CURATOR’S STATEMENT
Curator Nancy Moore

The idea for this show came to me a year ago while reading Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way for the fifth time. As the mother of a transgender son, I was searching for a voice, a way to “come out” in the town I am so proud to live in. I approached the Ridgefield Guild of Artists about doing a show on gender, and they embraced it enthusiastically. Together, we resolved to have a “big conversation in a small town.” The idea that art can create a safe space in which to explore timely and significant topics is a critical component of RGA’s mission.

Continuum: Gender Identities takes its name from the concept that each of us exists somewhere on the continuum between male and female. For some of us, that space is clearly defined; for others, it is more fluid. Some of us move about freely in the world in our given skins; others shed that skin and create a new one. This subject is important in a variety of ways, given the bombardment of gendered messages women, men, boys, and girls receive through the mass media each day; American society’s uneasy quest to define marriage; our embattled don’t-ask-don’t-tell military policy; our acceptance or non-acceptance of celebrities who have “come out”; and the very intimate struggle of individuals, young and old, who are questioning their own place on the gender spectrum.

I invited 52 artists—straight, gay, and in between–to depict gender: from traditional images of masculine and feminine, to work that bends or questions gender roles. They were invited to display their depictions of gender in any of its manifestations: in nature, in the human family, in a political context, as an abstract concept, or as a personal statement.

Some of the artists you see here have exhibited widely and to great acclaim; others have never shown their art before. Thus, the continuum extends in many directions, including media. You will see painting, sculpture, comic art, glass, photography, ceramics, jewelry, cyanotype, fiber art, digital art, woodcut, encaustic, and video art, created by artists from Holland, Korea, New Zealand, Ecuador, Canada, and Seattle, San Francisco, New Jersey, Vermont, Portland OR, Virginia, Rhode Island, New York, Santa Fe, Philadelphia, and Connecticut.

I truly believe that with information comes understanding. That is why I invited the artists to write statements about their art and their lives as they relate to the subject of the continuum, mounted next to their artwork. It’s why there is a gender bookshelf at the entrance to the show (and a bibliography at the back of the exhibition catalogue). It’s why adolescents were invited to write their thoughts and display their art in the upstairs gallery. When the world becomes a safer place for my son and everyone else who falls at various places on either end of the gender spectrum, it becomes a better place for us all.

Source: Ridgefield Guild of Artists

Norwalker's work to be featured in exhibit exploring gender issues
Published 12:40 p.m., Friday, April 29, 2011

Norwalker Diana Moore's work will be on exhibit in The Ridgefield Guild of Artists "Continuum: Gender Identities," an art exhibition running from Saturday through June 3.

The exhibit is chaired and curated by Nancy Moore of Ridgefield, a working artist and parent of a transgender son. The opening reception will be from 6 to 9 p.m.

This show is based on the concept that each of us exists somewhere on the continuum between male and female, says Nancy Moore. She notes that for some that space is clearly defined; for others, it is more fluid.

"Some of us move freely about in the world in our given skin; others shed that skin and create a new one. Given the bombardment of gendered messages that women, men, boys and girls receive through the mass media each day; American society's uneasy quest to define marriage; our embattled don't-ask-don't-tell military policy; our acceptance or non-acceptance of celebrities who have `come out'; and the very intimate struggle of individuals, young and old, who are questioning their own place on the gender spectrum, this subject is timely in a variety of ways," she said.

"If only one person comes through this exhibit with a parent or a friend and is able to have a discussion about gender orientation that might not have occurred otherwise, then we have fulfilled our mission. My goal and the goal of the Guild is to enable a big conversation in a small town--to create a dialogue between artist and audience about gender in an environment that is not charged with the usual awkwardness surrounding this subject."

Continuum is an exploration of how artists choose to depict gender in their work: from traditional images of masculine and feminine, to work that bends or questions gender roles. They have been invited to display their depictions of gender in any of its manifestations: in nature, in the human family, in a political context, as an abstract concept or as a personal statement.

Among the pieces will be Diana Moore's "Spiral Purse." She says, "For me the purse's interior represents the private self; the exterior, the public self. Though the purse is a female possession, the steel of which it's made is masculine, evoking strength and endurance. This androgyny is ever present in my work."

As a result of the international buzz surrounding this exhibit, also on display will be prints from Korea, the work of an award-winning documentary filmmaker from New Zealand, two `outsider' artists from Holland, a graphic artist from Ecuador, and two printmakers from Cape Dorset, Canada. Actor Leonard Nimoy's work will also be in the show. Nimoy is an accomplished photographer, having recently exhibited at Massachussetts Museum of Contemporary Arts (with a rave review in the New York Times).

