JUDITH ANDERSON (1934-2008): A Tribute to the Artist

Images by Judith Anderson:
Mandorla Of The Spinning Goddess (1982)
Missa Gaia: This Is My Body (1988)

When I was a printmaker at the University of Massachusetts, I came across the work of artist Judith Anderson in a book called The Once and Future Goddess. This book is described as a sweeping visual chronicle of the sacred female and her re-emergence in the cultural mythology of our time. Judith's work influenced me as a person and an artist in the greatest of ways. It helped me go into myself deeper than I ever had and find my own artist voice and imagery. It gave me access for the first time to my own personal flow of

creative energy and allowed me to feel the sacredness of creation. What a gift she gave me!

I have followed her work over the years and have often wanted to apply to the gallery where her work is showcased: Woman Made Gallery in Chicago. I was always a little nervous about shipping work and so I never applied to show, but learning about her death this week inspired me to go for it and I will be applying to a few of their shows this year. Thank you Judith Anderson for for your inspiration .

For those of you who don't know about this artist more of her work can be seen at:http://www.judithanderson.womanmade.net/

Obituary Notice:

Magnificent artist, feminist and Woman Made member since 1994, Judith Anderson died on Saturday, April 5, 2008 at home and surrounded by her loved ones. We are extending our deepest regrets to Judith' children and her entire family.
Judith Anderson was one of the first participants in WMG's Online Registry in 2000 and samples of her artwork may be viewed on her website. A hard-working and very prolific artist all through her life, it is in part because of her wonderful artistic creations that Judith Anderson continues her presence with Woman Made Gallery.
"Judith Anderson, age 73, artist and print maker, died on April 5, 2008. Loved by her children, Sam Anderson of Lansing, MI, Jessica Anderson (Trevor Staples) of Ypsilanti, MI, Laura Anderson (Paul Martino) of Old Saybrook, CT, and beloved of her partner, Kathleen Collins of Miller Place, NY. A graduate of Mount Holyoke College, her last show was at Mackerel Sky in East Lansing in the summer of 2007. She leaves many friends who cherished her and a legacy of artworks of great power and enduring beauty. A celebration of Judith's life was held May 17, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. at Edgewood United Church, 469 N. Hagadorn, East Lansing, MI, with Catherine Madsen of Amherst, MA leading the celebration. Donations in Judith's memory may be sent to The Nature Conservancy at http://www.nature.org. For remembrances of Judith, please visit the online guestbook at www.legacy.com and enter her name." -Published in the Lansing State Journal - April 27, 2008

About the Artist Judith Anderson:

JUDITH ANDERSON(1934-2008)
Judith Anderson studied drawing and painting at the Art Students League in the fifties and later studied etching at Michigan State University. A print maker for over thirty years, she was a member of the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club and exhibited widely in national juried and invitational shows, winning a number of prizes. Anderson's prints have been published in many periodicals and books, including Elinor W. Gadon's The Once and Future Goddess: A Symbol for Our Time, and in Bill Moyers' PBS program (and video) Spirit and Nature. Her work is in numerous collections, and she was represented by the R. Michelson Galleries in Northampton and Amherst, MA and The Print Consortium, Kansas City, MO.

Mail Art and 1st Mail Art Festival in Malaysia 2009

A few months back I joined a new critique group. At the first meeting there was an artist that talked about doing Mail Art......

I had never heard of Mail Art but interestingly enough a few weeks later, after I came back from my China trip, I decided to google international calls for art and came across this call for

The 1st Mail Art Festival in Malaysia 2009. I decided to see what it was and so I looked at the link and felt intrigued. I then Googled Mail art and WOW!.......This seems to be a art genre which is Hot, Hot, Hot! With of shows and exchanges all over the world, it seems to have captured the attention of the Museums as many of them are hosting traveling exhibitions.

I am interested in learning more about this art form and how to create for it. I have signed up to follow a few blogs about mail art and the artists that create it. I hope to learn enough to feel confident to submit to one of these shows in the near future.

Here was the call although I realise now that the Deadline is Jan 30Th...so just think of it as an example of the many opportunities that are out there for this kind of art. Some of the calls that I have seen are open to what ever you want to create for it and some are themed.

