The Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art

The Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art opens at the Brooklyn Museum of Art to much debate about how to define feminst art and whether it should exist separately from other art created by women. Some believe the label only belongs to women who were making politically charged work in the 60s and 70s others believe the definition should be much more inclusive.

Judy Chicago (American, b. 1939). The Dinner Party, 1974–79. Mixed media: ceramic, porcelain, textile. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation, 2002.10. © Judy Chicago. (Photo: © Aislinn Weidele for Polshek Partnership Architects)

The Dinner Party, an important icon of 1970s feminist art and a milestone in twentieth-century art, is presented as the centerpiece around which the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art is organized. The Dinner Party comprises a massive ceremonial banquet, arranged on a triangular table with a total of thirty-nine place settings, each commemorating an important woman from history. The settings consist of embroidered runners, gold chalices and utensils, and china-painted porcelain plates with raised central motifs that are based on vulvar and butterfly forms and rendered in styles appropriate to the individual women being honored. The names of another 999 women are inscribed in gold on the white tile floor below the triangular table. This permanent installation is enhanced by rotating biographical gallery shows relating to the 1,038 women honored at the table. Pharaohs, Queens, and Goddesses is the first such exhibition.

A New Light on Tiffany

Long unacknowledged designer Clara Driscoll is honored at the The New-York Historical Society, the city's 1st museum and cultural institution, is proud to present A New Light on Tiffany, a ground-breaking exhibition exploring the turn-of-the-century New York women who created many of Tiffany Studios' celebrated decorative objects. The exhibition, which will include over 50 Tiffany lamps, windows, mosaics, enamels, and ceramics, as well as pages of newly discovered correspondence written by designer Clara Driscoll, will be on view from February 23, 2007 through Memorial Day.

Stained and Tainted

Sa'Dia Rehman
Stained and Tainted, 2001

plaster, tea, and ink

"As a dedication piece to my female relatives, Stained and Tainted offers a placement and seating for each of my female relatives to give them an opportunity to gather together and break a tradition. The tea cups vary from the perfectly shaped cups that distinguish those women who follow the tradition of serving tea to the dusty remains of some teacups to identify those who loathe the tradition."

At the Henry Street Settlement, Abrons Arts Center

A Year Without Toilet Paper!

Could you do it?!

The Year Without Toilet Paper
By PENELOPE GREEN
Published: March 22, 2007
To reduce their impact on the environment, two New Yorkers give up what most take for granted.

"Welcome to Walden Pond, Fifth Avenue style. Isabella’s parents, Colin Beavan, 43, a writer of historical nonfiction, and Michelle Conlin, 39, a senior writer at Business Week, are four months into a yearlong lifestyle experiment they call No Impact. Its rules are evolving, as Mr. Beavan will tell you, but to date include eating only food (organically) grown within a 250-mile radius of Manhattan; (mostly) no shopping for anything except said food; producing no trash (except compost, see above); using no paper; and, most intriguingly, using no carbon-fueled transportation." Their blog here.

The Women’s War

The Women’s War New York Times March 18, 2007 By SARA CORBETT.
Women return from the war in Iraq to face unique and diffent ordeals than their male counterparts.

In Tehran Stadium, Women Out of Bounds
By A. O. SCOTT
Published: March 23, 2007
The Iranian film “Offside,” about women who fight for their right to watch a soccer game, celebrates the guile and toughness of its heroines.

0.2%

Architect Magazine March 1, 2007 By Hannah Mccann
The number of black women architects has quadrupled in 15 years. but four times a fraction of a percent doesn't amount to much. (Get a free subscription on the website.)

Interviewee 26 year old Yamini Hernandez blogs about being a young African-American woman and an architect.

"They didn't mention anything I said in my email interview, only my blog, and even from my blog entries that i referred them to (apparently a bad move and duly noted), they didn't mention any of the solutions I mentioned to the atrocious underrepresentation of people of color in the field. Nor did the article mention how my present position positively impacts the profession by preparing young people of color to be ,architects and builders with an environmental and social conscious."

The Green Guide

National Geographic The Green Guide.

As part of its ongoing mission to inspire people to care about the planet, National Geographic today announced the acquisition of The Green Guide, a comprehensive website and bi-monthly newsletter that offers practical advice for people on how to lead a more environmentally sensitive life.

Just for Fun

condom couture by Adriana Bertini

ecobabes!

ecobabes
i think the name says it all.

Congrats Patti

Op Ed Piece: Ain't It Strange By Patti Smith. Sound like familiar ground?

"The Internet is their CBGB. Their territory is global. They will dictate how they want to create and disseminate their work. They will, in time, make breathless changes in our political process. They have the technology to unite and create a new party, to be vigilant in their choice of candidates, unfettered by corporate pressure. Their potential power to form and reform is unprecedented."

The Gardasil Debate

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 80% of women have HPV. Of these 10,000 will develop cervical cancer and 3,700 will die. The CDC is now recommending that all women between 9 and 26 receive the new Gardasil HPV vaccine. Men are often unwitting carriers of the disease. However, the CDC will not be require males to receive the same shots.

The debate rages: Will the vaccine will promote underage sex? Violate parental rights? Is this a Big Pharma conspiracy aiming to angle $4 billion per year on an unecessary treatment? Or is this a major step forward in protecting women's health?

