ARTISTS CONVEY GENDERED EXPERIENCES

PHOTO BY MAGGIE MCDERMUT

The Gender Symposium Art Show in Stamn featured 11 student artists and eight professional artists. “Outlaws 1-12” (top) by Abigail McNamara won second place.

By Drew Lenihan///Arts Editor

 The Gender Studies Symposium was complemented with one of the strongest art shows ever to hit upper Templeton in years.  From March 14-16, a show consisting of 11 student artists and eight professional artists hung in Stamm.  The show was curated by art majors Sula Wilson (’12) and Katherine Landerholm (’12).  

The symposium’s show was juried and three different student artists were given prizes for their excellence and commitment to works exploring the themes of gender identity, deconstruction and feminism.  The first place prize went to Claire Tsuji (’13)for her “Untitled” pen and ink series depicting cultural historical textiles. Second place was awarded to Abigail McNamara (’12) for her piece “Outlaws 1-12,” and third went to Spencer Byrne-Seres (’13) for his cement sculpture “Them and Us.”  

The show accepted more work than usual, making it more diverse and compelling than in years past. The majority of the work was overtly gender-related or spoke to its gendered intention in the artists’ statements. In addition to the numerous panels and lecturers, the show provided the symposium with another window into the experience of constructing gender through the process of art rather than a discursive nature.  As co-curator Wilson reflected, “The art show is important because it provides a tangible expression of an individual’s gendered experience in the word. It provides students and professionals, men and women, an opportunity to share work and ideas under the universal umbrella of artistic expression.”