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July was a hot month for programming in the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art! First off, Ladan Akbarnia, Hagop Kevorkian Associate Curator of Islamic Art here at the Brooklyn Museum, with the assistance of sign language interpreter Jina Porter, gave a gallery talk on our current exhibition, Ghada Amer: Love Has No End as part of the Target First Saturday events.

(Ladan Akbarnia and Jina Porter explaining Ghada Amer’s photo series of her various public works installations for the crowd. Photo courtesy of Jessie Shaffer.)

Akbarnia was very insightful in her take on Amer’s work, at one point questioning the attitude of Muslim women towards their veils and other traditional head and body coverings.

(Dr. Natasha Gordon-Chipembere describing her extensive work with circumcised women. Photo courtesy of Jessie Shaffer.)

Concurrent with the gallery talk was a screening of the film Moolaadé, directed by Ousmane Sembène, which addresses female circumcision. Afterwards, Dr. Natasha Gordon-Chipembere graciously led a heated discussion of the film and female circumcision in general. Moving from semantics to female circumcision in Brooklyn and the West’s misconceptions of the practice, and emotions understandably ran high as audience members volleyed back and forth on this controversial issue.

On Saturday, July 12th, Curator Maura Reilly gave a public tour of the exhibition Ghada Amer: Love Has No End, which is on view in the Center’s main galleries through October 19th.

(Maura Reilly presenting her take on Ghada Amer’s work. Photo courtesy of Jessica Hester.)

Reilly discussed the artist’s appropriation of the aesthetics of male Abstract Expressionists such as Barnett Newman and Jackson Pollock, and also suggested that Amer’s use of stitching – a traditionally-female endeavor – in some of her work is part of a reclamation of female sexuality and artistic autonomy. Like Akbarnia’s talk earlier in the month, Reilly touched on Amer’s investment in portraying both the social and political disenfranchisement and personal empowerment of Muslim women.

(Photo courtesy of Jessica Hester.)

Also on July 12th, the Center hosted filmmaker Katrina Browne for a showing of her documentary Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North. Presented in partnership with PBS’s P.O.V., a showcase for independent nonfiction film, the documentary chronicles Browne’s discovery that her New England ancestors were the largest slave-trading family in American history.

Don’t forget to stop by this Saturday at noon for the reading of excerpts from Live Through This—The Art of Self-Destruction, edited and read by Brooklyn-based feminist performer Sabrina Chapadjiev. Chapadjiev will lead a discussion following the reading with artist Fly and poet Nicole Blackman completing the panel. Thanks to everyone who came last month for your continuous support of the Center’s public programs!!

(Ghada Amer (American, born Egypt, 1963) and Ladan S. Naderi (French, born Iran, 1960). I ♥ Paris, 1991. Three chromogenic prints from a series of six. Courtesy of the artists.)

A notable section of Ghada Amer: Love Has No End contains three photographs from a larger series that Ghada Amer collaborated on with two fellow artists in 1991, titled I ♥ Paris, 1991. Then an art student living in Paris, Amer and close friend and artist Ladan S. Naderi walked around the city, dressed in veils and other conservative garments, staging group portraits in front of famous Parisienne tourist attractions such as the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and the iconic merry-go-round located at the Sacre Coeur. These photographs were taken shortly after a string of terrorist bombings by Islamic militants in Paris took place from 1990 to 1991. The series also extended into performances of Amer and Iranian-born Naderi attending art openings around Paris dressed in the Iranian chador and Egyptian naqqab, which called attention to the regional variations of Islamic attire and the meaning associated with choosing to wear the garments. Needless to say, the pair did not get much of a warm reception at many of these stuffy openings!

This is the first time any part of this series has been shown publicly, and recently got some attention, inviting comparisons to the likes of Emily Jacir and Shirin Neshat.

Related to this section of the exhibition, is Reign of Terror, 2005, an installation in the gallery that is not easily overlooked. Working with students at Wellesley College in 2005, this installation features the bold pink and green wallpaper and a plastic and paper place-settings that the artist covered with the phrase “Terrorism’ is not indexed in Arabic dictionaries.” The paper goods were displayed in the Davis Museum and Cultural Center, and also used by staff and students in the College’s cafeteria!

Stop by the galleries tomorrow, July 12th, to hear Maura Reilly, Curator of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, talk about these works and others from the exhibition Ghada Amer: Love Has No End. For more details on this, and other programs in the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art this weekend, click here.

(Ghada Amer (American, born Egypt, 1963). The Reign of Terror, 2005. Wallpaper from installation at Davis Museum and Cultural Center, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts)

June was a rather fruitful month for programs in the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art! On Target First Saturday we listened to Ghada Amer talk about her work from the exhibition Ghada Amer: Love Has No End, which is currently up in the main galleries of the Center for Feminist Art through October 19th.

