Monday, March 30, 2009

Emily's fave at "Femme on Femme"

Emily was my latest date to visit "Femme on Femme," and guess which painting was her favorite - yep, it was Regina Allen's "Eye of God." I'm seeing a trend here!

I can't believe it's almost time for the show to close already. After working on it for about seven months (around the same time I got pregnant!), it's hard to believe it is almost over. It closes this Thursday; I have a couple more groups of friends visiting this weekend, so it should be a good final push, then we'll get the total number of visitors.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Freebie Friday at Melissa Moss's Etsy Shop

What lucky ducks are we? Today is Freebie Friday at Melissa Moss's Etsy shop - you can get two of her prints (not original drawings or paintings, or the limited editions) for 2-for-1! I love her work so much, this is very dangerous for my art shopping addiction...

I just got these two - one for Junebug, one as a baby gift for a friend who is due soon (hope she's not reading my blog!). Click here to start your shopping!

Monday, March 23, 2009

Gallery Visit with Erin and Isla

This morning was so lovely. My friend Erin and her darling daughter Isla accompanied me to visit "Femme on Femme." Here they are in front of one of their favorite works, "Eye of God" by Regina Allen. This is such a popular piece - some lucky duck is going to snatch it up for their collection, I'm sure.

What a nice way to start the week!

Friday, March 20, 2009

Farewell, Day to Day

Working at home alone, I'm very dependent on outside voices to keep me company - which means I listen to NPR pretty much all day long. For six years now, the 9-10am hour meant listening to "Day to Day," a rather encyclopedic news program that covered stories around the world - from right here in the LA area.

But today I'm feeling a little sad (and a little mad at NPR!); the last broadcast of "Day to Day" just aired, and it's a real loss to the airwaves. As if watching the LA Times shrink daily wasn't heartbreaking enough, now I must lose the familiar voices of Madeleine Brand and Alex Cohen, who were so engaging in their coverage of national and world affairs.

Fortunately, they're not completely gone. Here are links to follow them online, along with D2D's producer, Steve Proffitt. Day to Day, you will be missed!

Madeleine Brand
www.madeleinebrand.com

Alex Cohen
www.alexcoheninla.blogspot.com/

Steve Proffitt
www.nicejobmedia.blogspot.com

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

"Femme on Femme" Brochure

Thought I should share the nifty exhibition brochure that Paul created for the exhibition. It includes one work by each artist, my curator's statement, and an exhibition checklist. Click on each image for a larger version. Enjoy!


Friday, March 13, 2009

"Femme on Femme" opening reception

At last, the show is open! It was great to see so many friendly faces at the opening on Wednesday. I hope everyone discovered a gem of an artwork that left a lingering yummy taste on their arty tastebuds!

Thank you to Eric (aka: the sweetest husband EVER) for being on photo duty (and printing duty, and shlepping duty, and curator-calming duty), and to Gallery Director Paul Paiement and his crew (especially Ron!) for the beautiful installation. And of course, thank you to the artists for creating pieces that so beautifully transport us to different worlds. FYI, the show is open until April 2; hours are Mon-Thurs 10am-2pm. I believe it is also open on Tuesday evenings.

I've pasted some photos from the evening below - click here if you want to see all of them.

With Tim Sailor in front of DJ Hall's "Twinkle."

With Regina Allen in front of her works "American Girl" and "Playdate."

With Gallery Director Paul Paiement in front of Regina Allen's "Eye of God."

With Donna Hilbert and Helen Lorenzini in front of Selina Trieff's "Two Women in Red," "The Travelers," and "Two Women in Shawls."

With Gina Caywood and Georgia Case in front of Taravat Talepasand's "The Order of the Sun and Lion" and "Order of the Sun I."

With Monica Malin in front of Selina Trieff's "Woman with Red Flower."


