Portraits have the power to elevate the person in it to a high societal status. We see the most famous and revered portraits in museums throughout the world. Most people recognize the great works of Western culture, particularly Renaissance work like da Vinci's Mona Lisa or Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. Artists frequently look to artists of the past for inspiration for their own work. One such artist has both admired and questioned portraiture for decades. His exhibition is running through February 10, 2019 at the St. Louis Art Museum. I was fortunate enough to bring my students to the exhibition earlier this week. Kehinde Wiley inspires people from all walks of life by questioning portraiture as a status symbol. While recognizing the beauty and craftsmanship of previous artists, Wiley brings our attention to the purpose and meaning of the subjects in portraits. Why do portraits in Western culture almost always portray people of European descent? His work, in all of its absolute beauty, is unique. His subjects, ordinary people from St. Louis County, aren't rich or powerful. Yet, his use of color and mastery of portrait painting mesmerizes the viewer. The portraits are powerful. As you take in the rich details of the work, it is important to recognize that each painting is derivative of a previous portrait. Each portrait is based on a person who gained from slavery or profited from colonialism. By juxtaposing people of African descent into a similar pose while incorporating his signature patterns, Wiley takes back the narrative. It's as if he knows this action is an essential act towards healing. What Kehinde Wiley's Work Can Teach Us. The work showed that people can and should be elevated through portraiture. I particularly liked the fact that he chose to elevate people from Ferguson, Missouri. The artist's own feelings of love and kindness are evident in the artwork. The exquisite color, attention to minute details, and scale of the paintings make the viewer very aware that he values the people he painted. Because "Ferguson" the place seems synonymous with violence and racism after the killing of Mike Brown, this exhibition felt joyful. We cannot ignore the significance of Kehinde Wiley's message that people of color are noticeably absent in portrait art. Additionally, the people we don't see matter in every community. His ability to create works of art that convey beauty and a sense of community are inspirational. Perhaps, his art can point us towards a better understanding of the power to elevate people; in portraits and thus, society.

Art Can Literally Save Lives: Military History Tells Us it Can Operation Quicksilver . A few days after D Day, Operation Quicksilver quietly went on the road. 1100 men with special skills would put their lives on the line, some would make the ultimate sacrifice. It took more than forty years for their story to be told: a secret story about how artists, musicians, fashion designers, and other creative people fooled the enemy and helped win World War II. This is a story about how art literally saved lives. Ghost Army. Sometimes covert operations are necessary, particularly when lives are at stake. Nobody knows this better than people who serve their country in times of war. They know that every job matters because the details matter. Although some jobs might seem trivial to outside observers, they know not to let your eyes deceive you. Each actor on the war stage plays a vital role towards the greater effort. This was especially true for the Ghost Army of the 603rd, stationed in various locations in Europe during World War II. . Don’t Believe Your Eyes or Ears. These men, officially known as the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, possessed an eclectic skill set perfectly suited to their top secret mission. They, in fact, acted as a Ghost Army, whose job was to fool the enemies’ eyes and ears. These men were artists, musicians, photographers, and sound engineers. Some of them had excellent sewing skills. With their unique skills, some inflatable tanks, people, and weapons, they set about to create live action battle scenes in surround sound. All of their efforts were an intentional and dangerous distraction. A purposeful decoy to draw the enemies away from the actual battlefield. A Specialized Skill Set. They used art skills like trompe l’oeil to paint realistic backdrops and hide artillery (just enough to be found). Within hours, the Ghost Army built phony airfields and temporary military camps, and hung up laundry lines that served no other purpose than to distract. They inflated tanks and artillery and even inflated fake soldiers. Some artists created propaganda posters designed to misdirect their adversaries. The sound engineers brought the scene to life with fake radio transmissions and sound trucks. They all used scripts and performance skills, as they became actors in this epic, yet secret battle theater. They stayed in Europe, mostly in France, traveling from Normandy to the Rhine. These soldiers served their country with their elaborate, but fake, battle scenes. They put their lives at risk to save others, allowing the Allied forces to gain an advantage as the war went on. Their part in the war mattered. Their art and music skills made a difference that was a closely guarded secret for forty years. . From Ghosts to Celebrities . Some of the artists and musicians of the Ghost Army went on to become well-known American icons. Ellsworth Kelly became a famous artist. His bright Color Field paintings are synonymous with Minimalism and hard-edge painting. Bill Blass worked his way up from sketching evening gowns to designing and dressing celebrities and First Lady, Barbara Bush. His designs merged classical styles with a sporty look. Jack Massey went on to be an exhibition designer. Arthur Singer loved birds and painted thousands of them. Finally, Art Kane is known for photographing some of the most iconic jazz and rock musicians of the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. His photography was groundbreaking for its ability to tell a story and be illustrative before the digital age. In closing, history used to be my least favorite subject. But, when artists are the central figures in a covert ops mission during WW II, that’s interesting to me. I wish I had been learning that kind of history in school. This was top secret back then, but it highlights one very important point: we need Art. You just never know when it might actually save lives.

