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Cover: “I Eat No for Breakfast” by Kimberley Wiseman
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REWRITING HERSTORY VOLUME ONE
DRAWING ROOMS 926 Newark Ave., Jersey City, NJ victory hall press
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REWRITING HERSTORY: An International Exhibit Honoring Inspiring Women Volume One: Women Making the World Better Today is March 7, 2022. We’re coming off 2+ years of Covid 19 and a challenging election which resulted in the first Black/Asian woman as Vice President. During this time we decided to focus on something positive by celebrating women whose deeds impacted the world. We put out an international call and accepted submissions that feature women known to the general public, as well as others who have not yet gotten their due. On the subsequent pages, you’ll see a few women portrayed by multiple artists, including, not surprisingly, Michelle Obama and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We hope you see women you are also inspired by and are introduced to others you are excited to learn about. The Year of the Woman was a popular label for 1992, after the election resulted in 5 female US Senators. The term has also been used to refer to the 2018 House elections, in which a record 103 women were elected. Now, in 2022, 125 women represent 27.9% of the total 117th US House of Representatives. In 2016, Hillary Clinton spoke of the glass ceiling, a metaphor which refers to an invisible barrier that prevents women and minorities from moving forward. In 2020, Kamala Harris broke that ceiling hard and shattered glass was heard around the world when she made history as the first woman and woman of color as Vice President.
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So many women in government stood up to the powers that be to help save our democracy. So many women’s accomplishments in every field haven’t gotten the same attention that men have - women making the world better, women in music and dance, sports and the written word, tv, radio, cinema and theatre, science and math, and the visual arts Straight, gay, trans, Black, Brown, Asian, Indigenous, White, etc– women have not been fairly represented. After all, history was written by men. This exhibition and catalog attempts to set the record straight and rewrite history to include herstory. We want to honor all inspiring women (special shout out to BIPOC)— contemporary, as well as throughout history, and national, as well as international women. We want to tell their stories visually and through text. “I say, It’s the fire in my eyes, And the flash of my teeth, The swing in my waist, And the joy in my feet, I’m a woman, Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That’s me.” -- Maya Angelou Anne Trauben Exhibitions Director, Curator, Drawing Rooms
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Women Making the World Better Agnieszka Wszolkowska Jersey City, NJ, USA
After the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I began reading articles that discussed her Polish heritage. I noticed her signature collar was similar to one I wore as a child as a required part of my uniform for school.
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Oczko ścisłe, 2020 Acrylic on Canvas 40 × 48 in
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Women Making the World Better Alice Harrison Morristown, NJ, USA
I have been inspired by Stacey Abrams as a politician, lawyer and most of all as a voting rights activist. She has accomplished so much for the state of Georgia, the country, and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. And what tickles my fancy is that she is the author of several romantic suspense novels. My piece is about finding oneself through the surge of the ocean’s waves – holding on to our individuality and our pursuits of rights. “Invention, discovery, and empires are built of chances taken with high degrees of failure” --Stacey Abrams.
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Alice Harrison, Find Yourself 2, 2020, Paper, 8 × 10 in
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Women Making the World Better Alice Harrison Morristown, NJ, USA
I have been inspired by Stacey Abrams as a politician, lawyer and most of all as a voting rights activist. She has accomplished so much for the state of Georgia, the country, and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. And what tickles my fancy is that she is the author of several romantic suspense novels. My piece celebrates the possibility of open doors- openness and transparency. “When we show up, act boldly, and practice the best ways to be wrong, we fail forward. No matter where we end up, we’ve grown from where we began.” --Stacey Abrams
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Alice Harrison, Open Doors 2, 2020, Acrylic, Collage, Encaustic on Canvas, 16 × 20 in
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Women Making the World Better Alice Harrison Morristown, NJ, USA
I have been inspired by Stacey Abrams as a politician, lawyer and most of all as a voting rights activist. She has accomplished so much for the state of Georgia, the country, and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. And what tickles my fancy is that she is the author of several romantic suspense novels. My piece is about portraying individual journeys. “We will all, at some point, encounter hurdles to gaining access and entry, moving up and conquering self-doubt; but on the other side is the capacity to own opportunity and tell our own story.” --Stacey Abrams
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Alice Harrison, Your Story 2, 2020, Acrylic and Mixed Media Collage, 36 × 36 in
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Women Making the World Better Barbara Slitkin New York, NY, USA
When King George VI succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 56, his 25-yearold daughter became the sixth woman in history to ascend to the British throne. Her formal coronation as Queen Elizabeth II took place on June 2, 1953, in Westminster Abbey. Art can come seemingly out of thin air letting images come, as they reveal themselves to me. Ideas spring forth from me one after the other. It is not usually flushed out, that happens as I go. That is how I came to making this image of Queen Elizabeth II. This was not a preconceived image; she became an iconic figure who must have ingratiated herself into my subconscious. She is a prominent woman figurehead on the world stage for every generation of women alive today.
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Barbara Slitkin, Queen, 2020, Clay, Glaze, 6 × 8 × 6 in
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Women Making the World Better Caridad Kennedy Hoboken, NJ, USA
Sonia Sotomayor, born 6/25/54, Bronx, NY, U.S., was raised in a Bronx housing project by her Puerto Rican parents. After her father’s death, she was raised single-handedly by her mother. I chose to collage the logo of The Encyclopedia Britannica in the neck of the robe to represent her mother who had worked hard to save enough to buy her a set. The robe hangs on a clothesline intended to represent Sotomayor’s own early awareness that she wanted to become a judge. Sotomayor would rise above adversity to become the first Latinx Supreme Court Justice and the third woman to serve on the Supreme Court. This piece is a narrative mixed media painting containing symbols and elements depicting the story of Justice Sotomayor’s childhood.
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Caridad Kennedy, The Rise of Sonia Sotomayor, 2021, Mixed Media, 18 × 22 in
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Women Making the World Better Carole Kunstadt West Hurley, NY, USA
Margaret Fuller (1810 – 1850) was an educator, social reformer, critic, abolitionist, and the first American female foreign correspondent and women’s rights advocate. One of her most significant works, Woman in the Nineteenth Century, has become one of the major documents in American feminism. As an advocate for women’s education and the right to employment, Fuller argued that “we would have every path laid open to Woman as freely as to Man.” Her writings of the 1840’s gave birth to the idea of empowerment of women, a “fullness of being” for both men and women and ultimately feminist ideals. An ostrich egg’s interior surface is densely lined with the text from Margaret Fuller’s essay published in 1855, providing a nest for the gestation of her feminist ideals, all nestled on twigs. (In the late 18th century, ostriches were nearly brought to extinction by hunting because their feathers were very fashionable in women’s clothing and the eggs highly collectible in the decorative arts.)
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Carole P. Kunstadt, OVUM II-Homage to Margaret Fuller, 2016, Ostrich Egg, Twigs, Paper, Pages by Margaret Fuller, 5 3/4 × 10 1/2 × 8 1/2 in
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Women Making the World Better Carole P. Kunstadt West Hurley, NY, USA
Margaret Fuller (1810 – 1850) was an educator, social reformer, critic, abolitionist, and the first American female foreign correspondent and women’s rights advocate. One of her most significant works, Woman in the Nineteenth Century, has become one of the major documents in American feminism. As an advocate for women’s education and the right to employment, Fuller argued that “we would have every path laid open to Woman as freely as to Man.” Her writings of the 1840’s, gave birth to the idea of empowerment of women, a “fullness of being” for both men and women and ultimately feminist ideals. Fragments of Margaret Fuller’s text published in 1855 cover a vintage metal egg basket filled with the wooden nesting eggs used to train chickens where to lay their eggs. The combination of artifact, with the implication of her words, provides a metaphor of promise, nourishment and hope, as well as symbolic of vulnerability and perseverance.
