Response to the play "The Bechdel Tent"- Shown in Porter Theater Gallery in April
“Fringe Fesitval”. SOLD
Here was my accompanying Artist Statement on this one:
The Bechdel Tent (the name of the play, which inspired this work)
The “Bechdel Test”: A gender bias evaluation tool of a work of fiction. When tasked to consider if movies pass the “Bechdel Test”, once again women are imprisoned in a smoke and mirrors house of never ending reflection on their identity, constantly searching for hints of subjugation, disrespect and dismissal. One wonders if the result cannot but help produce refractions and distortions of each gender.
It’s fascinating looking back on the process of a painting. This one in response to the theme of a play. I only had one choice of canvas; a large discarded canvas with these blue vertical rectangles of graduating values inside a red line. I looked at the canvas and first thought was that the colors jarred my senses and I couldn’t think until I painted over it. I took the soothing buttery color and washed it over. I got the sense of mirrors emerging, and thus the idea was born of using reflections to illustrate my interpretation and feelings about the play. I added the pixelization very lightly to tie in the digitization of movies, the media on which the “Bechdel Test” was originally performed. Again, I was pushed out of my comfort zone, went through periods of sheer dislike of my painting, pushing through that to so many “ahas” that will stay with me and influence other works, no doubt. A great, nerve-wracking, heart-stopping, thrilling artistic roller coaster ride!!
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