CALL FOR MAIL ART
1st Mail Art Festival in Malaysia / MMAF 2009
We invited artists from all over the world to contribute their work in this exhibition called the 1st Mail Art Festival in Malaysia / MMAF 2009
Theme: open Technique: open Size: A3 & A4
Exhibition: Shah Alam Gallery, Yayasan Seni Selangor (Selangor Art Foundation), Shah Alam, Malaysia (March or May 2009)
You can send up to 10 artworks, on paper or canvas (2D ONLY), sized A4 (21 x 30 cm) or A3 (31 x 42 cm). THERE IS NO PARTICIPATION FEE. ORIGINAL art works only, without frame.
Certificate will be send to all participants from MMAF to acknowledge your mail art/s is in our permanent collection. Artworks will not be returned and become the collection of MMAF (Malaysia Mail Art Festival). Please label your artwork/s as a GIFT or SOUVENIR – NO COMMERCIAL VALUE –.
Please include:- Full name, Address, Country, Title of work, Medium, Year, E-mail address, Web site & CV.
Each artwork will be exhibited. Documentation will be launched online at :- [http://www.mailartfestival.cjb.net/]
Closing date:- 30 JANUARY 2009
For further information please visit:
GALLERY: [mailartexhibition.tripod.com]
PARTICIPANTS: [mailartexhibition.tripod.com]
MAIL ART CALL: [mailartexhibition.tripod.com]
HOME / MMAF 2009: [mailartexhibition.tripod.com]
E-mail: curator@mailartfestival.cjb.net or: dssuzan@yahoo.com.my
Please mail to:-
S. B. IBRAHIM MAIL ART FESTIVAL 2009 Shah Alam Gallery Persiaran Tasik40000 Shah Alam MALAYSIA

Traditional Chinese Costume from Shanghai, China

This is my son Ben in his traditional Chinese outfit that I brought back for him from Old City, Shanghai, China.

He is standing in front of an under painting from a new painting I am working on inspired by our Eye to Eye project and journey.

I am using the shape of the tags we originally painted and will eventually add eyes to make the background. I will be taking pictures of the eyes of all my friends to use in this piece. I am thinking I may try to use a zerox transfer process as an under painting for the eyes.

I will keep the ideas for the foreground a secret

for now :-)

I am looking forward to having a new piece or two to show at the next critique group meeting in February and new work for the group show in May that I will be in.

Chinese New Year 2009 ~ The Year of the OX

Happy New Year!

Last night I went with my family to the local Chinese restaurant we frequent to celebrate the Chinese New Year. They had lots of decorations, live music (drumming) and a wonderful performance of the Lion Dance............ My son wore a traditional Chinese outfit that I bought him in Old City, Shanghai. Everyone got a kick out of it. The night had special meaning to me because of my recent trip to China. I was feeling a bit nostalgic. The night ended with the reading of the fortunes.....mine was especially meaningful. It said.....All your hard work will soon pay off.

2009 the year of the OX: An Obstinate Year
Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality. Those born in ox years tend to be painters, engineers, and architects. They are stable, fearless, obstinate, hard-working and friendly.

Intrude 366 at the Zendai MoMa : Eye to Eye

Photos by Alicia Hunsicker

The Eye to Eye project for The Intrude 366 at the Zendai MoMA in Shanghai, China took place on December 18th in Thumb Plaza, Pudong. It was wonderful success and an incredible personal experience. You can view the official Intrude 366 site http://www.intrude366.com/index_en.html

or the artist/project blog at http:/eyetoeye-intrudes.blogspot.com

We are anxiously awaiting the December Intrude Magazine article about our project.

About Intrude:

Intrude: Art & Life 366 is an unprecedented event in the city of Shanghai. Starting January 1, 2008 and ending on December 31, 2008, Zendai MoMA will present a cultural event to the people of Shanghai every single day of the year. This cross-cultural and interdisciplinary project is called Intrude: Art & Life 366 and aims to intervene in people’s daily lives, engage them to take part in art happenings and stimulate the public debate on art.

An event of this scale and influence has never taken place in China before.

About Eye to Eye:
“Eye to Eye” is a North American expression that means two individuals (or groups)
agree to acknowledge each other’s viewpoints. It is a courageous act to see “Eye to Eye”. It
causes one to open oneself to the possibility of new thinking. It is a step towards standing on
common ground and arriving at mutual understanding.