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Carole P. Kunstadt, OVUM III-Homage to Margaret Fuller, 2018, Antique Metal Egg Basket, Wooden Nesting Eggs (ca. 1920), pages by Margaret Fuller, 11 × 8 × 8 in
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Women Making the World Better Carole Kunstadt West Hurley, NY, USA
Margaret Fuller (1810 – 1850) was an educator, social reformer, critic, abolitionist, and the first American female foreign correspondent and women’s rights advocate. One of her most significant works, Woman in the Nineteenth Century, has become one of the major documents in American feminism. As an advocate for women’s education and the right to employment, Fuller argued that “we would have every path laid open to Woman as freely as to Man.” Her writings of the 1840’s, gave birth to the idea of empowerment of women, a “fullness of being” for both men and women and ultimately feminist ideals. A found bird’s nest cradles a porcelain egg coated with sand and a few white down feathers, symbols of spiritual enlightenment. Fragments from Margaret Fuller’s text published in 1855 line the nest. Eggs are a metaphor for gestation, abundance, promise and rebirth as well as symbolic of vulnerability and perseverance. Eggs embody the idea of rejuvenation and rebirth in the cycle of life, reflected also in its shape, with neither beginning nor end.
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Carole P. Kunstadt, OVUM XI-Homage to Margaret Fuller, 2018, Found Bird Nest, Feathers, Sand Covered Porcelain Egg, Paper, Fragments of Margaret Fuller’s Writing, 9 × 9 × 5 in
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Women Making the World Better Carole Kunstadt West Hurley, NY, USA
Margaret Fuller (1810 – 1850) was an educator, social reformer, critic, abolitionist, and the first American female foreign correspondent and women’s rights advocate. One of her most significant works, Woman in the Nineteenth Century, has become one of the major documents in American feminism. As an advocate for women’s education and the right to employment, Fuller argued that “we would have every path laid open to Woman as freely as to Man.” Her writings of the 1840’s, gave birth to the idea of empowerment of women, a “fullness of being” for both men and women and ultimately feminist ideals. An antique coal miner’s wooden canary cage cradles a wooden egg covered in text from Woman of the Nineteenth Century, by Margaret Fuller, 1855. Coal miners brought caged canaries into the coal mines as an early warning sign for toxic gasses, primarily carbon monoxide. The birds would become sick before the miners, who would then have a chance to escape or put on protective respirators. Fuller’s writings examine the cultural restrictions for women in the early 1800’s exposing the limitations, inequalities and the toxic environment imposed upon the female population.
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Carole P. Kunstadt, OVUM XXVII-Homage to Margaret Fuller, 2020, Antique Coal Miner’s Wooden Canary Cage, Feathers, Wooden Eggs, Paper, 6 1/4 × 5 × 6 1/4 in
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Women Making the World Better Christy E. O’Connor Middletown, NJ, USA
The first time I learned of Angela Davis is when I watched a recording of her being interviewed on the question on violence and revolution. It was one of the most moving interviews I had ever seen, and although recorded decades ago, still remains relevant today. Writer, activist and educator Angela Davis was born on January 26, 1944, in Birmingham, Alabama. She grew up in a middle class neighborhood dubbed “Dynamite Hill,” due to many of the African-American homes in the area that were bombed by the Ku Klux Klan. Davis is best known as a radical African-American educator and activist for civil rights and other social issues. She knew about racial prejudice from her experiences with discrimination growing up in Alabama. As a teenager, Davis organized interracial study groups, which were broken up by the police. She also knew some of the four AfricanAmerican girls killed in the Birmingham church bombing of 1963. As a graduate student at the University of California, San Diego, in the late 1960s, she was associated with several groups including the Black Panthers. A woman ahead of her time, she focused much of her writing and advocacy on race, gender, and the modern day prison system. This 2-D mixed media piece was made with acrylic, ink, paper collage, needle and thread, crocheted lace doilies. The inside of her skirts were sewn with black thread to mimic the exterior of a prison wall and barbed wire.
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Christy O’Connor, Radical, 2021,Mixed Media on Paper, 38 × 42 in
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Women Making the World Better Colleen Rae Smiley Brooklyn, NY, USA
I am inspired by the Women’s Suffrage Movement, the 19th Amendment, as it changed the world as we knew it. The power that has radiated from that movement is immeasurable. The women involved were very clear and pointed in what and how they were saying things and their representation in the larger world down to the colors they wore. The colors, shape, flowers, font and stars all represent this movement. Purple: loyalty White: purity Gold and Green: Hope. Stars represent states ratified. Sunflowers represent the Kansas campaign. Yellow roses represent women’s right to vote. The shape is a placard an activist wore with those words. Art Nouveau was a parallel movement that influenced their aesthetic, hence the font choice.
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Colleen Rae Smiley, Deeds Not Words, 2020, New, vintage, Remnant Fabrics, Reclaimed Velvet Bard Graduate Center, Antique Ribbon Trim, Vintage Freemason Ceremonial Piece, 66 × 79 in
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Women Making the World Better Debra Livingston Scotch Plains, NJ, USA
I was deeply moved when I heard Amanda Gorman recite her poem at President Biden’s inauguration. She is an important voice for the next generation of women. I painted Amanda Gorman’s face in bright colors. Part of her presidential poem is overlaid in red. I deliberately wanted to have some of the words melt into her face.
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Debra Livington, Presidential Poetry, 2020, Acrylic, 11 × 14 in
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Women Making the World Better Eileen Hoffman Brooklyn, NY, USA
The women of the 2017 Women’s March on Washington, D.C. are a diverse group that got up at the crack of dawn to travel to participate in creating the largest single-day demonstration in U.S. history. This was a peaceful demonstration and powerful march. That empowerment set the tone for the next four years as they fought destructive leadership. What interests me about these women is the individual and untold stories that inspired each of them to participate in the march. The “Demonstrator’s Bags” are inspired from the clear backpacks people were asked to carry at the Women’s March on Washington, D.C., in 2017. In this work, the clear bag serves as a metaphor—a container for the hidden stories of women’s lives. I cover the Dura-lar with patterns and semi-asemic writings which become ‘the poetry of the hidden stories’.
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Eileen Hoffman, Suite of Demonstrators Bags, 2021, Mixed Media, 30 × 64 × 5 in
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Women Making the World Better Ellen Alt New York, NY, USA
I learned about Hannah Szenes in Hebrew School. She was a poet and a hero. She parachuted into Yugoslavia during the Second World War to assist anti-Nazi forces and ultimately in the rescue of Hungarian Jews about to be deported to the German death camp at Auschwitz. Szenes was arrested at the Hungarian border, then imprisoned and tortured, but refused to reveal details of her mission. She was eventually tried and executed by firing squad. Eli, Eli, one of her most famous poems, is also a song. I turned it into a calligraphic rendering in both Hebrew and English, with the sizes of the writing reverberating her meaning.
