| |
Joanna Thomas
A Hundred Horses in a Landscape
& Other Collages
October 4– 28, 2007
Opening Reception:
5-8pm
First Thursday, October 4, 2007
Artist will be in attendance the first and final Saturdays
of the month.
Collage artist Joanna Thomas has long been obsessed with the
feminist question, “Why have there been no great women
artists?” In this recent body of work, Thomas continues
her investigation into the why and wherefore of cherished artwork
created by “masters,” and focuses her attention
on the landscape paintings of the Chinese literati
from centuries past.
The Chinese tradition of literati painting began about the 10th
Century and continued for some 1000 years, producing works of
art by wealthy gentlemen scholars who combined the talents of
painting, poetry, and calligraphy to express the Confucian ideals
of the junzi (noble person). Believing that their ethereal
landscape paintings revealed inner moral qualities of the self,
they created scenes of peace and tranquility, depicting man
in complete harmony with nature. During this same time period,
the mothers, wives, and daughters of these culturally elite
gentlemen perpetuated the custom of foot binding, rendering
themselves rather useless, able to walk only short distances,
all in the name of beauty.
Thomas, released from the pointy-toed, spike-heeled shoes she
wore as a cocktail waitress, finds satisfaction in adding collage
elements to the meticulous brushstrokes of gentlemen scholars,
and, not unlike a graffiti artist, seeks to both embellish and
deface. She is currently an undergraduate at Central Washington
University, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Humanities,
with a minor in Women’s Studies, and is fast approaching
her sixtieth birthday.
Hours: Noon-5pm Friday-Sunday,
or by appointment.
Next Exhibition:
Vertical Hold
(more info to come)
|
|
Download
Press Release
in Word format
Download High-Resolution
Image
Right-click and choose "save as"
|
|