(Standing in front of the wallpaper from the installation The Reign of Terror, 2005, Ghada Amer speaks about the work during June’s Target First Saturday events. Photo taken by Eleanor Whitney.)

That same evening the South Asian Women’s Creative Collective board members Mareena Dareida and Sadia Rehman, along with artists Sara Rahbar, Samira Abbassy, and poet Sarah Husain gave us a sampling of their work during a panel discussion moderated by artist Miriam Ghani.

(The SAWCC panelists pose with Katie Apsey, former Brooklyn Museum Education Intern. Photo courtesy of Katie Apsey.)

As if that weren’t enough, on the twenty-first, Dr. Kay Sloan shared her film Suffragettes in Silent Cinema in conjunction with the Votes for Women, the exhibition in the Herstory gallery that is up through November 30th. Included in the footage from the documentary were some hilarious portrayals of women activists as aggressive homewreckers or child-like in comparison to their more mature and virtuous husbands. Writer and television producer Coline Jenkins gave a resounding presentation on her great-great-grandmother, the pioneering suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and her own dedication to uphold the legacy of her famous relative’s activism, while working to ensure that women everywhere realize “the full potential” of the Amendment that early suffragists fought so hard for in their lifetimes.

(Coline Jenkins shares a family portrait that includes her great-great-grandmother, Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Photo taken by Maura Reilly.)

Highlighted in the discussion following the film and Jenkins’ presentation was the implication that many of the same prejudices and discriminations present at the turn of the century are still alive in representations of women in the media today.

Stay tuned for more coverage of programs in the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art throughout the summer!

(From left to right; Melissa Messina, curator of Votes for Women, Dr. Kay Sloan, and Coline Jenkins during the panel discussion. The quote on projection screen is article XIX of the U.S. Constitution, which states: “The right of citizens of the U.S. to vote shall not be denied or abridged on account of sex.” Photo taken by Sarah Giovanniello.)

(Ghada Amer (American, Born Egypt, 1963). And the Beast, 2004. Acrylic, embroidery, and gel medium on canvas. Collection of the artist, courtesy of Gagosian Gallery. Photo courtesy of Gagosian Gallery.)

The exhibition, Ghada Amer: Love Has No End, continues to occupy our thoughts here at the Museum. In particular, the “Happily Ever After” section of the exhibition has struck a chord recently with its exploration of fairy tales and their impact on the psyche of young girls. Starting in 1992, Ghada Amer began to use some of the most treasured Disney cartoons and story book characters, like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, Tinkerbell, Little Red Riding Hood, and even Barbie in her work. She really began to take an interest in how female stereotypes and roles of submission and passivity are perpetuated in fairy tales, myths, and toys, and how they function in the formation of children’s identities. Amer herself explains, “When we were young girls, fairy tales made us believe that we were all princesses who were going to meet a prince one day and live happily ever after.” If you missed Maura Reilly, Curator of the exhibition and the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art’s talk with the artist this past March, you’ll have another great opportunity to learn more about this topic, and other artworks in the exhibit Ghada Amer: Love Has No End when the artist speaks this weekend as part of the Brooklyn Museum’s Target First Saturday events.

(Barbie Loves Ken, Ken Loves Barbie, 1995/2002, Embroidery on cotton. Collection of the artist, courtesy of Gagosian Gallery. Photo courtesy of Gagosian Gallery.)

In conjunction with the Votes for Women exhibition in the Herstory Gallery, we are always looking for more stories about the many unsung pioneers of women’s suffrage. Long-time curatorial and library volunteer and friend of the Brooklyn Museum, Marty Levenson, has this fascinating account to share about Esther Hobart Morris, a local activist from Wyoming who’s brave efforts to promote suffrage legislation led to her appointment as one of the first female justices of the peace in the Wyoming Territory, as it was known in the mid-late 1800s. Read more of Marty’s account of Esther Hobart Morris below.

“Following years of legislative and social struggle, women received the right to vote under US Federal law in 1920. But the country’s first legislative success with regard to women’s suffrage came in 1869 in the then newly created Wyoming Territory.

Though not a member of the Territorial legislature, Esther Hobart Morris has been given major credit for supporting that bill and other laws that allowed married women to control their own property, and provided equal pay for women teachers.

Mrs. Morris was appointed a justice of the peace in 1870 and was the country’s first woman to serve in a judicial office. Afterward, she continued to be active in political affairs and during Wyoming’s statehood celebration in 1890 she was honored for her suffrage activities. In 1895, at age 80, she was elected a delegate to the national suffrage convention in Cleveland.

