Printmaking is, by its nature, a fecund artistic environment. In 1960 it was a woman- June Wayne, the founder of Tamarind Institute (from which so many of these works are graciously on loan)-who went so far as to call it “an ecology.” It’s women, many of them unsung, who have been its pioneers, exploring, publishing, and defining the boundaries of the medium for us over the decades. They are pushing against traditional methods of production (cutting their prints by hand; pinning them to the wall). They are embracing larger content (social media, crowdsourcing). They are true to their bodies and themselves. Their means of production may be diverse, but still, as is printmaking’s true nature, ever democratic and accessible.
Gender roles are more fluid today than ever before; this exhibition gives us an opportunity, no matter our gender, to think about the masculine and feminine in all of us. What does it mean to be receptive and nurturing? What does it mean to be powerful and strong? We can learn from each other. So, when you look “without” at the work by these women—black, caucasian, Latina, gay, and transgender artists, don’t forget to look “within.” Amidst all this variety-there is a great deal of Unity. Thanks to women artists, we can see how much we all truly share.
Sheila Goloborotko, 2015
Museum of Contemporary Art
University of North Florida
Jacksonville, FL
January 23 – April 10, 2016