Bodies of Work: A Collaboration Exhibition & Reading
Bodies of Work: A Collaboration Exhibition & Reading One-night only: April 21, 2014 Apollon Omaha, 1801 Vinton St., Omaha, NE
If you missed the original airing of my interview, you can listen to the mp3 of Bodies of Work on
KIOS-FM, Omaha Public Radio and Michael Lyon.
Before reading the details of the art exhibition and event, I would be remiss to not mention photographer, Greg Higgins, who attended the event, took photos and captured the entire night with his camera. Every image on this blog posting was taken by him. He always attends our Drink N Draw sessions and captures images of the models for us to use later to finish our paintings. I am appreciative of Greg's continued support of Omaha artists, both writers and visual artists and his involvement and selflessness in allowing us to use his photography to help share our art. So, thank you, Greg.
About the Show:
Collaborative Series: Poet Fran
Higgins, body-artist Sally Deskins and figurative artist Rachel Mindrup
come together to create a series of mixed-media work that explores body
image, art history, womanhood and motherhood, furthering their
“Mother-Artist” project originally debuted Feb. 2013. The trio of
artists started with Deskins’ acrylic body-painting; “Inspired by Yves’
Klein’s Anthropometries, I take a feminist approach, as artist, model
and director, examining how our outside selves both hides and radiates
our mind,” describes Deskins of her approach. Thereafter, Mindrup was
given the twenty large works to draw on at her discretion; “Usually I
spend so much time painting figures, paying attention to every resolute
detail; with this series, I wanted to draw quickly to echo Sally’s swift
body-printing method, and I kept seeing these mythological characters,
coming in and out of the body parts like the bodies represented a whole
world,” describes Mindrup. Mindrup then passed the work onto Higgins
who, penned ekphrastic poetry on each, based on her own perspective,
displaying irony, hilarity, and sometimes raw truth on the female,
motherhood, and human experience.
Intimates & Fools:
Coupling body art and poetry, ‘Intimates and Fools‘ intimates the
complicating pairing of the female form and cultural notions of beauty
while playfully seeking to bare and bear such burdens of their weight.
Laura Madeline Wiseman’s poetry explores notions of the bra and its
place near the hearts of women, while contemplating literary and pop
cultural allusions and illusions of such intimate apparel. Sally
Deskins’ body art and illustrations make vivid and bright the female
form while calling into question the cultural narratives on such various
shapes we hold dear, be they natural, consumer, or whimsy. The book is
published by Les Femmes Folles Books, 2014 and is available on
amazon.com.
Rachel Mindrup is a professional artist and art
educator. Her current painting practice is about the study of the figure
and portraiture in contemporary art and its relation to medicine.
Mindrup’s client list includes: Kiewit Corporation, Boys Town, Creighton
University, Boys Town National Research Hospital, and the Kansas City
University of Medicine and Biosciences. Her artwork is held in many
private collections including those of Primatologist Jane Goodall and
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Fran Higgins earned her BFA, graduate
certificate in Advanced Writing,and a Masters in English from the
University of Nebraska Omaha. Her work has appeared in Plains Song
Review, Celebrate, SlipTongue, NEBRASKAland magazine, and The Untidy
Season: An Anthology of Nebraska Women Poets.
Sally Deskins is an artist and writer, focusing on
women and feminist writers and artists, including herself. Her art has
been exhibited in galleries in Omaha, New York, Philadelphia and
Chicago; and has been published in publications such as Certain Circuits, Weave Magazine, and Painters & Poets. She
has curated various solo and group exhibitions, readings and
performances centered on women’s perspective and the body. She edits the
online journal Les Femmes Folles, has published three anthologies of art and writing and her first illustrated book Intimates & Fools, with poetry by Laura Madeline Wiseman, was published in Jan. 2014.
Laura Madeline Wiseman is the author of Some Fatal Effects of Curiosity and Disobedience (Lavender Ink, 2014), Queen of the Platform (Anaphora Literary Press, 2013), Sprung (San Francisco Bay Press, 2012), and the collaborative book Intimates and Fools (Les Femmes Folles Books, 2014) with artist Sally Deskins, as well as two letterpress books, and eight chapbooks, including Spindrift (Dancing Girl Press, 2014). She is also the editor of Women Write Resistance: Poets Resist Gender Violence (Hyacinth Girl Press, 2013).
Les Femmes Folles is a completely volunteer
run organization founded by Sally Deskins in 2011 with the mission to
support and promote women in all forms, styles and levels of art with
the online journal, books and public events; originally inspired by
artist Wanda Ewing and her curated exhibit by the name Les Femmes Folles
(Wild Women). Les Femmes Folles Books is a micro feminist press that
publishes 1-2 titles a year by invitation. Other books include Les
Femmes Folles: The Women, 2011, 2012 and 2013, also available at this
event and at blurb.com. femmesfollesnebraska.tumblr.com The Apollon is Omaha’s multi-genre arts and entertainment hub where all
are welcome to indulge their tastes in a place of welcome and warmth.
The Apollon experience is co-created by a vibrant, well-supported arts
community and an equally vibrant, well-rewarded audience.
apollonomaha.com
SPECIAL EVENT: DRINK N DRAW, 8-10pm, 19+ Drink n Draw Omaha is a socially creative event inviting artists
(painting, sculpting or drawing) to come and practice their craft
inspired by two professional art models. Cost is just $5 for artists
19+. Bring your own supplies and take advantage of APOLLON’s beverage
service. No photography permitted. More information at facebook.com/drinkndrawomaha
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