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Volume 71, Issue 71,
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Life & Arts Friday will be 'Girls' Night Out' UH to flaunt all-female media-based exhibit by DUSTI RHODES
It's ladies night at the Blaffer Gallery, but boys, you can come too. For the next four months, the gallery will host Girls' Night Out, an exhibition dedicated to recapturing feminine empowerment through photography and video-based mediums. "Girls Night Out is a show which brings together 10 female artists from two generations, ranging from their mid-20s to their mid-40s, and it's a sort of contemporary re-evaluation of feminist ideals," Claudia Schmuckli, Director of Public Relations for the Blaffer, said. The exhibit, which was first organized by the Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, Calif., focuses on how each artist chooses to explore the obstacles that continue to plague women today in contrast to their predecessors.
Although the word "girl" has often been a demeaning term used to patronize women, the generational shift that is explored in Girls' Night Out exemplifies how empowering the word can be for the females reclaiming it. Photo courtesy of the Blaffer Gallery "It's really sort of an investigation of how women artists present themselves today, sort of against the foil of the feminist move of the (1970s)," Schmuckli said. One issue Girls' Night Out focuses on is the word "girl" itself. In the past, the term was used as a way to demean older women but today, "girl" has seen a revolution not only in the context of words but in society as well. The work of artists like Elina Brotherus, Dorit Cypis, Rineke Dijkstra, Kelly Nipper and Salla Tykka brings the status of women into the realm of art to examine the ways in which women artists are trying to achieve the same influence as they are in the political and business worlds. For the women of Girls Night Out, it's a way of exhibiting to viewers not only their personal struggles but their professional ones as well. "You have a very broad variety of takes on what it means to be a woman and what it means to be a woman artist today," Schmuckli said. The Blaffer will hold the opening reception for Girls' Night Out Friday from 7 until 9 p.m. The event is open to the public and admission is free. The exhibit will run until April 1 and will coincide with the following events: Guerilla Girls on Tour
Started by a group of feminists during the 1980s, the Guerilla Girls aimed to expose the sexist side of the New York art world and transform it from a strictly WASP male world. The girls will take to the stage of the Fine Arts Building's Dudley Hall to present Feminists are Funny. The performance will provide UH students with the knowledge to combat against marketing aimed at capitalizing on women's empowerment. Admission is free. Brown Bag Tour
Postdoctoral Fellow in the Women's Studies Program, Jeanne Scheper will host a Brown Bag Tour of Girls Night Out. The tour allows patrons to gain a deeper perspective on works featured in exhibitions as the guides offer their own expertise and insights. -- With additional reporting by Melissa Barrera.
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