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Ellen Alt, Eli, Eli, 2021, Ink on Paper, 23 × 29 in
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Women Making the World Better Gail Smuda Concord, NH, USA
The idea of a strong and capable woman, Rosie the Riveter, is a symbol of the war effort and it’s interesting that the image is used and reused in so many periods following WWII. My piece is a slightly different image that echoes the traditional war time image of a woman who is strong and capable.
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Gail Smuda, Doing What Needs To Be Done, 2017, Fibers, 22 × 30 in
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Women Making the World Better Gail Smuda Concord, NH, USA
The Suffragettes were heroes to me because they marched to make the world a more equal place for women. The top row of images hanging from the clothesline were the “unknown” women and the bottom row were those women who used their name and position in society to create change.
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Gail Smuda, Suffragettes, 2018, Fibers, 27 × 15 in
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Women Making the World Better Gail Smuda Concord, NH, USA
Stanton to Steinem represents women who used a variety of methods in order to advance women’s rights. A hat box contains dollies on which the names of a variety of activists have been embroidered. Delicate and seemingly fragile fabric holds the names of women who braved society’s disapproval in order to advance women and their causes.
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Gail Smuda, Women Advancing Women, 2018, Fibers, 7 × 7 × 4 in
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Women Making the World Better Gail Winbury East Orange, NJ, USA
The inception of this painting, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, was about a girl’s sexual/physical violation. But listening to Dr Ford testify during the Kavanaugh hearings, it became about the rage, courage, integrity and vulnerability of Dr. Ford. Her voice and strength in testifying was a tribute to, and a voice for, girls and women who experienced sexual violence through out the world. She fought misogyny and the power structure at risk to her family and herself. This painting is composed of layers of oil paint, pigment stick, graphite and cold wax. The layers hide and reveal the fear, distress and rage in violation. The gestural brush work gives a power and movement to the piece. It also represents the somewhat fragmented way such a trauma is recalled. It is not, nor is it meant to be a pretty painting. The strength, vulnerability, power and scariness of the painting is intentional. It is dedicated to Dr Ford.
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Gail Winbury, She Told Them No, 2018, Oil and Cold Wax, 40 × 50 × 1 in
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Women Making the World Better Helena Wadsley Vancouver, BC, Canada
Georgina Hill, Sara Anne McLagan, Pearl Steen, Mary McNaughton, and Mrs. James Macaulay were the first five presidents of the Vancouver Council of Women, founded in 1894. These women fought for the vote and to have women on the police force, among many other rights that women did not yet have. This piece intends to revive their names and those of others who fought for rights we forget women did not have in the not so distant past. Vancouver Council of Women is composed of five chemises, each with the monogram of one of the first five presidents of the council, and the dates of their terms. Also painted onto the fabric are broadleaf maple trees, representing the tree that stood outside their first office 125 years ago. The gowns are arranged as if they are dancing and pushing the younger women upwards, symbolizing the power of teamwork and women supporting women to overcome resistance.
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Helena Wadsley, Vancouver Council Of Women, 2020, Fabric and Pigment, 69 × 39 × 26 in
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Women Making the World Better Hilda Green Demsky Larchmont, NY, USA
Former Congresswoman Nita Lowey served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1989 to 2021. She sponsored 26 bills that were enacted: a record, about social welfare, the armed forces, National Security and Health & Energy. She accomplished so much for our country, but was also very accessible to her home constituents. The United States flag is a patriotic symbol which I emblazoned across her forehead. It is also a symbol of a great woman with brains and compassion.
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Hilda Green Demsky, Nita Lowey, 2020, Oil on Canvas, 40 × 40
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Women Making the World Better Huey-Min Chuang Brooklyn, NY, USA
Named the 37th most powerful women in the world by Forbes and one of 100 most influential people by Time magazine in 2020, Ms. Tsai Ing-Wen is the first female president of Taiwan. She was elected in 2016, now serving her second term. She is a defender of cultures and languages, LGBT rights, judicial and labor reforms, green energy, national defense policies, democracy, and peaceful cross-strait relations. During Covid-19, under her stewardship, Taiwan had one of the lowest COVID-19 cases in the world, with fewer than 400 confirmed cases out of a 24 million people in the country. Nine cats peer out of high rise windows cheering on President Tsai who is notorious for being a lover of felines. Pineapples, an abundant Taiwanese crop, are peppered throughout the drawing, sending welcome mats to hundreds of visitors, prospering communities, and towering green bushes. A country is in plum bloom (Taiwan national flower) under her watch. She is looking out for her people, her country. As a visionary woman, she is my role model.
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Huey-Min Chuang, Nine Lives Peering, 2021, Mixed Media, 11 × 14 in
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Women Making the World Better Huey-Min Chuang Brooklyn, NY, USA
Sonia Maria Sotomayor is a Supreme Court Justice of the United States since August 8th, 2009. She is the first Hispanic and Latina member of the Court, and she hails from the Bronx, NYC. She inspires me with her determination, tenacity, bravery, and love for humanity. She turns her challenges into learning lessons to build upon for making new opportunities. She does not let her circumstances become her permanent station in life. Sometimes, beauty blossoms in unexpected places, as long as you keep tendering and watering it with sunshine. The bright red flowers speak to the power of Sotomayor in making the impossible possible. She is like a bird, flying high onto new grounds and delivering songs of freedom, justice, and equality for all. She weaves our dreams into law, like the moon we look up to in the darkness of night guiding us through the breaking of dawn.
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Huey-Min Chuang, Breaking Dawn, 2020, Mixed Media, 7 × 10 in
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Women Making the World Better Huey-Min Chuang Brooklyn, NY, USA
Ms. Lung Ying-Tai is the inaugural Minister of Culture of Taiwan. She has worn many hats and her courage keeps her expanding with immense curiosity. She is an activist, change maker, trailblazer, thinker, writer, truth seeker, essayist, and lately a young farmer of life and of the seasons. She spreads wild fires of discussions on civility, democracy, freedom, intergenerational understandings, political history of Taiwan and whatever concerns her in the world, making the invisible visible. Like her last name, Lung represents a fierce dragon for all the ages, especially in troubled times. “Seeds are sown. Crops blossom, food sources celebrated. In the beginning, everything is possible.” This painting brings out Ms. Lung, as she fans the fire of curiosity with the passages of pages and lines. The alphabet soup makes up for words spoken, yet to be formed, intentionally and measured for impact. Pansies flourish intertwined with the messages of “I am thinking of you.” --Ms. Lung Ying-Tai Scarecrows in the distance swoosh away predators in the field and critics in the world. Never underestimate the power of one. One can make a difference in the world. Many can become one, united.
