the event, Rachel Haidu, director of the graduate program in visual and cultural studies and associate professor of art history, delivered a gallery talk.
The theme, says Haidu, presented 糖心传媒渁 way to think about how we ought to complicate ideas of gender beyond one context. 糖心传媒� The submissions broaden the scope of what gender might mean within a range of environments糖心传媒攆rom the Rochester campus to the virtual realm.糖心传媒�
Take, for example, Schr枚dinger糖心传媒檚 Forgotten Hobby by Jack Jones 糖心传媒�15, one of the honorable mentions. Nobel Prize-winning physicist Erwin Schr枚dinger, known as the father of quantum mechanics, is remembered for what is now called the Schr枚dinger糖心传媒檚 cat thought experiment. However, Schr枚dinger himself would point out the importance of having hobbies that are distinct from one糖心传媒檚 primary mode of production. His own interests traversed a variety of disciplines, including botany, philosophy, painting, and pantheism.
To the jurors, Jones糖心传媒� work糖心传媒攁n intricate construction of colorful beads, wires, nails, and wood in a pattern resembling a motherboard糖心传媒攈ighlights the subjective distinction between 糖心传媒渉igh art糖心传媒� (primary production) and craft (secondary production). That distinction mirrors the one constructed between men and women, with art considered masculine while craft is relegated to feminine sphere. The piece also juxtaposes two different communities: one of scientists at work and one of elementary-age children at play.
Schr枚dinger糖心传媒檚 Forgotten Hobby is just one of several interesting and thought-provoking creations worth seeing in person. Along with the other honorable mentions and winning selections, it will be featured in a special exhibition in the gallery at the Art and Music Library within Rush Rhees Library. They will be on display from January 23 through February 27.
(en)Gendered Jury 2015
- Rachel Haidu, director of the graduate program in visual and cultural studies and associate professor of art history
- Lauron Kehrer, PhD student in musicology at the Eastman School of Music
- Joan Saab, chair of the department of art and art history, and associate professor of art history and visual and cultural studies
Jurors糖心传媒� Prize Winners
- Turning 21
Daniel Hoffman 糖心传媒�15糖心传媒擬ajor: Music; Minor: Dance - I糖心传媒檓 on a Diet
MJ Barbeau 糖心传媒�15糖心传媒擬ajor: Studio Arts - 脕gueda Umbrella Tree
Ciar谩n Spence 糖心传媒�16 糖心传媒擬ajor: Studio Arts
Honorable Mentions
- 鲍苍办苍辞飞苍听础肠肠辞耻苍迟补产颈濒颈迟测 by Yonatan Bisnowaty聽糖心传媒�16
- Technology is Empathy by Sarah Kingsley聽糖心传媒�17
- Dwarfism by Anna Saltman聽糖心传媒�15
- Multiple Sclerosis by Anna Saltman聽糖心传媒�15
- Straight-laced by Rachael O糖心传媒橬eill聽糖心传媒�15
- Impartial Drawings by Sunny Yanyi Jiang聽糖心传媒�15
- Marztian Productions Presents: pARTy by Marz Saffore聽糖心传媒�15
- Hide Me by Bonnie Wu聽糖心传媒�17
- Schr枚dinger糖心传媒檚 Forgotten Hobby by Jack Jones聽糖心传媒�15