Source: Norwalk Citizen

Big Conversation in a Small Town

“Since the show’s inception, it has blossomed in many unexpected and welcome directions,” says Moore. “The show was originally conceived as national in scope, but it has rapidly gone international as the buzz has spread through the social network. As a result, we will be displaying C-prints from Korea, the work of an award-winning documentary filmmaker from New Zealand, two ‘outsider’, artists from Holland, a graphic artist from Ecuador, and two printmakers from Cape Dorset, Canada. Another wonderful development is that actor Leonard Nimoy’s work will also be in the show.

Source: Minuteman News Center

Review: Exploring the "Continuum"

Moore invited 52 artists, 36 of whom are Connecticut natives or current residents (others hail from as far away as Holland, Ecuador and New Zealand), to provide works on the subject of gender, leaving the choice of media and themes up to them. As the result the exhibit spans everything from painting, ceramics and video to jewelry, photography and fiber art; the themes encompassed are at once traditional, personal, abstract, rule-breaking and political. Among the most affecting is Ridgefield artist Mary Louise O'Connell's simple oil study of her elderly parents, "The Last Year," which invites viewers not only to reflect on the gender roles played by the couple in the painting, but their own.

Overall, there's a lot to love, whether sentimental, daring or just really funny: assemblage artist Nina Bentley's tribute—made up of antique typewriter, jewelry findings and gold wire—to her 15-year-old granddaughter's love of poetry ("A Poem for All People"); 18-year-old bigender digital artist Mady/Eric Guiliani's Schmee Film Compilation (which climaxes with a gender-bending romp choreographed to the Ben Folds/Regina Spektor song "You Don't Know Me"); carbon-steel purses by sculptor Diana Moore; and excerpts from two photo series by Leonard Nimoy (yes, that Leonard Nimoy), including the captivating "Secret Selves" and "Full Body Project," in which Nimoy reimagines famed portraits of women by Herb Ritts, Helmut Newton, Henri Matisse and Sandro Botticelli with the help of San Franciscan burlesque troupe, The Fat Bottom Revue.

Participating artists were also asked to contribute a written statement about their art and their lives as both relate to the subject of the exhibit, which dramatically reveal how difficult it often is to try to make an artistic concept literal. Some of the most telling remarks are the briefest. Joslyn Newman's striking watercolor-and-ink shadowbox of paper dolls, complete with interchangeable clothes, is accompanied by her comment: "My mother always taught me to be comfortable and do what feels right. If only finding that comfort were as easy as choosing what to wear." Mary Valencia pairs her disturbing drawing "Got Your Back"—depicting a woman's feet (with heels that have formed into spikes) walking an agonized man's back—with the not so simple question, "If there was a war of the sexes, could anybody win?"

Source: Connecticut

Damned III

On October 28-30 2010 in Detroit, there will come a congregation of the most controversial fine art artists from across the world to display their darkest of creations at DAMNED III – An Exhibition of Enlightened Darkness. From the infamous, which recently included rock legend Marilyn Manson and Oscar winner HR Giger, to the freshest of local and international talent, this ominous assembly will exhibit a diversity of artistries from the deeply depraved to the intensely introspective guaranteed to intrigue, disturb, captivate or repulse. This was not Halloween-themed art but a submergence within the shadowed realms of consciousness through an unique ambiance of ethereal soundscapes, art-inspired gallery vignettes and cirque/butoh-inspired stage performances.

Then, on Devil’s Night (October 30), DAMNED will transform into a sensuous celebration beginning with an intimate six-course presentation style dinner followed by a formal masquerade ball within the milieu of exotic rhythms, floor performances and art.

DAMNED III - An Exhibition of Enlightened Darkness
Devil's Nights - October 28/29/30 2010
Tangent Gallery / Hastings St Ballroom
715 Milwaukee St E, Detroit, MI 48202
www.thatdamnedshow.com

Source: Dammed III on Myspace

"Featuring the introspective works of Leonard Nimoy and Marcel Marceau." How did you manage THAT? And yes, we are asking it respectfully.