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Huey-Min Chuang, Fanning the Fire of Curiosity, 2021, Watercolor, 11 × 14 in
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Women Making the World Better Huey-Min Chuang Brooklyn, NY, USA
Empress Masako of Japan ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019. Masako was educated at Harvard and Oxford, lived in Moscow and New York, and had a thriving career as a diplomat prior to her marriage to Emperor Naruhito in 1993. At 57 years of age, she continues to inspire the world with issues of gender equality and topics of emotional related illnesses. She embodies the quiet power of leadership, the elasticity of resilience, and hope for the future. Empress Masako is sitting with layers of green, blue, purple, red, and golden hues looking on with intensity. She is wearing the Junihitoe kimono, a Heian period aristocratic outfit from the middle ages in Japan. A jumping fish is seen at the center of her dress. This symbolizes “enough, or plenty and freedom – a place where she desires to be. She represents the height of beauty and holds within herself the great many depths of her personality. She is surrounded by blooming chrysanthemums that are symbols of royalty, longevity, loyalty, and the arrival of the autumn harvest.
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Huey-Min Chuang, For Love of Husband and Country Empress Masako, 2021, Watercolor, 14 × 11 in
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Women Making the World Better Irmari Nacht Englewood, NJ, USA
Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were suffragists, women’s rights activists, and abolitionists, as well as writers for these causes. They were at the forefront of the Women’s Rights movement; published newspapers, traveled around the country giving speeches, and formed organizations, like the American Equal Rights Association, championing equal rights for both women and African Americans. I admire their determination, ability, and leadership, which continued for over a half century; what’s not to like! Recycled Identity 8 is from a series of faces on 6x6”canvases of different women combined into one image. Although each woman comes with her own separate baggage, personality, or memories, when combined with another’s image, they meld and take on a fused identity. The images of EC Stanton and SB Anthony show two distinctly different women who worked together almost as one. Elizabeth, (soft, motherly and friendly, married with 7 children) and Susan (harsh, severe and somewhat forbidding, never married) were, nevertheless, life-long friends and co-workers for women’s rights and social reform.
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Irmari Nacht, Recycled Identity 8, 2019, Collage, 12 1/2 × 12 1/2 in
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Women Making the World Better Julie Marie Seibert Jersey City, NJ, USA
Debra Haaland is one of the first two Native American women elected to the US Congress. Haaland has been nominated by President Biden as Secretary of the Interior. If confirmed, she would be the first Native American to run the Department of the Interior and the first Native American Cabinet secretary in US history. Haaland is a revolutionary Woman Making the World Better. This piece is part of an on-going series of portraits, entitled Painted Stitches. Paying homage to dynamic women of color who have worked towards implementing and influencing socio-political shifts. The thread becomes a tool for mark making. Linking the history of political portraiture and the traditional role of the feminine in fiber arts has given me a chance to deeply explore how the relationship of medium to context invites the viewer to interact with a work of art.
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Julie Marie Seibert, Deb Haaland, 2020, Cotton and Thread on Canvas, 12 × 12 in
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Women Making the World Better Julie Marie Seibert Jersey City, NJ, USA
Kamala Harris is the first woman, African American, and Asian American serving as US VP. She is among a few Women Making the World Better for the rest of us mixed-race women. Throughout my life, I find myself linked to a complex overlay of multiple identities, fueling an ever-present feeling of impostor syndrome. I suspect Kamala Harris spent much of her career and her life experiencing similar moments of doubts. Yet she is working tirelessly so that women like me feel represented and feel seen. This piece is part of an on-going series of portraits, entitled Painted Stitches. Paying homage to dynamic women of color who have worked towards implementing and influencing socio-political shifts. The thread becomes a tool for mark making. Linking the history of political portraiture and the traditional role of the feminine in fiber arts has given me a chance to deeply explore how the relationship of medium to context invites the viewer to interact with a work of art.
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Julie Marie Seibert, Kamala Harris, 2020, Cotton and Thread on Canvas, 12 × 12 in
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Women Making the World Better Julie Marie Seibert Jersey City, NJ, USA
Ilhan Omar is an original member of The Squad, a group of Democratic members of the US House of Representatives known for being diverse, younger, and among the most progressive members of the government. Omar is the first woman of color to represent Minnesota in Congress. She is also the first Somali American and the first naturalized citizen of African birth and one of the first two Muslim women to serve. The original Squad inspired my work because they consist of Women Making the World Better. This piece is part of an on-going series of portraits, entitled Painted Stitches. Paying homage to dynamic women of color who have worked towards implementing and influencing socio-political shifts. The thread becomes a tool for mark making. Linking the history of political portraiture and the traditional role of the feminine in fiber arts has given me a chance to deeply explore how the relationship of medium to context invites the viewer to interact with a work of art.
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Julie Marie Seibert, Ilhan Omar, 2019, Cotton and Thread on Canvas, 12 × 12 in
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Women Making the World Better Julie Marie Seibert Jersey City, NJ, USA
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also known as AOC, is an original member of The Squad, a group of Democratic members of the US House of Representatives known for being diverse, younger, and among the most progressive members of the government. Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest woman ever to serve in the US Congress. The original Squad inspired my work because they consist of women making the world better. This piece is part of an on-going series of portraits, entitled Painted Stitches. Paying homage to dynamic women of color who have worked towards implementing and influencing socio-political shifts. The thread becomes a tool for mark making. Linking the history of political portraiture and the traditional role of the feminine in fiber arts has given me a chance to deeply explore how the relationship of medium to context invites the viewer to interact with a work of art.
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Julie Marie Seibert, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, 2019, Cotton and Thread on Canvas, 12 × 12 in
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Women Making the World Better Julie Marie Seibert Jersey City, NJ, USA
Rashida Tlaib is an original member of The Squad, a group of Democratic members of the US House of Representatives known for being diverse, younger, and among the most progressive members of the government. Tlaib became the first woman of Palestinian descent as well as one of the first two Muslim women to serve in Congress. The original Squad inspired my work because they consist of women making the world better. This piece is part of an on-going series of portraits, entitled Painted Stitches. Paying homage to dynamic women of color who have worked towards implementing and influencing socio-political shifts. The thread becomes a tool for mark making. Linking the history of political portraiture and the traditional role of the feminine in fiber arts has given me a chance to deeply explore how the relationship of medium to context invites the viewer to interact with a work of art.
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Julie Marie Seibert, Rashida Tlaib, 2020, Cotton and Thread on Canvas, 12 × 12 in
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Women Making the World Better Julie Marie Seibert Jersey City, NJ, USA
Ayanna Pressley is an original member of The Squad, a group of Democratic members of the US House of Representatives known for being diverse, younger, and among the most progressive members of the government. Pressley was the first black woman elected to the Congress from Massachusetts. The original Squad inspired my work because they consist of Women Making the World Better. This piece is part of an on-going series of portraits, entitled Painted Stitches. Paying homage to dynamic women of color who have worked towards implementing and influencing socio-political shifts. The thread becomes a tool for mark making. Linking the history of political portraiture and the traditional role of the feminine in fiber arts has given me a chance to deeply explore how the relationship of medium to context invites the viewer to interact with a work of art.
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Julie Marie Seibert, Ayanna Pressley, 2020, Cotton and Thread on Canvas, 12 × 12 in
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Women Making the World Better Kimberley Wiseman Jersey City, NJ, USA
Ruth Bader Ginsburg never compromised her beliefs or ideals. She was so dignified and fought for women everywhere. One of her quotes is “Fight for the things you care about, but do it in a way that leads others to join you.” I love that she is sitting in this regal chair. I almost want to put a Basquiat-style crown on her, but her words are that crown.
