Sculpture and Installation
“Maternal Metaphors—Artists/Mothers/Artwork. April 30-May 23, 2004, Rochester Contemporary Art Gallery, Rochester, NY Includes reproductions of artwork, critical essays and fiction, on the subject of maternal desire and ambivalence. A variety of artwork from photography to installation to painting to video by a diverse group of artist/mothers who incorporate aspects of maternity into their work.”
Mamaphonic: Balancing Motherhood and Other Creative Acts, ed. by Bee Lavender & Maia Rossini. Soft Skull Press. Nov. 2004. c.284p. illus. ISBN 1-932360-64-6. pap. $14.95. SOC SCI
“For all our supposed advancement since previous generations, the societal duress implicit in our concept of the “good mother” seems to linger. In perhaps no other. tension between the self-sacrifice of motherhood and the need for self-actualization felt more strongly than in artistic and literary pursuits. This theme-along with that of the practical obstacles and unexpected inspirations of creating while tending to one child or more-is repeatedly but not repetitiously examined in this collection of essays, practical guides, poetry and illustrations edited by writer-mamas Lavender and Rossini. The pieces are as varied as the nature of the art created by their authors, including dancers, artists, photographers, writers, singers, and ‘zine creators. Still, a sense of honesty, passion and, yes, intense motherly love is apparent throughout. Highly recommended for both family/relationship and arts and literature collections.” -Kay Hogan Smith, UAB Lister Hill Lib., Birmingham, AL
I recast my original 1998 Afterbirth (Sac Fluid Cord) in fresh translucent glycerin for the traveling exhibition “Take Care: Biomedical Ethics in the 21st Century” in its seventh and last showing at The Wright Museum at Beloit College in 2012. Three dustpans hold a glass bottle in each of their handles. One carries a bit of amniotic sac, the next some amniotic fluid, and the last a section of umbilical cord. It is a piece about birth and after, about the usually discarded experience of labor, about the care taking that follows, about nourishment, preservation, and decay.