Tuesday, March 10, 2009

"Femme on Femme" Curator Statement

Since I managed to eek this out of my brain, I may as well share it - my curator's statement for "Femme on Femme":

When visitors walk into an art museum showcasing an encyclopedic selection of artwork from across the centuries and around the world, what are they likely to see? Viewing the works chronologically, they may see reliefs of Nefertiti with her children, numerous works depicting the Madonna, and perhaps such seminal pieces as Johannes Vermeer’s “The Kitchen Maid,” 1660, or Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres’ “The Valpinçon Bather,” 1808. These are all exquisite artworks of female subjects – depicted by male artists.

Finally, toward the end of the 19th Century, viewers might stumble on work by female artists, perhaps “Tea” by Mary Cassatt, 1880 (although work by Paul Cezanne, Claude Monet and Pierre August Renoir would likely be in greater abundance). Even well into the 20th Century, with a few notable exceptions such as Georgia O’Keefe and Frida Kahlo, female artists are exceedingly under-represented in the history of art.

As the New York-based artist collective Guerrilla Girls asked in 1989: Do women have to be naked to get into the Metropolitan Museum?

In modern society, the exploration of the meaning of “feminism” and “equality” is often boiled down either to clichés (lipstick on a pig, anyone?), or numbers (pay disparities between men and women). Yet in the art world, it is often women themselves digging into this topic, in nuanced and often subtle ways that would be hard to find in mainstream commentary.

“Femme on Femme” provides a snapshot of how seven contemporary Southern California female artists explore, through their work, the female form – for millennia, the purview of male artists – and feminist issues, which is still in relative infancy. Using vastly disparate techniques, these artists provide their personal perspective on the modern woman – often, the examination is of themselves and their own lives, and the supposed roles they fill in this contemporary culture, whether as wife, mother, or single gal.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Cypress College Art Gallery and its Director, Paul Paiement, for the opportunity to examine this topic. My thanks also go to the artists and galleries for being so generous in loaning their outstanding and intriguing work, and to my husband Eric for perpetually supporting my art habit.

Cari Marshall
Curator, “Femme on Femme”

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Femme on Femme installation, part deux

Just returned from checking on the installation, which is humming along. The placement of works that Paul and I discussed the other day worked out really well, so let the hanging begin! Here's Taravat's work going up.



Here are Selina's works, about to be hung. I'm so happy they're in a spot that gets loads of natural light, all their shimmery-ness will really come out!





This is where Mary Woronov's work will go. I was so sad to have to leave one piece behind at her studio - it was too big for both the van AND the gallery!




And here is where the lovely work by Regina Allen will be. It's her piece that's on the invite and banner. They look terrific, all hanging together!




The last two artists whose work weren't staged enough to photograph are Cynthia Evans and Moira Hahn (two Long Beach artists!). I hope to get those shot on Monday.

Here's yours truly with that awesome banner! I have been working on this show since before I got pregnant, so it has been quite a journey. It has been really interesting, being pregnant with a little girl while working on a show that explores feminist issues. I feel like the little Junebug has been along for the ride and inspiring me along the way!

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Installing "Femme on Femme"

At last we started installing "Femme on Femme" yesterday (after an epic day of art pickups in LA on Saturday). There were several Cypress College art students on hand to help - they were great and very conscientous. That's one of DJ Hall's amazing works in the background...

We're still figuring out placement, but it's fun to experiment. Here are three of Selina Treiff's works adjacent to DJ's in the entryway gallery, which has plenty of breathing room and really lovely natural light.


Here's Paul, next to a gorgeous work by Bay Area-artist Taravat Talepasand, which looks beautiful bathed in sunlight...

Click on any of these photos to view larger versions.




Oh goody, a banner! Paul designed the banner, and it looks terrific. Here are the intrepid students installing it...










I'm so happy to know I can have the banner when the show is over. It might have to go into Junebug's room (when she has a room, one day!).

Here's a long shot of the banner outside the gallery...I think it's quite eye-catching! Hopefully enough to bring strolling peeps inside...