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Kimberley Wiseman, Fight for the Things You Care About, 2020, Gouache and Pen and Ink on Paper, 24 × 18 in
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Women Making the World Better Kimberley Wiseman Jersey City, NJ, USA
Despite those that resist change, we have, astoundingly, elected Kamala Harris, a woman of color, to serve as the second most powerful person in this country. “I eat no for breakfast” is a quote she said in an interview right before she took office.
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Kimberley Wiseman, I Eat No for Breakfast, 2020, Gouache and Pen and Ink on Paper, 24 × 18 in
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Women Making the World Better Kimberley Wiseman Jersey City, NJ, USA
“Freedom and justice cannot be parceled out in pieces to suit political convenience. I don’t believe you can stand for freedom for one group of people and deny it to others.” --Coretta Scott King
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Kimberley Wiseman, Coretta, 2020, Gouache and Pen and Ink on Paper, 11 × 14 in
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Women Making the World Better Kimberley Wiseman Jersey City, NJ, USA
I am fascinated by Donyale Luna ‘s story. British Vogue wrote “The first black model to appear on the cover of this magazine, Donyale Luna’s pioneering spirit was eventually eclipsed by sensationalized stories about her private life. Now, 40 years after her death, her daughter, Dream Cazzaniga, celebrates her true legacy.”
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Kimberley Wiseman, Donalye Luna, 2020, Gouache and Pen and Ink on Paper, 11 × 14 in
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Women Making the World Better Kimberley Wiseman Jersey City, NJ, USA
Whether you love her or hate her, Hillary Clinton’s accomplishments are incredible. Despite a lot of struggle and adversity, she has persevered and succeeded.
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Kimberley Wiseman, Hillary, 2020, Gouache on Paper, 11 × 15 in
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Women Making the World Better Kristin Reed Brooklyn, NY, USA
Angela Davis is an activist, educator—active in the 60s in the Civil Rights Movement and most associated with the Black Panther Party. Cristina Jiménez is Exec Dir & Co-founder of United We Dream—the largest immigrant youth-led org in the country. She is arrived at 13 from Ecuador undocumented. Stacey Abrams is a politician, lawyer, and voting rights activist, serving the GA House of Reps from 2007–17. She founded Fair Fight Action on voter suppression in 2018. She is credited with boosting voter turnout in the GA ‘20 election and special election, giving Dems control over the Senate in ‘21. These 3 posters are part of a series of 12 created for the Women’s March on D.C. in Jan 2017 with help of Caron Atlas of Arts & Democracy. They have been updated to reflect some more recent heroines.
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Kristin Reed, We Are Bravery Vision Truth, 2021, Digital Print, 7 1/2 × 10 in
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Women Making the World Better Kristin Reed Brooklyn, NY, USA
Lucy McBath, mom of Jordan Davis, killed in 2012 for playing music in a gas station in FL. She has become an advocate for gun control, BLM and a Rep for GA’s 6th Dist. Ai-jen Poo is co-founder and Exec Dir. of Nat. Domestic Workers Alliance, bringing dignity and fairness to those who care and clean in our homes. She serves as a Senior Advisor to Care in Action, a group giving voice to domestic workers. Madonna Thunder Hawk, is a Native Am civil rights activist, leader in AIM and organizer against DAPL. She co-founded the Wm of All Red Nations, and organizes for Lakota People’s Law Project. These three pieces are part of a group of 12 posters created for The Women’s March on D.C. in Jan 2017. Each was carried by a woman who marched together with me.
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Kristin Reed, We Are Love Compassion Protection, 2021, Digital Print, 7 1/2 × 10 in
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Women Making the World Better Kristin Reed Brooklyn, NY, USA
Michelle Obama is a lawyer and writer who was FLOTUS from 2009 to 2017. She is married to the 44th President of the US, Barack Obama, and was the first African-American First Lady. Ruth Bader Ginsberg was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by Bill Clinton and took the oath of office in 1993. She passed away last year. Eleanor Roosevelt was the longest-serving FLOTUS, having held the post from 1933–45 during her husband Franklin D. Roosevelt’s four terms in office. She served as U.S. Delegate to the UN from 1945–52. All 3 are idols of mine. These three pieces are part of a group of 12 posters created for The Women’s March on D.C. in Jan 2017. Each was carried by a woman who marched together with me.
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Kristin Reed, We Are Dignity Honor Wisdom, 2021, Digital Print, 7 1/2 × 10 in
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Women Making the World Better Kristin Reed Brooklyn, NY, USA
Ghazala Khan is mother of US Army Captain Humayun Khan, killed in 2004 in Iraq. She and Khizr Khan spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Fannie Lou Hamer was an Am. civil rights leader, organizing Mississippi’s Freedom Summer for SNCC, and later the vice-chair of the Mississippi Freedom Dem Party, which she represented at the ‘64 DNC. Whit Hu is a young, tireless co-organizer for S. Brooklyn Mutual Aid. During COVID she stepped up to offer “solidarity not charity, we’re neighbors helping neighbors.” In an immigrant community often denied resources from NYC, NYS, and US Governments. These three pieces are part of a group of 12 posters created for The Women’s March on D.C. in Jan 2017. Each was carried by a woman who marched together with me.
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Kristin Reed, We Are Strength Sacrifice Perseverance, 2021, Digital Print, 7 1/2 × 10 in
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Women Making the World Better Laura Mychal New York, NY, USA
Obviously, Kamala Harris becoming the first woman Vice President and the first woman of color to be in that role is inspiring. And, the tenacity, the dedication and hard work it took to get there is what truly inspires me and so many others. I also love that she’s from the Bay Area like me! I made this portrait immediately after Kamala Harris was voted into office. After such a tumultuous four years, full of sexism and racism, to see her step into that position of power was like the biggest breath of fresh air that I’d had in a long time. I wanted to paint a portrait of her looking powerful and classic, and so used a grayscale to do so. I used the “Thank You” part of plastic bags in the background to demonstrate my gratitude for her and her hard work.
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Laura Mychal, Thank You Kamala, 2020, Plastic Bag, Acrylic and Oil on Canvas, 20 × 16 in
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Women Making the World Better Laurel Garcia Colvin Santa Fe, NM, USA
Ada Lovelace was an English mathematician who was not given credit at that time for her work on Charles Babbage’s proposed mechanical general purpose computer, the Analytical Engine, in the 1830’s. She was the first to recognize that the machine hand applications beyond just calculation. She published the first algorithm intended to be carried out by the machine and is regarded as the first computer programmer. The fabric toile piece is entitled “Oh Ada, what hast thou wrought or what’s love got to do with it?”. It honors her work on the development of computers and algorithms that are used today on our computers, phones and the apps we use to take photos and communicate romantic thoughts to friends and companions, something I doubt she ever imagined.
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Laurel Garcia Colvin, Oh Ada, What Hast Thou Wrought or What’s Love Got To Do With It?, 2020, Commercially Printed Fabric, 27 × 18 in
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Women Making the World Better Laurel Garcia Colvin Santa Fe, NM, USA
All women who have entered politics inspire me, especially women of color, such as Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan, Kamala Harris, Maxine Waters and Stacey Abrams. The work of women throughout history who fought for civil rights and to gain the right for women to vote are just as inspiring: Eleanor Roosevelt, Ida B. Wells, Alice Paul, Fannie Lou Hammer, Ella Baker, Rosa Parks, Annie Lumpkin, Coretta Scott King, Harriet Tubman. This piece is one of a series of fabric toile designs celebrating women and their unsung contributions to the world in the arts, politics, and science. This piece was created in honor of Vice President Kamala Harris.
