The curator

Abstract

Given Brandeis University' s commitment to the liberal arts and to excellence in teaching, the Women' s Studies Research Center (WSRC) is proud to showcase the work of two distinguished artist/teachers, Laurie Kaplowitz and Stacy Latt Savage. Both have been recognized as successful practitioners in their respective artistic disciplines and as celebrated educators. I am fortunate to have worked with both Kaplowitz and Savage as an MFA student at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where they both teach. Their commitment to their artistic practice combined with their dedication to their students was an inspiration to a late-coming prospective artist with an inclination toward academia, such as I was. Both Kaplowitz and Savage demonstrated to me, through their impressive activity in the studio and their thoughtful approach to teaching, that life as a working artist was attainable, and even more so, desirable. I am thrilled to exhibit the work of these two talented women whose examination of the figure offers fresh, compelling perspectives on female beauty and identity. Kaplowitz' s paintings of bedecked iconic heads are richly textured in both surface and content, raising questions about our relationship to nature, feminine standards of beauty, and the universal nature of adornment. Savage' s stripped-down, emotionally laden sculptural forms ask viewers to contemplate what is at the core of being human and what is essential to being female. All of these issues and questions are central to feminist inquiry and pedagogy, the WSRC' s fundamental mission. University and the Kniznick Gallery which is situated at its core have a long history of offering feminist art exhibits to the public. We have approached in depth women's experiences in many different countries (including Mexico, Rwanda, India, and Nigeria) and we have addressed particular issues of concern to women (being stateless, affluence leading to ennui, sex trafficking, and many more.) This show explores feminist art from a different angle; it is not about a specific place or a specific problem. Rather, it builds on the strong tradition of women artists using their bodies to make art (such as Hanna Wilke) or making art that depicts bodies or body parts (such as Kiki Smith). The female body has been central to the resurgence of women's movements from the 1960s to the present. Whether the discussion is about taking control of our bodies in the reproductive rights debate, or understanding our bodies in everyday life (Our Bodies, Ourselves), …