A life size statue of Mrs. Morris stands directly in front of the Wyoming state capitol in Cheyenne and a copy of the statue was donated to the national statuary hall in the US Capitol when she was designated Wyoming’s representative in that exhibit.”

– Marty Levenson.

(Statue of Esther Hobart Morris by Avard Fairbanks in front of Capitol Building, Cheyenne, WY. Photo: Einar Einarsson Kvaran.)

The Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art celebrated its one year anniversary on March 15th, 2007 during Women’s History with some truly amazing and inspiring public programs. In the Forum, Curator Maura Reilly kicked off the event with a lively conversation with Ghada Amer about the exhibition Ghada Amer: Love Has No End. Both spoke for almost two hours about the artist’s work, the fascinating evolution of her “big drips” technique, and her take on feminism, which she summed up in one succinct sentence that poignantly ended the talk: “I am a woman, therefore I am a feminist.”

(Left: Artist Ghada Amer discusses her work. Right: Amer and Curator, Maura Reilly share slides of magazines that were inspirational to the artist early on in her career.)

Later in the day, Dr. Elizabeth A. Sackler introduced the “Funding a Revolution” panel discussion where moderator Carol Jenkins, President of Women’s Media Center, and Helen LaKelly Hunt, Barbara Dobkin, and Jennifer Buffett, three phenomenal benefactors, gave presentations and talked about how they are working to change the face of philanthropy today. All the women seriously rocked the house! Thank you to all the participants, and to everyone who came out for the anniversary. It was a truly feminist celebration!

(Left: Dr. Elizabeth A. Sackler introduces a panel of feminist philanthropists to the crowd at the “Funding a Revolution” discussion on March 15th, 2007. Right: Panelists included Helen LaKelly Hunt, Jennifer Buffett, Barbara Dobkin, and moderator Carol Jenkins.)

(Lorraine O’Grady, Mlle Bourgeoise Noire, 1981, Performance at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York. Photo courtesy of Lorraine O’Grady.)

Young scholars of art history, and fans of performance art alike will be interested to learn that the pioneering performance artist, critic, and feminist scholar Lorraine O’Grady has recently launched a teachable website that showcases both her visual art and extensive writings. O’Grady herself is blogging too! Born in Boston, and educated at Wellesley College and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, O’Grady pursued successful careers as a research economist, translator and rock critic for the Village Voice before she began making performance art in 1980, when she performed her most famous persona, Mlle Bourgeoise Noire. O’Grady’s writings about race, gender, and miscegenation, have been published and anthologized widely, and are all accessible or able to be downloaded in pdf format on the site, including her influential essay, “Olympia’s Maid: Reclaiming Black Female Subjectivity,” (1992, 1994). Check it all out here.

(Lorraine O’Grady, after performance of Nefertiti/Devonia Evangeline at the Feminist Art Institute, NYC. 1981. Courtesy of Lorraine O’Grady.)

W.O.M.A.N., opened Saturday, March 22 and continues through Sunday, April 20 at Gallery 6, showcases the work of seventeen female artists from Staten Island, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and Austin. Curated by Jeff Kolasinski , these works embrace the wacky, obsessive, myriad, authentic, and nervy as a celebration of Women’s History Month. The show includes works by Susan Grabel, Melanie Hickerson, Helen Levin, Jenny Tango, and the late Barbara Valenta among many others.

(Susan Grabel and Jenny Tango, Inside Venus, 2007, cast paper with encaustic, oil on canvas. Courtesy of the artists.)

Heart Wall, by trailblazing feminist artist Nancy Azara, continues through October 2008. This 24 foot sculpture composed of carved and painted wood with gold leaf and encaustic is located in the lobby of 340 Madison Ave in Manhattan.

(Nancy Azara, Heart Wall, 2005. Photo courtesy of the artist.)

Mirror Universe by Devorah Sperber opened on Thursday, March 20 and continues through April 26 at Caren Golden Fine Art. Sperber’s work uses the television series Star Trek as a method of examining the relationship between popular science and art.

(Devorah Sperber, Spock (Beaming In) 1, 2007. Photo courtesy of Caren Golden Fine Art.)

Artist Tara Donovan will continue her six month run at The Metropolitan Museum of Art through April 27. Donovan is recognized for her use of manufactured materials to make works that bear a resemblance to topographical landscapes.

(Tara Donovan, Haze, 2003. Stacked clear plastic drinking straws. Photo courtesy of the Ace Gallery, New York.)