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Laurel Garcia Colvin, My VP Looks Like Me, 2020, Commercially Printed Fabric, 27 × 18 in
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Women Making the World Better Laurel Garcia Colvin Santa Fe, NM, USA
Lilly Ledbetter fought for equal pay through the courts, but it was not until Congress passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 that pay equity was somewhat remedied, somewhat. This continues to be an issue for women in many professions.
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Laurel Garcia Colvin, Dear Lilly, We May Be Opening Doors, ca. 2020, Commercially Printed Fabric, 27 × 18 in
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Women Making the World Better Laurie Newman Rutherford, NJ, USA
My piece represents the women that have advocated for women issues. Throughout history women have marched together to fight for freedom, voting rights, health care, equal pay, and equal rights. Women of all ages and from diverse backgrounds have come together in order to increase the awareness of women rights and help elevate the struggles of the everyday woman. Major steps have been taken forward, but there is still a long way to go. Women continue to march, passing the baton from one generation to the next, in order to keep the momentum going.
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Laurie Newman, Women’s March, 2021, Mixed Media, Newspaper and Watercolor, 8 1/2 × 5 1/2 in
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Women Making the World Better Linda Pearlman Karlsberg Newton, MA, USA
Lawyer and academic Anita Hill sparked a national conversation about sexual harassment in the workplace in 1991 with her testimony before Congress about harassment by Clarence Thomas. Also, for the first time people came to terms with the reality of what it meant to have a Senate made up of 98 men and 2 women. Nationally women came forward about abuse, entered politics, won double the seats in the Congress in ‘92, and changed laws. Hill’s work for decades, has clarified that sexual harassment and sexual assault are about control, power and abuse of power, not about sex or physical attraction. The ‘She Spoke Up’ series began as a reaction to the destructive political, social and cultural climates inflamed in the last few years. The cascading events and unending revelations of the Me Too movement only increased a sense of urgency to respond. I chose to elevate the work, achievements and words of women who have spoken truth to power, pursued freedom and equity, and in so doing transformed some part of the broader world. I intend these pieces to make a direct statement on the times as well as do the necessary work of amplifying the strength, accomplishments and voices of women.
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Linda Pearlman Karlsberg, She Spoke Up VI, Anita Hill, 2020, Charcoal, 28 × 36 in
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Women Making the World Better Linda Pearlman Karlsberg Newton, MA, USA
In spite of all kinds of adversity, Rachel Carson became the finest nature writer of the 20th century, and noted marine biologist. She pieced together evidence from diverse sources and in ‘Silent Spring’ shared her findings, warning about the hazards of untested chemicals on the environment, food chain and human health. She forced the government and business to confront the dangers and impact of reckless pesticide use. Her work launched the environmental movement, led to the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and to the formation of the EPA and the banning of DDT. The ‘She Spoke Up’ series began as a reaction to the destructive political, social and cultural climates inflamed in the last few years. The cascading events and unending revelations of the Me Too movement only increased a sense of urgency to respond. I chose to elevate the work, achievements and words of women who have spoken truth to power, pursued freedom and equity, and in so doing transformed some part of the broader world. I intend these pieces to make a direct statement on the times as well as do the necessary work of amplifying the strength, accomplishments and voices of women.
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Linda Pearlman Karlsberg, She Spoke Up X, Rachel Carson, 2021, Charcoal, 28 × 36 in
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Women Making the World Better Linda Pearlman Karlsberg Newton, MA, USA
The second female Supreme Court justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a tireless and exceptional intellect, who as founder of the Women’s Rights Project at the ACLU argued 6 gender discrimination cases successfully before the SCOTUS, work that led to the end of gender discrimination in many areas of the law. She believed in “the constitutional principle of equal citizenship stature of men and women” and that women belong in all places where decisions are being made. Her potent SCOTUS dissents she believed spoke to a future age, and that the greatest dissents do become court opinions. The ‘She Spoke Up’ series began as a reaction to the destructive political, social and cultural climates inflamed in the last few years. The cascading events and unending revelations of the Me Too movement only increased a sense of urgency to respond. I chose to elevate the work, achievements and words of women who have spoken truth to power, pursued freedom and equity, and in so doing transformed some part of the broader world. I intend these pieces to make a direct statement on the times as well as do the necessary work of amplifying the strength, accomplishments and voices of women.
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Linda Pearlman Karlsberg, She Spoke Up IV, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 2020, Charcoal, 28 × 36 in
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Women Making the World Better Linda Pearlman Karlsberg Newton, MA, USA
Tarana Burke has spent decades working to empower young girls and women of color. In 2006 she created the conceptual cornerstone phrase Me Too to forge empowerment and wellness through empathy, and to call out the widespread sexual and other domestic violence against women and girls. She has fostered youth leadership organizations to actualize racial and gender justice, to lift young women up and address systems of racism, patriarchy and sexism that persist. She has fought globally for the dignity and humanity of survivors, tirelessly working for bodily autonomy as a basic human right. The ‘She Spoke Up’ series began as a reaction to the destructive political, social and cultural climates inflamed in the last few years. The cascading events and unending revelations of the Me Too movement only increased a sense of urgency to respond. I chose to elevate the work, achievements and words of women who have spoken truth to power, pursued freedom and equity, and in so doing transformed some part of the broader world. I intend these pieces to make a direct statement on the times as well as do the necessary work of amplifying the strength, accomplishments and voices of women.
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Linda Pearlman Karlsberg, She Spoke Up VIII, Tarana Burke, 2020, Charcoal, 28 × 36 in
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Women Making the World Better Lisa Collodoro Guttenberg, NJ, USA
I had the pleasure of meeting Hilary Clinton briefly on the upper Eastside in NYC. She was shaking people’s hands during a campaign and I was standing at a stoplight waiting to cross the street. Before I knew it, there she was in front of me with her arm outstretched ready to shake my hand. When I took her hand what stood out to me was the intensity and presence in her eyes as she looked directly at me. This was a strong woman on a mission, a mission to break that glass ceiling. That determination is what I find inspiring, the refusal to give up! “The Glass Ceiling“ is one of many paintings created from the series called The Road we all Share. It is an abstract geometric piece in which the lines, shapes and colors tell the story. It depicts an imaginary landscape in which the building with the glass ceiling is being blocked by black circles, and adjacent to it, is another building with an antenna (representing male dominance), standing guard.
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Lisa Collodoro, The Glass Ceiling, 2021, Acrylic, 24 × 36 in
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Women Making the World Better Lucy Rovetto Jersey City, NJ, USA
One woman standing up to tell her story may be ignored. The strength of the voice created out of our collective experiences is powerful enough to destroy broken systems. As we have witnessed before, during and after the #metoo movement, one stands, and others follow. I chose photos of women (Harriet Tubman, Frida Kahlo, Christine Blasey Ford, Maria Schneider, Salma Hayak, Olga B. Levina, Anita Faye Hill, Ashley Judd, Lauren Rovetto, Jacie Dagastino, Mira Sorvino, Erin Daria, Hannah Hoch, Georgia O’keeffe, Camille Claudel) whose stories amazed, angered and or inspired me. The faces are personal and universal and represent women in the news, in our families, and on our jobs. The repetition of these stories empower all of us. The County Administration building was something I passed often, so I photographed it. The process I used was to cut and paste the image to accentuate the repetition of windows. I imagined women standing behind every window telling their story. After research, I discovered that the Latin emblem on the front of the building, “Constat Per Recordum”, was taken from the county seal which translates “down through the record”. This is a law term referring to evidence backed by facts.