In this time of cross cultural exchange, it is more important than ever that this concept of
seeing “Eye to Eye” be promoted. For Intrude 366, four American artists using the simplest of
means, and drawing on over 2000 years of Eastern and Western art history, will construct a strand comprised of 734 visual representations of eyes sourced from centuries of evolving culture. (366 on front and 366 on back)

In “Eye to I”, we will use standard 4.25 inch long shipping tags as surfaces. Onto the
front and backside of each tag’s surface we will print or paint image of eyes culled from the
canons of art history: From anonymous portraits painted in 3rd century c.e. Central Asian cave
paintings to the expressive eyes of Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, to the stylized eyes of
Warhol’s celebrities, and to the piercing eyes of Frida Kahlo’s self-portraits, each of the
participating artists will select eye imagery, enlarge them to fit the each side of a standard tag and transfer them to the surfaces using traditional and non-traditional painting and printing techniques such as linoleum block prints and Xerox transfers. Strong visual impact and unity will be produced through the use of the standard surface and by maintaining a restricted palette of
blacks, reds, and golds. Each tag will have one Eastern eye and one Western eye - adding another layer of the original concept of Eye to Eye.

The resulting Eye to Eye strand will be held out at chest level with one of the
participating artists holding the first tag at one end and a partner artist based in Shanghai holding the first tag at the other end. This will result in approximately 650 meters of these historic images being exhibited. Once the entire strand is on display, pedestrians will be invited to cut a tag from either end. As this performance takes place the three accompanying artists will be documenting the performance through video and photography and inviting the public to participate, facilitating the cutting away.

Each cut tag that people take away will serve as a talisman towards seeing eye to eye.
And with each tag that is cut, the two representatives from the East and the West will take one
step closer to each other. When all 366 tags have been cut and given away, the two artists will
stand firmly and confidently, physically and emotionally: Eye to Eye.

In Summary, the Eye to Eye project collapses the past with the future. It places us in the
present to combine images that may be obscure with images that have saturated contemporary
culture. Eye to Eye underscores the commonality between East and West.
Using the simplest of means, Eye to Eye offers profound possibility for forging a rich
collaborative cultural vision for the future.