This was not an easy task, but something amazing rarely is. With our namesake and nearness to Halloween, our first impressions given are often horror-based, which can sometime create barriers on art requests. However, with great diligent work from guest curators Les Barany and Adam Layne, we were all able to convey respectfully how Nimoy's spiritual Shekhina series and Marceau's introspective paintings fit perfectly within our underlying theme and focus. Our goal has been to create as much within our means a world-class exhibition of deeply introspective fine works from artists worldwide. In the first two years, we were fortunate to feature the works of Oscar winner HR Giger and rock legend Marilyn Manson. The inclusion of Leonard Nimoy and the late Marcel Marceau this year in DAMNED III is now an amazing segue towards our new tagline: "An Exhibition of Enlightened Darkness."

Source: Real Detroit Weekly

Damned III
An exhibition of enlightened darkness

This is the third annual exploration of that terra incognita and (not surprisingly) it’s an even more polished and ambitious one than the two that preceded it. Eclectic to the nth degree, DAMNED III is nothing less than a royal summons to investigate artistic introspection and to see what kind of “enlightened darkness” results. It has a gothic patina in many respects, but it is NOT a Halloween bash. It touches on matters erotic, but it is NOT The Dirty Show. The masquerade party/six-course dinner that will highlight the final soiree on Devil’s Night will be more Baudelaire than Bela Lugosi.

And the art you will enjoy is intended to be the very ambiance of the show itself. 128 creative people have contributed or will contribute paintings, sculpture, installations, videos, music, dance, acrobatics, spoken word performances, and the like. And yes, there will be absinthe. Indeed, if the Tangent Gallery/Hastings St. Ballroom only had the additional virtue of being fashioned like that “castellated abbey” Prince Prospero resided in … well, the color scheme would be perfect.

It would be criminal not to mention a few of those remarkable contributors – and we hope that you will pursue a more thorough investigation of their works and remarkable skills in the months ahead. In addition to pieces submitted by Leonard Nimoy and the estate of Marcel Marceau, DAMNED III will feature Aunia Kahn, the cirque of Justine and Jade, Robert Morris, Gabrielle Pescador, Eddie Thiel, Sioux Trujillo, Robert Landry, Kristine Diven, Satori Circus, Ana L. Bar, the hypnotic swaying of Chantel and Amber, Jerry Shirts, the aerial graces of Flyhouse, the magic strings of Dixon's Violin, Miss Pussykatt and the Devil Dolls, the virtuoso presence of Sugar Hiccup who will be providing music for the masquerade ball - an ultra rare performance and an appropriately monikered person from somewhere named Weirdartist. That is not the tip of the iceberg, folks, that’s just an

Source: Metromix

100 Artists See God is a traveling exhibition organized by Independent Curators International. The guest co-curators, artists John Baldessari and Meg Cranston, are tackling the ever-challenging question of God in this exhibition. Baldessari and Cranston have invited 100 artists to respond to one of art's most enduring challenges: picturing the divine. Recent political developments have also led the public to examine the notion of "divine authority"- in the curators' words, "God is news." The artists selected for this exhibition are those whose work the curators know and admire, those who possess the sense of humor and audacity necessary for such a project, or artists who are "likely to surprise."

An exhibition that goes beyond universal images of traditional faiths to offer individual interpretations of spirituality. The show was organized around the following questions: How contemporary artists see God? Ho and why might the point of view of artists reinforce-or stand in contrast to that of the general public? And what comfort or answers do we all seek in spiritual undertakings of varying kinds?

Source: Contemporary Jewish Museeum

God makes appearance in traveling exhibition
Religion's impact on `100 Artists'
September 15, 2005|By MICHAEL KILIAN

Our subject today is God.

Not God as politics, which has occupied newspaper pages for far too long a time, but the much more agreeable one of God as art.

In the earliest centuries of civilization, in fact, nearly all art had to do with God or, if you will, gods.

Casimir Malevich, the raging revolutionary Russian artist, spent the better part of his artistic career searching for a true image of God, and came up with a black circle.

Neither is represented in "100 Artists See God," a new exhibition of works by contemporary artists organized by the New York-based Independent Curators International.

(...)

The show is curated by the whimsical and oft irreverent California artist John Baldessari and artist/arts scholar Mary Cranston. In an essay accompanying the show, they wrote: "Whether or not one believes in God, whether we describe ourselves as theists, atheists, or even anti-theists, we all live in a world that is profoundly influenced by concepts of God. We were pretty sure the notion of God was affecting world events, but we had no certain idea how, or whether, God and religion were affecting art. So we decided to ask the artists."

(...)

Californian Leonard Nimoy's contribution is an exquisite photographic print of a beautiful dark-haired woman standing by the sea. She wears many bracelets.

More here.