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Lucy Rovetto, She Stands By Remembering, 2021, Mixed Media Photo Collage on Canvas, 24 × 48 in
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Women Making the World Better Manuel Macarrulla New York, NY, USA
The triple portrait shows Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa Mirabal, three beloved martyrs, among many, of the struggle against the Trujillo dictatorship. The dictator had them brutally clubbed to death in a sugar cane field. The date of their death, Nov. 25 (1960), was named the International Day for the elimination of Violence Against women by the United Nations, in 1999. Their story is told in the novel “In the Time of the Butterflies,” by Julia Alvarez. This piece also acknowledges the rededication of the Santo Domingo obelisk, which Trujillo erected in 1937 to commemorate his renaming of the city of Santo Domingo “Trujillo City,” in honor of the Mirabal sisters, instead. The mural shown on the obelisk, in this representation, “Allegory of Liberty,” by Justin Muñoz, 2011, took a turn, for several years, on the rotating sequence of murals honoring the 3 heroines. My best information about the sisters is that they didn’t wish to be revolutionaries. They only wanted to raise their families and find their own happiness. Despite this, they took hard but necessary risks. Once Trujillo was killed, and people could finally speak, their story became known. The Dominican affection and admiration for them grew. This infected me, as well. I named my daughter, Minerva, after the sister in the middle of my picture.
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Manuel Macarrulla, Canto de chivo No. 10 Rededication, 2020, Oil on Canvas, 39 1/4 in diameter
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Women Making the World Better Nan Ring West Orange, NJ, USA
The moment of Kamala Harris’ inauguration was a magical moment to me. I’ve waited my entire life to see a woman in this kind of position of power, and when I saw her raise her hand to swear on the bible, tears leapt into my eyes. The best thing about her is how real she is; it is a relief and an honor to have such a genuine, strong, intelligent and compassionate woman in a leadership role. I titled my portrait of Kamala, with her coat bursting into a rainbow of inclusivity, “This Magic Moment” for the magic of the moment when a woman was inaugurated. Her smile is something that I love about her, and though genuine smiles are rare in portraiture, I decided to take inspiration from Franz Hals who painted a lot of smiles.
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Nancy Ring, This Magic Moment, 2020, Watercolor, 11 × 14 in
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Women Making the World Better Parastoo Haddadi Tehran, Tehran, Iran
This artwork about Sahar Khodayari is inspired by the Iranian Blue Girl story– the girl who committed suicide by fire because she was condemned by Iranian law for entrance to the football stadium to follow her football team! In Iranian Law, women are not allowed to go to the stadium to watch football. Horses are the symbol of women’s power, and fish are symbols of freedom and equality rights, but here they are the football team’s symbol.The girl is overwhelmed by her grief at the unreasonable restrictions imposed by religion and law because she is a woman. She was confused about her female identity. This artwork is dedicated to all women in my country who have been humiliated, discriminated, raped, abused and wronged by the religion and the current law of Iran. The girls affected by religious and cultural prejudices who have been acidsprayed, amputated or killed.
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Parastoo Haddadi, Bluegirl, 2020, Acrylic and Ink, 24 × 17 in
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Women Making the World Better Pat Brentano Westfield, NJ, USA
Diana Beresford-Kroeger is a Canadian author, botanist and Celtic medicine woman. She wants people to see the forest, trees and wildlife of native environments. She wants people to value native species and cultivate them one by one for the special place they have in the deep history of the land. This painting is about the warm weather grasses I planted in my front yard to feed the migratory birds. They turn brown in winter, but the seeds continue to nourish birds throughout the dark cold months. There is potential for expressive gestural paintings even on the darkest days.
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Pat Brentano, Switch Grass, 2020, Acrylic, 36 × 42 in
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Women Making the World Better Pat Brentano Westfield, NJ, USA
Diana Beresford-Kroeger is a Canadian author, scientist, botanist and Celtic medicine woman. She inspires people to see the forest, trees and wildlife of native environments in detail. She wants native species to be valued and cultivated one by one for the special place they have in the deep history of the land. This painting is about the community of trees and their conversations. They are placed up close in the pictorial space to put full attention on their presence, gesture and strength.
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Pat Brentano, Whisper, 2020, Acrylic on Canvas, 36 × 60 in
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Women Making the World Better Patricia Dahlman Lyndhurst, NJ, USA
Nancy Pelosi is a role model in that she is extremely competent, knowledgeable and a caring leader that has reached high levels of political power. Also as an older political leader, she has shown that experience in politics can go a long way. “Nancy Pelosi” is an art work made with thread and is sewn on canvas.
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Patricia Dahlman, Nancy Pelosi, 2021, Thread on Canvas, 10 × 10 in
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Women Making the World Better Peter Delman Jersey City, NJ, USA
On September 4, 1957, Elizabeth Eckford, one of nine African-American students attempting to enroll in a segregated high school, walked alone through a gauntlet of hostile protesters. She was unaware that the eight other black children hoping to enroll that day had taken a different route because of a last minute change in plans. National Guard troops lined the route. Their job was not to protect her, but to bar her from the school. She was turned away at the entrance and then threatened by the exultant white mob. This incident resulted in Pres. Eisenhower’s decision to take decisive action. This painting is one in a series that focus on history as it pertains to current issues of racial, social, and environmental justice. The three shafts of light in the sky are inspired by James Balwin’s discussion of Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King, and Malcolm X in the recent documentary I Am Not Your Negro.
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Peter Delman, Little Rock 1957, 2020, Oil on Canvas, 38 × 48 in
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Women Making the World Better Peter Delman Jersey City, NJ, USA
Nancy Pelosi is the only woman in U.S. history to serve as Speaker of the House. Additionally, prior to the inauguration of Kamala Harris as vice president in 2021, she was the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history. In this painting she is delivering her iconic hand clap in response to a speech by Donald Trump. The portrait of Speaker Pelosi is paired with an orange hermit crab that is meant to suggest her bete noir, Donald Trump.
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Peter Delman, “Nancy”, As I Call Her, 2019, Oil on Canvas, 28 × 36 in
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Women Making the World Better Raisa Nosova Jersey City, NJ, USA
Harriet Tubman will be an eternal hero in our society. To me, Harriet stands for courage, willpower, persistence, and love. After taking a leading role in the Underground Railway escape of slaves, as well as during the Civil War, Harriet lived into her 90’s. Her ability to withstand the events and then deal with the memories for the rest of her life is an incredible inspiration. This painting is a dialogue about discrimination and survival. It represents Harriet Tubman as she helps the slaves escape from the Underground. The birds stand for freedom, while the mask on a goose portrait represents the struggle of concealing the emotional baggage of trauma. The painting commemorates those African Americans who escaped the South through the Underground Railroad system, as well as those who gave up their lives and have been lost forever.