AmericAura/AfricAura video and interview with Joseph Danjie

New News follows this show description:
AmericAura is an exhibition of contemporary works on paper by a diverse spectrum of fifty artists that explores notions about progress and development in America. The art is not intended to promote any particular political stance. Rather, in the sharing of each artist’s work, it seeks to enrich public understanding of the many ways that change might be interpreted and appreciated from a U.S. standpoint. This collaborative exhibit between Augusta Savage Gallery and Hampden Gallery is part of a larger project that began two years ago. In 2005 we featured a show entitled AfricAura. It was an exhibition initiated by Cameroonian filmmaker Joseph Danjie - a collection of paintings intended to shine the spotlight on Africa. In fact, the title AfricAura suggests this "aura" or light of Africa. It included fifty-two paintings, which was symbolic of the fifty-two countries in Africa, and offered perceptions of Africa through the eyes of Cameroonian artists. Its purpose was to lead us from old ideas about this magnificent continent to some new understandings. Cameroonian painters depicted their unique views about African progress and advancement. Those paintings were accompanied by text. Together, the paintings and words commented on this topic from economic, ancestral, spiritual, sociological, educational, and other standpoints. Joseph Danjie, in offering us this body of artwork, envisioned a transnational discourse on the subject. As he says, "It is a widespread error to think that Africans are only worshipers of the past, firmly attached to predetermined values, unchanging and fixed once and for all." Augusta Savage Gallery and Hampden Gallery agree that AmericAura may well be a respectful and suitable response. America too, is subject to international images and conceptions that have been formed by the media, political policies, and representation by political demigods. So, this exhibit might allow for artists, who are too often overlooked and buried beneath more assertive international voices, to bring our two artistic communities into an uncommon dialogue around the nature of change. In this time when tragic global occurrences have the potential to present America as a monolith, this exhibition may underscore the value and integrity of diversity. Each artist in this exibition is influenced by factors such as their place of origin, political affiliation, historical circumstances, physical and mental abilities, race, ethnicity, economic class, and other variables. We also share some basic human concerns. AmericAura uncovers many of these compatible and dissonant perceptions. We have selected fifty artists, each of whom has contributed one work. Fifty is a significant number, symbolic of the fifty American states. We invited artists to think about some questions: What personal events have shaped how you understand or value ideas about advancement? What aspects of your life have been most affected by them? Are there ways of thinking about these ideas that you would like to promote more widely? What spheres of American life seem most vulnerable to change? What wisdom about progress did you hear while growing up? What is most tragic or hopeful about it? We have asked the fifty artists to create new works in a uniform size (22” x30”). These have taken the forms of paintings, drawings, collage, photography, and computer-generated images. We found that in some ways, the uniform size and the text limitations encouraged artists to start with a level “playing field.” Each work is accompanied by text that artists have either written, or chosen from various sources, including American authors, songwriters, poets, proverbs, sacred scripture, or family sayings. And, in the same way that Joseph Danjie’s project came to us, AmericAura will travel to Cameroon. Fifty artists participating in a global exchange of images and words on paper. What does it mean? Is visual art a universal language? If not, how far can a personal language be heard? How does an image made in America read in Africa? How do English words, some taken out of their original contexts, and all translated into French for presentation in Cameroon, read when paired with an image? What is the value of these combinations and translations? For answers, we look through these works on paper, one by one, and are moved by these artists impulse to respond, to participate, to collaborate, to communicate. We are struck by the range of processes and by the depth of content. There are thoughts about protest, nature and environmental concerns, the personal reflections on inner change, notions about home, and contemplations on its boundaries, the honoring of cultural nurturance, the insistence that oppression continues in insidious forms, conflicted attitudes toward some technological advancements, musings on how capitalism often disregards substantial nourishment. As we look through this rich body of work, we are reminded that every point is the center of a world. Every heart – our thoughts, concerns, nagging grievances, urgent shouts from the mountaintop – are our own, yes, but also, that we stand on the shoulders of others. We hope and pray for union with others. As we step back and reflect on the meaning of this project, we are reminded of that powerful African American musical tradition of ‘call and response.’ Although this exhibition is a response to Mr. Danjie’s imaginative step forward, it is in itself a fresh new call. And, this call is for us to remember, to enjoy, to think again, to notice gently, to applaud the miraculous. Each of the artists has taken their point, their center of the world, and called us to join them – to rally round, to circle round, to gather round. We don’t have to agree or believe. We just need to know that it is a center… of love, hate, confusion, frustration, great joy, celebration - not so different in its degree of passion from our own. And, that the act of witnessing – of carrying each other’s burdens - is a joy, perhaps like no other. One artist, Michael Tillyer tells a profound story that captures this sense of deep compassion and awe at our connectedness. He says, “An associate of mine, a sixty year old woman who is an oil painter and lives with the daily intrusion of auditory hallucinations – voices, persecuting voices – regularly shaves her forehead roughly with a disposable razor. Although she is not intentionally ostentatious, on any particular day I might meet with her I am reminded of her travail by her wound. Where she would have a prominent, luxuriant forelock, I find a pink abraded patch that serves as an emblem of her arduous path. Saint Paul, who in Second Corinthians illustrated our earthly form with the image of the tent made of flesh – a house for the spirit – argues that it is not to our corporeal form that we owe thanks, but to the spirit, which is eternal. It is very hard to live without shame, without the shrinking awareness of our gains. It is as if it were planned that we should reside on earth as children hiding in the dog’s house, waiting eagerly to be discovered, waiting with the anxious nag that we shall never be found, that our laces will remain undone. Blessed be to the all mighty.” The artists in this show, much like other public leaders of our day, are calling out loud. Here, in this gathering of works, they have offered their words and images, their imaginations, their compassionate hearts, keen insights, and prophetic utterances for our common empowerment. There is reward in seeing the whole of the response. There is joy in sending works to another continent. There is a letting go of preciousness by artists who don’t know what might happen to their work next. There is a generosity of spirit that comes through the disparate images and selections of the text. There is the collective voice that is heard saying: "I am looking at the world, I am participating, and I've got something to say." And so, a conversation continues in the world. Here, in the onslaught of lines, color, texture, experiments, surprises, and comforts, lies an unexpected song. Yes, it is a response to our Cameroonian Sisters and Brothers who asked us to join them in this conversation. But, mostly, as artist Mary Sherman explores in her work, it is the profound acknowledgement that we share the same sky.

NEW NEWS

The AmericAura exhibition in which I participated in was exhibited in Yaounde, Cameroon at the National Library of Cameroon with the AfricAura exhibition from September 6-26, 2008. Here is a link to a video interview of Joseph Danjie:>
www.echoscommunication.org/html/project_4_essence.html

Click on.........
Prix Entreprenariat : Joseph Danjie pour Africaura La Voie Africaine pour construire la prospérité 28 Oct 2008

I was not able to view this video of the opening and interview with Joseph Danjie (the creator of AfricAura) but was told that my artwork appeared several times in the video

Exeter Phoenix Art Exhibition: Sewing for Peace held in conjunction with International Women's Day Celebration

I was just invited by my We Are Having Weather partner Anne Pehkonen an artist from Finland www.artpage-pehkonen.net/ to participate in this project for Peace.

