Spirit & VisionPhotos by Margaret Michniewicz
They hadn’t dealt with the Vermonters yet, however.When Vermont’s turn came for exhibition at the National Museum for Women in the Arts, representatives were sent up from Washington to outline for our state committee just how they expected the selection process to proceed. This rotating exhibition, called From the States, was established in celebration of the museum’s tenth anniversary year. The goal of the program, as described by NMWA guidelines, is to "bring one deserving artist from that state to greater public attention in our nation’s capital."
The Vermont Committee envisioned a more democratic nomination process. As requested, three Vermont curators were chosen. However, instead of a select hand-picked pool of fifteen, word was spread statewide through many different channels. Ninety-three artists responded to the call, some of whom were talented artists previously unknown to the curators. "There are an amazing number of women making art in Vermont," says Billi Gosh, the chair of the committee. "Many of them have extraordinary vision and talent. The Vermont Committee of the NMWA wants to help these artists receive the recognition they deserve, statewide and nationally." The submissions were juried by Janie Cohen, Director of the Robert Hull Fleming Museum in Burlington, Emmie Donadio, Assistant Director of the Middlebury College Museum of Art, and independent curator Mara Williams. From here, ten finalists emerged: Elizabeth Billings (Tunbridge), Patricia Burleson (Townshend), Kathryn Lipke Vigesaa (Waterville), Janet McKenzie (Island Pond), Lynn Newcomb (Worcester), Sue Rees (North Bennington), Kathleen Schneider (Winooski), Meg Walker (Charlotte), Dana Wigdor (Brattleboro), Barbara Zucker (Burlington). The work of these artists is as diverse, individual, and innovative as the state they were nominated to represent.
Patricia Burleson shares her Dream with intrigued visitors at the opening of "Spirited Women" in September, explaining that it is based on "memories as a little girl and the world girls live in. I grew up sewing and embroidering along with painting and building with sticks and rocks…the materials I choose to work with are influenced by those years." As personal as such memories perhaps are, this artist enthusiastically converses with visitors and encourages proximity between her baskets and viewers – she clearly enjoys being able to peer into the depths of the objects and conspiratorially points out the treasures to be found.
"My work as an artist is completely influenced and infused by the fact that I am a woman," Janet McKenzie affirms. "I have devoted my life’s work as a painter to speaking through the image of us – women. I see women as a universal symbol of life itself, as the nurturer and giver of life, and as well, warrior in a world full of inequality and inequity." Patricia Burleson also perceives connections between gender and her creative endeavors: "I think being a woman must influence my art just as culture, environment, and education affects who I am and my art." "This exhibit is a thrilling representation of the incredibly talented women who are making their art all over Vermont today," [comments] Billi Gosh enthusiastically. "It was stunning to walk into the gallery and see the different media each artist has chosen to express her ideas. The Vermont Committee of the NMWA is very proud to have been the catalyst for this exhibit."
Vermont Woman visited Billings at her home in early September and found her welcoming and hospitable, which is exactly what she says she loves about the Tunbridge community. The characteristic smile on her face remains long after the photographing is done – it’s clearly her joy of creating which gets the better of her camera-shyness. As is surely the case with weaving, her current project involves the utmost patience as she carefully measures and binds together dozens upon dozens of small saplings. Amidst the rolling green hills, all that’s audible beyond the artist’s frequent snip of the garden clippers is the chorus of crickets and the intermittent shouts of delight from her children in their game of soccer with dad, Michael Sacca. Over a dinner of fresh garden greens and "forbidden rice", the children - Isaac (11), and twins Mario and Susanna (8) – react with enthusiasm to this project. "We can run and even ride our bikes through it!" they gush. In response, Billings expresses a vague, semi-concern that they are careful not to damage it while they play, but the pleasure of the children seems of more importance than the safety of this art piece. Whether her work is in the ikat weaving tradition, or handling stone or wood, the unifying theme in Billings’ art is, as she describes it, "collaborations with nature." And this is not just in her art – she has instituted an alternative fund-raising method for the school children of Tunbridge. Rather than selling subscriptions to magazines (Billings nearly shudders at the mention of it), a remarkable amount of money has been raised through the sale of bulbs.
