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Series:

Outbursts

In 2016, before the “Me Too” movement exploded internationally, our San Diego, California Feminist Image Group put out an exhibition call for interpretations of “Feminism Now.”  My entry, She Blazed The Trail So Far, resonated with concerns that we as older artists pass the torch!

In what I now call my “Outburst” series, fiery, funny and disturbing creatures began emerging alongside text and signage. I mixed art, graphics, and collage media, painted, drew, scratched, and glued real objects (even my own hand protection gloves) to a variety of surfaces.

New media messaging, smart phones, and the 24/7 news cycle made me aware of a growing toxicity in environmental and political climates world-wide. The sense of foreboding grew even stronger and many artists heightened their activism. The 2017 Women’s March in San Diego (in conjunction with the “Nasty Women’s Show”) was the last I had the energy to do. My art had to bear witness, communicate, and protest as my body no longer could.

While some of us may enjoy unprecedented liberties, none of us (regardless of race, age, ethnicity, class, or sexuality) is free from our implication in and responsibility to respond to the daily global assaults on women’s lives. Only circumstances separate us at any given moment. There is still so much to do.

Helen and Shira
WTF Installation at City College Art Gallery, 2017. Helen and granddaughter shout-out!
San Diego Women's March 2017
San Diego Women's March , 2017