I am not sure if it will work for me (I'm not much of a sewer....but I have an idea about doing a small painting on canvas and appliquing it onto the square) anyhow I thought I would pass it along to anyone else who may want to participate.

News Release – Exeter women sewing for peace
Thu 4 Dec 2008
Exeter Phoenix has started a big project named ‘Sewing For Peace’ this winter, in preparation for next year’s International Women’s Day celebrations. As part of the initiative, Exeter Phoenix is appealing to women of all ages and backgrounds to express their personal symbol(s) of peace on a white square of cotton using embroidery, appliqué or other textile techniques. All squares will be collated and incorporated into one or more large banners, which will be carried during a special International Women’s Day parade in Exeter’s city centre on Sun 8th March 2009.

Women from all over Devon have started coming together to sew for peace at Exeter Phoenix on a regular basis. Exeter Phoenix has also started to link up with community groups such as Devon United Women and Happy Feet (international parent/toddler group at the Sidwell Centre) to encourage as many women as possible to join in and sew together for peace. There has already been an international response as well, as women from different countries have started finding out about the project and are taking part by creating embroideries of peace in their own homes and sending them to Exeter Phoenix when completed.

Anyone is welcome to participate and embroideries/applique/textile work of any level of simplicity or complexity will be gratefully received. The desired measurements for the white cotton squares on which to create your symbols of peace are appr. 30cm by 30 cm. Exeter Phoenix has some white cotton squares and thread available for those who don’t have access to materials. If you require further information or are part of a women’s or other community group and would be interested in getting more involved in the Exeter Phoenix ‘Sewing For Peace’ project, please contact Education Project Manager Catherine Cartwright on education@exeterphoenix.org.uk or 01392 667 081. Please send finished work with a note including your name and contact details to: Sewing For Peace, c/o Catherine Cartwright, Exeter Phoenix, Bradninch Place, Gandy Street, Exeter EX4 3LS.

Exeter women of all ages sew for peace together at Exeter Phoenix (high res images and captions attached)
For further information and high resolution images please contact:
Milica Lewis (Press Officer), Email: press@exeterphoenix.org.uk, Phone: 01392 667 598

Exeter Phoenix Ltd is supported by Devon County Council, Exeter City Council and Arts Council England South West. Registered Charity No. 290011. Registered in England No. 1844169

Address:

Exeter Phoenix
Bradninch Place
Gandy Street
Exeter EX4 3LS
Box Office: 01392 667 080
www.exeterphoenix.org.uk

Artist Residencies

This is a photo I took at sunset in Shanghai, where I recently traveled to work with the Zendai Museum of Modern Art. I am interested in going to new places and experiencing different cultures. I enjoy artist collaborations and participation in different kinds of artistic cultural exchanges. In the comming year I will be looking more for these opportunities.

I find the idea of artist residencies intriguing. Going somewhere and immersing yourself in different culture, discovering some new influences, allowing yourself time to create with out the distractions of the usual responsibilities of home all seem to be full of nothing but positive potential. In my research I found locations all over the world, urban and rural alike, with durations ranging from one week to a year, and quite a few of them are offering paid stipends to select individuals.

The Transcultural Exchange organization run by Mary Sherman is a great resource to artists who are exploring residencies and cultural exchange projects. They are having a conference in Boston, MA this April. (I hope to attend)
http://www.transculturalexchange.blogspot.com/
www.transculturalexchange.org/


If you could go anywhere and make art uninterrupted where would you go?

New Year's Wish

I am back from my adventure in China and am just about done with significant jet lag with my first normal night sleep under my belt I can finally get to work again.........

I am so pleased with the success of the Eye to Eye project.

The Eye to Eye team has started a blog where we will share about our project. Right now it is just starting to come together so being a work in progress please check back often. I took lots of pictrures of Shanghai and our project and will be posting them for you to see.

http://www.eyetoeye-intrudes.blogspot.com/

As I enter the new year and reflect on everything that has happened in 2008 I am struck by a new awareness that has come to me. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. I believe this now with all my heart and feel such freedom and contentment from this knowledge. My wish is for everyone to know this in their hearts as well.

I don't know what this new year will bring to me but I am thinking bigger than I ever have before.
Peace and Love ~ Alicia