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Raisa Nosova, Underground Railway, 2020, Acrylic on Canvas, 10 × 24 in
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Women Making the World Better Regina Silvers New York, NY, USA
Barbara Harris, one of the original “Grannies”, is a deceptively proper, elegant woman. Her fierce fighting spirit, in defense of peace and democracy, is always there. As a member of Code Pink, she advocates and demonstrates for students’ rights against the invasive power of JROTC in schools, and she does this with the Grannie Peace Brigade. As a friend, I followed her arrest, trial, and the Grannies Peace Brigade, bearing witness as an artist to their activities. Barbara continues to be my hero, and is now working nationally on her project to insure student’s rights. As a member of Code Pink and the Granny Peace Brigade, Barbara championed the curtailment of the influence of the JROTC program in Junior High Schools. This is one of many paintings I made from my sketches and photos while marching with Barbara and the Grannies.
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Regina Silvers, Code Pink Granny, 2021, Acrylic on Paper, 36 × 24 in
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Women Making the World Better Regina Silvers New York, NY, USA
Bella Abzug was a leading liberal and women’s rights activist, a pioneering civil rights lawyer, and an anti-war protester. Among her achievements, in the 1960s, she helped organize the Women Strike for Peace and the National Women’s Political Caucus. In the 1970s she served in the House of Representatives, and later established the Women’s Environmental Development Organization. She was a formidable leader of the women’s rights movement and a vivid example, for me, of what we women could aspire to. I still miss her. “Bella #1” is based on a NY Times clipping. I made a number of drawings of my hero, Bella, participating in a civil rights march in NYC in the early 1990s.
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Regina Silvers, Bella #1, 2021, Acrylic on Paper, 24 × 18 in
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Women Making the World Better Regina Silvers New York, NY, USA
Betty Brassell was always a dramatic “Granny” image for the Granny Peace Brigade. Her snowy white hair, her use of a walker or wheelchair, and her feisty spirit garnered a good amount of attention during protests against the Iraq War and after. An activist for many years on issues ranging from U.S. Nuclear Testing to Hurricane Hugo’s destruction, she was one of the original “Grannies” who formed the Granny Peace Brigade. I am inspired by Betty’s power- despite her physical frailty. It gives me hope! “Betty on The March” depicts Betty Brassell in her typical mode- marching with her walker and wearing at least one sign or chart. The work is one of many I was inspired to make after marching with her and the other Grannies, and is based on sketches and photos I made while participating.
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Regina Silvers Betty on the March, 2021 Acrylic on Paper 24 × 18 in 33 in
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Women Making the World Better Regina Silvers New York, NY, USA
Marie Runyon, one of the original protesters whose arrest in 2006 led to the formation of the Granny Peace Brigade, died in 2018 at the age of 103. Legally blind, hard of hearing and requiring a walker, Marie Runyon participated in GPB and other democratic causes and events into her 90s. A feisty activist for more than 60 years, she served in the NY State assembly, founded the Harlem Restoration Project, and advocated for peace and civil rights. I am inspired to continue being productive even as I become older, as long as I continue to live and advocate for my beliefs. Marie Runyon and civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel read from the Constitution each July 4th at a NYC gathering. Lively discussions followed. I painted this 50”x 33” oil on primed paper work based on sketches and photos I made of one of these annual events.
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Regina Silvers, July 4th Marie Reading the Constitution, 2021, Oil on Primed Paper, 50 × 33 in
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Women Making the World Better Robert Kosinski Jersey City, NJ, USA
Sue Dondiego and Bernie Dondiego became foster parents in New Jersey in the 1970s. At that time, there were no materials or resources to support foster parents. With Hattie Talley, they launched The New Jersey Foster Parent Association (now Foster and Adoptive Family Services). As a foster parent activist, Sue testified before legislators in Trenton advocating for foster children and resource parents. In the 1970s, the monthly clothing allowance for a child in foster care was equal to one-third the price of a new child-size coat. Her testimony resulted in a 26% rise in resource family rates.
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Robert Kosinski, Sue, 2020, Inkjet Print and Acrylic Paint, 30 × 22 in
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Women Making the World Better Sharon Shelton Austin, Texas, USA
This is about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, someone who has served as a role model for me and for many other women and girls across the country. Throughout her career as an associate justice to the U.S. Supreme Court, a career that began in 1992 and ended with her death in 2020, Ruth Ginsburg was known as a courageous champion of numerous women’s causes, rights of disabled people, measures against industrial pollution, gay marriage, and affirmative action. This piece is a portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in oil on canvas. My goal was to capture the compassion and intelligence that shone through the eyes of this awesome woman.
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Sharon Shelton, Seat of Justice, 2021, Oil on Canvas, 8 × 10 in
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Women Making the World Better Steven Bleicher Myrtle Beach, SC, USA
Harriet Tubman escaped slavery and went back many times to free her family The “Doll Maker’s Rocker” is a tribute to all women who made toys for their children and to sell to earn money to support their family.
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Steven Bleicher, Doll Maker’s Rocker , 2021, Mixed Media, 14 x 11
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Women Making the World Better Steven Bleicher Myrtle Beach, SC, USA
Harriet Tubman escaped slavery and in the civil war worked as a spy for the union army and led raids with the union army in South Carolina. My piece tell the story of one of her escapes where she hide to hide in a corn crib so that she would not be caught.
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Steven Bleicher, Hiding in the Corn Crib, 2021, Mixed Media, 14 x11
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Women Making the World Better Steven Bleicher Myrtle Beach, SC, USA
Harriet Tubman, whose nickname was Minty, escaped slavery and then went back many times to free her family. This is my imagined idea of a room of hers once she escaped and was free.
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Steven Bleicher, Minty’s Writing Room, 2021, Mixed Media, 14 x 11
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Women Making the World Better Taylor Cacici Bayonne NJ, USA
Michelle Obama. What’s not to love about her? Two degrees from Ivy League Colleges, philanthropic work, kind, generous. Many many more adjectives. She’s a wonderful and charismatic woman.
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Taylor Cacici, Michelle, 2020, Pen and Ink, 8 1/2 × 11 in
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Women Making the World Better Vija Doks New York, NY, USA
Florence Nightingale revolutionized nursing by introducing vital sanitation protocols for taking care of the wounded during the Crimean War. Protocols that were later universally adopted by hospitals. This piece is part of my famous women series, in which I am depicting women who are both famous and infamous.
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Vija Doks, Florence Nightingale, 2020, Oil on Canvas, 18 × 18 in
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Women Making the World Better Vija Doks New York, NY, USA
Jane Goodall, whose work studying chimpanzees was groundbreaking and whose work as an environmentalist, is awe inspiring. This portrait of Jane Goodall is part of my famous women series, in which I am depicting women who are both famous and infamous.
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Vija Doks, Jane Goodall, 2020, Oil on Canvas, 18 × 18 in
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Victory Hall Press 926 Newark Ave Jersey City, NJ 07306 www.victoryhallpress.org ISBN: 9798430979706 March 2022
Designer, Editor: Anne Trauben Publisher: James Pustorino Layout Assistant: Genesis Castro
This program is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts /Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, administered by the Hudson County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, Thomas A. DeGise, County Executive, and the Board of Chosen Freeholders.
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Back Cover:: “She Stands by Remembering” by Lucy Rovetto
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