December 9, 2005

GRRRRRL Power or not?

By Geneva Gamez

Radioactive Future's Bill Pierce curated yet another Grrrrrl Power exhibition, as part of the ongoing all-girl art shows that began to run early this year. Korova Coffee Bar hosted Perpetual Motion, a mix of paintings, photographs and mixed media, shown through last Sunday.

Although, some work stood out, like May-Ling Martinez's The Logic of a Better Living, a series of mixed media portraying the traditional customs of baptism, marriage and home purchase in a sort of girlish style, the overall show was a bit disappointing to examine.

It would be somewhat expected of female artists to plaster emotional feelings that are so personal and almost "within the box" upon their pieces, forgetting there is a world of themes to pick and choose from - like world affairs or even something local if anything else is a stretch. Unfortunately, disappointed by the hope to have seen greater variety in mediums and thematic, there weren't many untraditional pieces to choose from.

Artist Ally Sligh's "The Box Series", a unique piece of black and white framed photographs of men and women, using a lunch box titled Super Powers to cover up their private parts as they are photographed at the beach, onstage, the kitchen, in the shower, by the post box and an altar, was an interesting concept in playing with words and imagery.

Artist Amy Curtiss' dark, near melancholy photographs of places that seem travel free carried symbolic meaning with cursive writing over them. Some of her photographs showed the contrast between motion and stillness beautifully.

There's no doubt that Grrrrrl Power has a number of outstanding female artists, it's the selection process that could suggestively use more selectivity. Radioactive Future has put out some of the best thought-provoking shows in San Diego. As these shows continue to travel through local galleries and cafes, it would be nice to see for a change something less boxed in like Radioactive Future knows best.

To contact the writer e-mail: gamezgeneva@yahoo.com

art by Athena Toner

ARTISTS | EVENTS | PRESS | CONTACT | LINKS | ADVERTISE