Mary Beth Edelson “Shape Shifter”
David Lewis Gallery
[Image: Mary Beth Edelson, Woman Rising, Henri Gallery, Washington, D.C., 1974-1975]
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Excerpt from “Mary Beth Edelson: Woman Rising” by Ann Stubbs, 1974
“…Edelson is in the process of completing a series of 8’ wood cut-outs of the Great Goddess; she is involved in the psychological and philosophical archetypes of the goddess; the goddess figure across time and diverse cultures attracts her deeply. These figures, utilizing both abstract and figurative elements in an integrated whole, are strongly evocative of the Shamanic tradition with deeply African overtones. The memory of the Greek-Celtic goddesses is also being called into play here as well as Paleolithic goddesses and North and South American goddesses. The figures also bear the signs and symbols, the marking of Jungian archetypes. In these pieces she evoke in the classic Shamanic way the essence of earth and sky, of mountains and of circles and suns, birds, moon, sea, shells, and trees.
The cutouts, with their towering presence, suggest vertical upwardness and the image of rising. The motifs carry out various aspects of the symbols older civilizations — in a contemporary way. The pieces, while very painterly, are deeply bound to drawing in the form of markings and scratchings and painter lines. The size evokes the image of a door or passages which fulfill a major theme in her work. The markings and scratchings also recall the countings of women in ancient cultures, marking the time between their cycles. The cutouts work both as individual goddesses and as a group or tribe of goddesses. Mary Beth Edelson’s central value resides not merely in individual works of art, but as an artist and woman acting responsibility in an on-going current situation…speaking and acting to present needs of present situations. She is a mover of current values in the art world and a creator of new values with a deeply female vision that sets a tone and standard for a continuing dialogue on women’s art, its images, and values.”
Media
Schedule
from March 03, 2019 to April 14, 2019
Opening Reception on 2019-03-03 from 18:00 to 20:00