Lady Pink & Aiko: Brick Ladies of NYC opened March 21st and continues through April 20th at Ad Hoc Art in Brooklyn. Both Pink & Aiko mix street-art and modern-art with urban, pop-art themes into their work.

(Lady Pink. A Lovely Entrapment, acrylic on canvas. Aiko. 2. Both photos courtesy of Ad Hoc Art.)

The Love that Has No Opposite, by artist Georgeanne Deen, opened Friday, March 21st and continues through Sunday, April 27th. Deen’s work, exhibited at Amy Smith-Stuart, uses women, animals and natural elements as subjects in a creepy juxtaposition of scale and form.

(Georganne Deen, The Love That Has No Opposite, 2008. Photo courtesy of Amy Smith Stewart.)

Boudoir: A Hint of Sensuality opens March 27th and continues through June 10th 2008 at LUMAS Editions Gallery NYC. Boudoir features erotic photography by 9 talented male and female photographers, including Lilya Cornelli, Michel Comte, and others.

(Lilya Cornelli, Blind Senses, 2007. Courtesy of LUMAS Editions Gallery, NYC.)

Grace Hartigan: A Survey of Six Decades opened last week and runs through May 3rd at ACA Galleries in Chelsea. Hartigan’s remarkable career began in the 1950s as part of the school of Abstract Expressionists. She was also the only woman artist selected for the MoMA’s pivitol exhibitions Twelve Americans (1956) and its traveling show The New American Paintings (1958). This exhibition coincides with the April release of the documentary film Pushing Boundaries in a Painter’s World: The Art and Life of Grace Hartigan.

(Grace Hartigan, Male Image, 1966, oil on canvas. Courtesy of ACA Galleries.)

Matthew Marks Gallery presents Peter Hujar: Second Avenue through April 26th. Hujar, who passed away in 1987, shot the majority of his many portraits of men, women, children, and animals, as well as people he met on the street, in his studio on Second Avenue in the East Village. Whether his subjects be the conventionally beautiful or the grotesque, his work always reflects a unique empathy for the individual.

(Peter Hujar, Charles Ludlum as Camille, 1974, gelatin-silver print. Courtesy of Matthew Marks Gallery)

Leslie Hirst fourmation opened last week at Pavel Zoubok Gallery and runs through April 19th. Hirst presents seventeen “landscape paintings” in which four-leaf clovers are suspended between rich layers of paper and resin, alternately replicating the grid-like structures of urban environments and natural growth patterns.

(Leslie Hirst, Four:Circle, 2001 and 2008. four-leaf clovers, resin, enamel on wood. Courtesy of Pavel Zoubok Gallery.)

Tamy Ben-Tor will perform Judensau on Saturday, March 28th and Sunday, March 29th at The Kitchen. Ben-Tor creates videos and live performances that center on her ever-expanding catalogue of invented characters. For this commissioned new solo performance, Ben-Tor integrates text and live music by violinist Alva Stux to morph seamlessly from one portrait to the next with the simplest changes of clothing, accessories, and accents.

(Tamy Ben-Tor, Judensau, 2008. Photo courtesy of Riccardo Crespi Gallery and Zack Feuer New York)

Mary Coble performs Blood Script this Friday, March 28th and Saturday, March 29th from 1PM to 6PM at PULSE  Contemporary Art Fair at Pier 40 in Manhattan.  For a previous performance, Coble compiled a list of over 200 hateful words and phrases that viewers wrote on her in various languages. She will now have over 75 of the most common words tattooed onto her skin, without ink, which will appear in blood as the tatooing needles penetrate her own skin.

(Mary Coble, Untitled (from Note to Self), 2005. Photo  courtesy of Connor Contemporary Art, Washington, D.C.)

Many of you have already discovered the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art page on Facebook, where you can find information about the Center, including details on the current exhibitions Ghada Amer: Love Has No End and Votes for Women, and links to the video from the Guerrilla Girls 2007 Women in the Arts Award Presentation, along with videos and artists’ talks from the Center’s opening weekend last Spring. Also, thanks to Shelley Bernstein, we’ve added some fun interactive applications like feeds to the blog, and events listings on the website, links to the Brooklyn Museum’s Flickr page, and ArtShare, a program that allows fans of the page to view feminist-related artworks in the Brooklyn Museum’s collection, including many of the settings from Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party. Last, but not least, there is a place on the page for fans to share their own links, write reviews, and start threads on the discussion board. Check it out!

Did you see the article on Votes for Women in yesterday’s AMNewYork? Check out Linda Perney and Lauren Johnson’s take on the show and watch Curator Maura Reilly discuss some prominent objects from the exhibition in a short video clip!