Artistic reflections of women's major concerns

Artistic reflections of women's major concerns

By Cebe Tadjoedin

JAKARTA (JP): For many curators and art institutions,
exhibitions of women artists do not contain professional value.
But the current art exhibit at the World Bank in Washington, D.C.
proves them wrong.

Marked by artistic and professional excellence, close to 150
artworks of 120 women artists from the World Bank's member
countries all over the world, including Indonesia, have taken
three spacious halls of the World Bank's headquarters. They focus
on women's concerns without being feminine in a stereotyped
sense.

As Ismail Serageldin, Vice President of the World Bank, said
in a foreword: "It is an affirmation of the Self and a
counterpoint to the Other. No simple reclining nudes or frilly
bows and flowers are used to reflect the feminine, to pander to
the stereotype, the role cast by societies for so many women of
the world."

A Woman's View: Equality, Development and Peace is the title
of the exhibition organized by the World Bank Staff Art Society
as a reflection of a growing awareness of women's significance as
an essential part of humankind.

For many observers of change, an exhibit of this format at the
prestigious headquarters of the World Bank, which is more known
for its lending activities, may have a great impact on the
greater public's sensitivity to prevailing gender disparities.
Regine Boucard, the president of the Art Society, explains that
the exhibit was conceived following the UN Fourth Conference on
Women in Beijing last September which dealt with poverty and
disparities in education, health, economic participation, power
sharing and decision-making, violence against women, the impact
of armed and other conflicts on women, human rights, environment,
national and international machineries and the significance of
special attention to the girl-child.

Like Anette Steen Pedersen, the World Bank's Senior Adviser on
Women's Issues, viewers will be able to sense what Pedersen
expressed as a feeling of "proudness and strength, powerlessness
and challenge that women worldwide feel and share," or what
Regine Boucard calls "the tangible bonding which strikes like a
frosted blizzard or a sand storm."

The works in this exhibition are divided in two groups, each
with a beautiful catalog: the international collection and the
Chinese collection. The international collection consists of
video installations, sculptures, multimedia works and
contemporary paintings on canvas, while the Chinese collection
consists mostly of water colors.

It is hardly possible to review each type of artwork in this
exhibit. The variety of media and the styles used are
overwhelming. Some of the works stand out for their professional
excellence, their application of advanced technology and for
their conceptual statements.

Particularly eye-catching is Greek media artist Jenny
Marketou's installation entitled I can't take my eyes off you.
Marketou videotaped about fifty women's eyes in the World Bank's
headquarters. Composed on one TV monitor/VCR installation which
is placed in the lobby of the H-Building, the eyes keep passing
and a voice continuously repeats "I can't take my eyes off you".
The artist takes a special interest in how the media has
controlled the view of women's view of women's selves, their
bodies and their consciousness. Curator Vasia Deliyanni comments
that the work focuses on the importance of understanding women's
struggle as part of a broader political and ethical movement: To
realize the subjective and collective dimension of feminine
economy, to preserve cultural diversity and to resist the
different forms of social domination.

Fascinating is the installation Between the Pregnant and
Abortion by Chinese Bing Hu who lives in America. Using broken
light bulbs, cut bottle and latex paint, the installation is a
combination of subtlety and firm determination. The artist says
that she tries to "evoke female self-recognition and to be
acknowledged as a woman." For the curator, the installation
shocks and magnetizes at the same time. Vasia Deliyani who finds
the work so personal, intimate, but at the same time so familiar
to every woman and every man, says it is organic, strong in color
and texture, and powerful in meaning.

Interesting is also the installation Life Lines by Venezuelan
born Beatriz Kohn who lives in the USA. Taking the circle as a
symbol for the endless routine that make up the lives of many
women, the artist also uses it to indicate the restrictions that
women face. By putting compartments in the circle with women
figures made in bronze, it furthermore links all the women in the
world. "Sitting in compartments that represent rooms in their
houses or a corner in their huts, these women fix their gazes on
the nothingness of their trapped existences," she says.

The Sins of the New Millennium is an installation that
features an eight-foot towering booth inviting the viewer to
enter and reflect on such issues as aggression, neglect,
territorialization, impunity, complacency, wastefulness and
willful ignorance. "The disequilibrium of our world requires that
we change our patterns of behavior," states Greek-Canadian artist
Tracy Essoglou.

Among the paintings on canvas, Irreversible Passage by
Indonesian Astari Rasjid was called "outstanding" by the Art
Society's president. There was reportedly a buyer, but the artist
could not be persuaded to sell her work. Using mixed media and
expressive colors, the work features a woman's determination to
embark on a voyage that takes her from the stereotyped concepts
of a woman's place. Visualizing a woman's determination to follow
the direction of her own conviction, the work features the shape
of a vessel within a vagina, ready to escape through the narrow
outlet and untying the strings that have held her until then.
Astari is one of the three Indonesian artists selected by the Art
Society out of 20 Indonesian entries. The other two are Dolorosa
Sinaga with two mixed media works Untitled I and II, and Yanuar
Ernawati with Antisipasi.

African-American

The section with paintings by African-American artists,
curated by the chairman of the Art Department at the University
of Wilberforce in Ohio, Willis Bing Davis, brings another flavor.
To note is The Awakening by Carolyn L. Mazloomi, a 4 ft x 5 ft
quilt made of cotton, applique, beads and shells. It features a
woman's face surrounded by bits and pieces of material with old
and contemporary motifs. The association with the artist's roots
is indicated by the batik material which has a distinct African
touch.

Very impressive is the seven-foot high Totem to Powhatan made
by Native American artist Rose Powhatan. Taking the shape of a
penis, with the top resembling a lady's fingernail, it is made of
wood and copper and the symbols on the totem are fire-engraved.
Powhatan teaches and lectures on Native American issues at
various celebrated institutions and centers, among others, the
Smithsonian. She has been commissioned by the United Indians of
Virginia to design and construct totems in honor of the present
day indigenous people of Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C.

The Chinese collection, consisting of 54 works, has been
welcomed at this exhibition as a guest of honor. Although the
themes do not relate to the issues dealt with at the Fourth UN
Conference, the Chinese artists' participation is the first of
its kind outside of China. As such it is an important
development. Representing all the 27 provinces and ethnic groups
in China, the collection contains works of watercolor and ink on
paper or silk.

A Woman's View is on display through Feb. 28 at the World Bank
Headquarters on 600 19th St., 700 18th St., and 701 18th St.
Appointments may be made by calling 202-473-4711 or 202-265-0753.