Who's Afraid of Gardasil? By Karen Houppert

Generation Next

From The Pew Research Center

A Portrait of "Generation Next"
How Young People View Their Lives, Futures and Politics
For the purpose of this report Generation Next is made up of 18-25 year olds born between 1981 and 1988.

As a result of this report here's an article from today's New York Times Beyond the Pleasure Principle By ANN HULBERT:

"Gen Nexters aren't getting the credit that they deserve for being ---as many of them told pollsters they felt they were --- unique and distinct. It is not easy carving out your niche in the shadow of parents who still can't get over what an exceptional generation they belong to."

"There are signs that Gen Nexters are primed to do in the years ahead what their elders have so signally failed to manage: actually think beyond their own welfare to worry about --- of all things --- the next generation."

Break the Addiction

MTV on the Environment
[Calculate Your Carbon Footprint]

12 steps to breaking your addiction to carbon:
Step 1: Examine Yourself
Step 2: Choose Wisely
Step 3: Become Independent
Step 4: Re-Energize Your Space
Step 5: Transport Better
Step 6: Get Political
Step 7: Go Paperless
Step 8: Shop Smarter
Step 9: Go Healthy
Step 10: Love, Protect and Preserve
Step 11: Consider an Alternative

The Vote or Die Campaign failed to get the 18-24 get out to the polls. Does MTV still have the influence to motivate a new generation to grow up green?

Recycling is a Design Principal

How to Green Your Recycling from www.treehugger.com

"Almost four decades ago, a US paper company wanted a symbol to communicate its products’ recycled content to customers. The company held a design competition that was won by a young graphic designer from USC named Gary Anderson. His entry, based on the Mobius Strip, a shape with only one side and no end, is now universally recognized as the symbol for recycling. To many people, recycling conjures up blue plastic bins and bottle drives. But recycling is a design principal, a law of nature, a source of creativity, and a source of prosperity. For anyone looking to make recycling a more integral part of their lives, this guide is an overview of the basic legwork, as well as some of the finer and more accelerated concepts that have emerged in recent years."

National Geographic Women Photographers

photo by Jodi Cobb

I had the pleasure of seeing the traveling exhibit National Geographic Women Photographers at the Newseum in Washington, DC. The exhibit highlighted the works of Annie Griffiths Belt, Jodi Cobb, Maria Stenzel, Karen Kasmauski and Sisse Brimberg, each of whom has defied the odds and made a big name for themself in the world of field photography. These women have photographed stories on arab women, the arctic, modern medicine, geishas - always a bit controversial, and often focused on gender roles. You can see the online exhibit here.

creativity with a conscience

CREATIVITY WITH A CONSCIENCE
www.freerangegraphics.com

We know we could be using our talents to sell cheeseburgers or sneakers. But as message shapers and image makers, we choose to inspire, educate and move people toward action.

That’s why we concentrate on offering top-quality design, communication and strategy services to companies and organizations whose vision goes beyond turning the world into a strip mall. And while our clients range from world-wide activists like Amnesty International to corporations focused on sustainable business like Clif Bar, they all share our belief that in each of our actions there is potential for positive change.

Based in Washington DC and Berkeley, CA, our services include graphic design, web entertainment and campaign concepting and strategy.

Check out their most recent brainchild a spoof flash animation that illustrates how our health depends on biodiversity. The BioDaVersity Code

Buy Less Crap

Business Week posted an article about two years back about the rise in females as head of household and, in turn, the rise of females as dominant consumers. Read it here and then go read about how to Buy Less Crap. We could all use a little less crap.

paper v plastic. neither?

Some estimates put disposable plastic bag use at 1 million bags a day. If its true that women make 75% of all consumer decisions then what would happen if we all stopped using plastic bags?

How about these cuties from The Container Store.

More reusable bag alternatives.

the motherhood experiment

From the New York Times [March 4, 2007]

"Could it be, then, that easing a woman’s ability to hold a job and raise children simultaneously will nudge her toward having a bigger family? At least 45 countries in Europe and Asia are betting on it, having instituted government programs to maintain or raise their fertility rates."

The Motherhood Experiment

episiotomy

This seemed especially relevant since my co-worker is pregnant. 73% of episiotomies are performed without the women's consent. Is that really how pregnancy works these days?

Drugs, Knives, and Midwives
The U.S. maternity care system is in crisis. A grassroots movement to save it is under way.—By Elizabeth Larsen Utne Reader March / April 2007 Issue

Drugs, Knives and Midwives

dear hillary

the care crisis

Interesting article in this week's The Nation magazine. Don't know what to think or why this doesn't seem to be more politically relevant. I mean the 2008 election has already started right?
The Care Crisis

"...women's career demands still tend to collide with their most intensive child-rearing years. Many women end up feeling they have failed rather than struggled against a setup designed for a male worker with few family responsibilities. "

dear ira glass

breaking glass

This was a pretty telling article I read today entitled The Graphic Glass Ceiling. Even men who are supposed to be among the most free thinking humans are often caught up in generalizations.

A witty friend once said to me The ceiling isn't made of glass - it's made of men.

testing...

pssst... are you out there?