CAA News Today

Each month, CAA’s Committee on Women in the Arts singles out the best in feminist art and scholarship from North America and around the world. CWA Picks may include exhibitions, conferences, symposia, panels, lectures, and other events. The following selections should not be missed.

July 2010

June Wayne, The Chicago Territory, 1977, from The Dorothy Series (1975–79), lithograph on paper, 20 5/8 x 17 3/8 in. National Museum of Women in the Arts. Gift of the artist (artwork © June Wayne; photograph provided by National Museum of Women in the Arts)

June Wayne’s “Dorothy Series”
National Museum of Women in the Arts
1250 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005
June 25, 2010–September 13, 2010

The Dorothy Series (1975–79) by June Wayne was created in a hyperrealist style using photographs, documents, and scrapbook memorabilia. The artist created the set of lithographs to narrate the life of her mother, Dorothy, who raised her as a single parent, had a successful sales career, and staunchly campaigned for women’s rights. The Dorothy Series was created in collaboration with Ed Hamilton of Hamilton Press.

Born in 1918 in Chicago, Wayne had her first solo exhibition in 1935. A participant in the Works Progress Administration Easel Project in Chicago, she later moved to California where she studied lithography and founded the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in 1960. The CWA honored Wayne with an Annual Recognition Award in 2002.

Film Exhibition: Sally Potter
Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019
July 7–21, 2010

In the early 1970s, Sally Potter made avant-garde short films before moving on to experimental dramatic features that incorporate music, literature, dance, theater, and performance. She typically works on multiple elements of her films, from script and direction to sound design, editing, performance, and production. Potter’s films elegantly blend poetry and politics, give voice to women’s stories and romantic liaisons, and explore themes of desire and passion, self-expression, and the role of the individual in society. Films included in the program are her low-budget short, Thriller (1979); her first feature, The Gold Diggers (1983); Potter’s most critically acclaimed film, Orlando (1992); and RAGE (2009), her most recent project.

Jaroslava Brychtovà at the Glass Art Society in Seattle, 1990 (photograph by Russell Johnson and provided by the Pratt Fine Arts Center)

The Brychtovà Forum – Women Artists Working in Glass: Celebrating Innovation and Vision Across Generations
Seattle Art Museum and Pratt Fine Arts Center
1300 First Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101; and 1902 South Main Street, Seattle, WA 98144
July 15–18, 2010

Several prominent organizations from Seattle’s glass art community are collaborating to present “The Brychtovà Forum – Women Artists Working in Glass: Celebrating Innovation and Vision Across Generations,” a four-day series of free lectures, panel discussions, and events to be held July 15–18, 2010. The forum was conceived to celebrate the rich tradition of women working in glass while also recognizing the life and work of one of the most important artists in the history of the glass movement.

Jaroslava Brychtovà’s lecture, the cornerstone of the Brychtovà Forum, will be presented at the Seattle Art Museum on Thursday, July 15, accompanied by a new documentary by the Czech filmmaker Jiri Malek. The lecture will be followed by a reception and special exhibition curated by Sarah Traver opening across the street at the Traver Gallery. Panel discussions organized by three generations of leading glass artists—including Flora Mace, Shelley Muzylowski Allen, and Rebecca Chernow—will be presented at Seattle Art Museum throughout the day on Friday and on Saturday morning, all of which will be free and open to the public on Saturday afternoon. Also on Saturday afternoon, a glassblowing demonstration will take place at the Pratt Fine Arts Center (1902 South Main Street, Seattle, WA 98144; 206-328-2200; info@pratt.org). Admission to forum events is free but seating is limited; tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis upon registration.