As you approach, the columns of saplings - now bound and planted together as a series of walls - blend seamlessly into a vast horizon of marble masses and rusted structures stretching above. The relics of industry have decomposed into the land, overrun by weeds and vines. Drawing nearer through the tall grass and golden rod, the details of the installation take distinct form, paradoxically merging upward into the structural form of human organization. There is a somber grandeur to these man-made industrial structures that have outlived their intended use; in a metaphoric parallel, the entry-way to the Billings-Sacca maze recalls the majestic windows of Gothic cathedrals. There are two portals through which to enter, and within this maze the choice of two paths is offered. Another of the "Spirited Women" is also part of "SculptFest '03". Nearby, the imposing work of Kathleen Schneider inhabits the industrial scape. A mass of marble over six feet high is overlaid by copper letters forming the word "Circumference". The niece of a former marble artisan, Schneider pays tribute to the older generation by working the stone that links them into non-traditional forms. The massive slab of "Vermont Pearl" rests like a giant canvas against an easel of rusted steel, brought back from retirement and its previous function. At the West Rutland Carving Studio & Sculpture Center, all new meaning has been given to en plein air.
"SculptFest03" is at the Carving Studio & Sculpture Center in West Rutland until October 19, and also features the work of Mary Cooke, Barbara & Norton Garber, Mei Ling Hom, and Carolyn Webb. For information call 802-438-2097 or visit www.carvingstudio.org.
To become a member, call toll-free 1-866-875-4627 or write: The Vermont Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts was formed in 2002 to increase awareness of the accomplishments of Vermont women artists. The Vermont Committee is dedicated to implementing educational programs designed by the NMWA. These programs include providing educational materials to children, sponsoring student and artist internships, lectures and seminars. Among other activities will be the documenting of artworks by women in Vermont museum collections. Members of the NMWA may join the Vermont Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts for $15.00. Make check payable and addressed to Vermont State Committee of NMWA, c/o Martha Izzi, 329 Old Farm Road, Shrewsbury, VT 05738-9455. Please note: membership to the Vermont chapter is open to NMWA members only. |
The
envoys from Washington were warned: "We do things differently here
in Vermont." The suits from D.C. sighed, with perhaps understandable
impatience, "that’s what all the states say."
The
selection process, as stipulated by the NMWA headquarters, is that the
state committee chooses curators, who in turn each propose five artists
who’ve spent the better part of their careers in that state. Their
credentials are then submitted for selection to the NMWA Curatorial Department
in Washington.
From March to June of this year, Vermont was represented in Washington
through the work of Tunbridge resident Elizabeth Billings (see sidebar).
The work of all "Ten Vermont Women" was on view this summer
at Burlington’s Fleming Museum and is now presented, in slightly
modified form, through December 30 at the Brattleboro Museum & Art
Center (BMAC) under the title "Spirited Women: Ten Vermont Artists".
It is the hope of Janet McKenzie that viewers will walk away with "feelings
of self-empowerment."
Pictured
here at her home in Tunbridge, Elizabeth Billings is shown at work on
Fifty Panels to a Maze, a joint project with photographer Michael Sacca
which is now on view at the Carving Studio & Sculpture Center in West
Rutland. Billings says she was "thrilled" to represent the state
of Vermont at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington.
She has since "branched out" from small scale Japanese ikat
weavings and other signature work to large scale collaborative works in
both stone and saplings; she worked this summer on-site near Isle La Motte’s
famed quarries in a medium new and challenging to her.
Billings'
work is currently situated in a retired quarrying site, far away from
the pastoral setting of its inception and creation. The din of industry
and bustle of workers is replaced now by nature, butterflies, goats -
and artists. Fifty Panels to a Maze is one of six site-specific sculptural
installations presented by the Carving Studio & Sculpture Center under
the banner "SculptFest ’03 – Boundaries".
Miles
away from Washington, and even Brattleboro, the haunting desolation of
this old quarrying facility profoundly complements the work of these two
Vermont women.