Picture This

Like many of the musical acts and spoken-word artists in Ladyfest Philly, there aren’t a lot of recognizable names in the visual arts exhibits.

And that's a great thing. It gives the city a chance to see what else is out there. It's something to look forward to. With three exhibitions and about 30 participating artists working in all media, visual arts comprise an impressive component of the Ladyfest project, and a complement to the other events.

Two sister shows are titled "This is State of the Art," one in West Philly at The Last Word Bookshop and one in Center City at William Way Community Center. These group exhibitions represent the wide range of talent and diversity of concepts percolating all over the city. Then there's "5x5(x5)," a show at The Last Drop coffee shop, which asked artists to see what they could create in the space of 5 inches by 5 inches by 5 inches. The answer? A lot.

Elysa Voshell, for instance, contributes small photographs she found in the trash at her grandmother's house; she re-photographed, painted, wrote on and otherwise doctored them to make them meaningful for her. She's working on a book-length compilation of the photos called The Pictures My Grandmother Threw Away. They're funny and moving and reflect an admirable interest in her family history. "I decided that these dynamic women of the past, whose identities and stories had been lost to history, needed to be reclaimed," says Voshell. "As a lesbian, looking at my own family history or even history in general, it is hard to pinpoint where I fit in given so little in the way of role models or precedent. This series is an attempt to celebrate everyday women's strength and sexuality while legitimizing these stories within the realm of the family album and the early 20th-century domestic ideal."

Other "5x5(x5)" participants include Beth Uzwiak, Kate Cicalese, Shira Et-Shalom and Mira Sloane. Work by Talia Greene, Kara Walker, Christine Dallas, Brie MacGill and more is on view at William Way, while Rain Polsky, Kimberlee Traub, Moira Johnston, Rachel Mackow and others are showing work at The Last Word.

"This is State of the Art: West Philly" includes the work of Harmony Thompson, a ceramicist and Ladyfest visual arts committee member. She's contributing a mixed-media piece called I Would Like to Put Some of These Things Back Together, which she says is a departure from her usually functional work. "I was going through a traumatic breakup and feeling torn apart and bonded together at the same time," she says. Thompson's been working in ceramics for about three years; she has no formal training, "but I just fell in love with it."

Such passion obviously fuels these exhibitions, but so does a desire to promote the work of female artists, and the backgrounds of committee members reflect that.

Michelle Wilson, a committee member and participating artist, also co-chairs the Philadelphia chapter of Women's Caucus for Art. The WCA is a national organization that since the early 1970s has worked to increase the recognition of women and minorities in the art world, and the Philadelphia chapter is active, hosting the national WCA conference last year and organizing exhibitions of local artists. Just last Sunday, it unveiled a new mural by Michelle Ortiz on 23rd Street between Arch and Market, which celebrates women in the visual arts. Wilson says Philadelphia is lucky, that women get a fair amount of recognition and are in places of power here, like Anne d'Harnoncourt, director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Wilson's etching, The Comforter, is on view at William Way.

New Yorker Faye Colosi is contributing some of the most outspoken and overtly feminist art. Her work showing at both William Way and The Last Word comes from her "Propaganda" series. She says, "I currently photograph to create images that will provoke change to societal ideals, morals, beliefs, stereotypes and bigotries." Cock and Sterilization Equipment Now Available Over The Counter, she says, come from a collection of "poster-size inkjet prints that radically change the customary popular advertisements we see every day."

The enthusiasm for women-centered projects and exhibitions in the city doesn't seem to be waning and the hard work of thevisual arts committee is drawing attention.

"Besides raising everyone's awareness of the diversity of work being produced by women in the arts and creating a web of connections among women artists in the city, the timing has been advantageous, with Moore just having had the Gloria exhibition exploring feminist art of the '70s," says Voshell. "We've already had some women at U Arts contact us about a show they are organizing in response to Gloria, looking at feminist art being produced now, and the NARAL-PA [National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League-Pennsylvania] will be hosting a benefit show later in the spring.

"It's great to know that the spirit of Ladyfest will be alive and kicking in the city after the festival itself is over."

"This is State of the Art: West Philly," The Last Word Bookshop, 3925 Walnut St., opening reception and spoken word event, Sat., March 22, noon-2 p.m., exhibit runs through March 29; "This is State of the Art: Center City," William Way GLBT Community Center, Philadelphia room, 1315 Spruce St., opening reception Thu., March 20, 5-7 p.m., exhibit runs through March 29; "5x5(x5)," The Last Drop, 13th and Pine sts., exhibit runs through March 30.

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