It’s never too late to follow your dreams. I say this to myself everyday now. After more than a decade of self-doubt and literal grief about my art, I got mad. I mean good and mad. I’ve been working myself to death in the classroom for sixteen years and trust me, it’s not easy. My colleagues have died young, grown ill, and suffered low morale. We often live in a dreamless state, without hope for a better world for our students or ourselves. Luckily, in my darkest moment, I found inspiration: Alma Woodsey Thomas. The Moment of Truth. It started when I realized I was ill. I’d been teaching for ten months, was harassed by a student on a regular basis and only got a bathroom break every other day. I wound up in the emergency room hooked up to intravenous antibiotics for a kidney infection. Doctor’s orders, to make sure I wouldn’t die. Then the ER doctor came in. He was horrible, rude, and condescending. He treated my husband and me like we didn’t matter with his comments and attitude. I was infuriated. At that moment I knew I had to find a way back to my art. I had to start following my dream. How I Lost My Way. When I attended graduate school in New York and earned my MFA, one of my teachers said, “If you aren’t making art a year after you leave school, you should just give it up.” . Becoming a Teacher. Truthfully, I never cared about this kind of negativity before because I’m a persistent person. However, this was spring of 2001. The world changed forever later that year. That’s when my life changed, and I struggled to make my way. Somehow, those words had seeped into my heart and mind, affecting the way I saw myself. I felt disconnected from the one thing that gives me strength in tough times. Art. I felt like it was too late for me to fulfill my dream of becoming an artist. 9/11 forced me to move away from New York City. I lost my job and it was impossible to find a job making a livable wage. I ended up in St. Louis and was accepted into a teacher certification program. I became a public school teacher. Naively thinking I could make art in the summer, I survived my first year. I quickly realized that I was too broke to make art. That’s when I really lost faith. I felt trapped, too because I needed the health insurance and salary. As my dream slipped away, a grim realism set in. I felt like it was too late to follow my dream to make art. The Long Journey Back . This is my sixteenth year in the classroom. I teach art and enjoy teaching my students. Unfortunately, I can’t say that about the education system itself. Doing research so I can teach my students inspires me. Making art inspires me. Artists like Alma Thomas give me hope. When I read about her art career, I decided it wasn’t too late to follow my dream of being an artist. I found Ms. Thomas in a book when I was preparing a lesson for my students. Ironically it was an art criticism lesson. At that moment, I remembered the words of my teacher. “...give up...” Those very words had so much power because they came from a teacher. Imagine a teacher telling students the timeline for when they should give up their dreams! I stared at that book, realizing my mistake. I believed them and I remembered all the times other teachers told me to give up because I wasn’t good enough. Then I remembered all the other teachers who didn’t say that. Teachers lke MacArthur Binion, Mario Castillo, Jackie Windsor , Loren Madsen, Dr. Altroggge, and Dr. Bevel. Thankfully, they told me to go after the “it” that keeps me going. They told me to never give up on my dreams. So, that’s what I’m going to do, and I hope you do too. .

What Connects You to Art? What’s Your Connection?. What connects you to Art? Is it the time you went to a museum with your family or with your class on a school field trip? Are you comfortable in an Art Gallery or Art Museum? Do you appreciate looking at art? If so, then count yourself among the culturally rich members of our society. Art serves multiple purposes in society from elevating our perception of beauty to communicating ideas and even determining who has access to knowledge and elitism. Throughout history, Art has been associated with higher society and treated in some ways as a leisurely pastime in Western civilization. Despite this notion, artists were depicted as “poor” and “starving.” In fact, artists often didn’t achieve fame until after their deaths, according to my early art education. As it turns out, this mythology only applies to outsiders like me and countless other people without the right connections and socioeconomic status. I love art, though, and persevere through this challenging situation. However, imagine what effect this mythology might have on the audience or future artists of the world? . The Art Community. Who attends art openings and receptions? Who buys artwork? Why is it so significant that an African American man painted the first African American President’s official portrait? Additionally, the first African American woman, Amy Sherald painted Michelle Obama’s Portrait with a purpose: because Mrs. Obama is someone “women can relate to—no matter what shape, size, race, or color. . . We see our best selves in her.” Thankfully, these artists are part of a growing number of people who believe that art should be for everyone. They want to connect you to art. Unfortunately, that message doesn’t always make it to the people who need to hear it the most. Recently, I was fortunate enough to receive funding to bring my students to see Kehinde Wiley’s Exhibition at the Art Museum. My colleague and I requested a tour as directed, and were approved for the trip. However, the day before the trip, the museum told us that our school was not in the system. That’s how we discovered we were not going to have the guided tour experience. It was frustrating and left me wondering if it was really an oversight. We rarely receive funding for field trips and my students don’t get to go to the Museum. They are unlikely to go on their own. I didn’t feel welcome. I tried to make the best of it, but wondered when I would want to bring my students back. Still, I don’t want to be the person who makes it hard for my students to connect with art. Traditional vs. Non-Traditional Institutions . On the contrary, I was very fortunate to have an extended conversation with a representative from The Contemporary Art Museum. She’s made it her mission to reach out to members of the community who feel like outsiders to art institutions. Recognizing that physical proximity differs significantly from cultural proximity, she persistently contacts educators in urban areas. The goal: opening the doors of the art world for all members of the community and inviting them to participate. It’s difficult to grasp the obstacles to achieving such an ambitious goal. Culturally speaking, museums and galleries tie in with higher socioeconomic groups. People who collect and donate art have the financial resources to do so. We guard and insure Art collections with extreme caution. Touching art is taboo. People who work in art institutions generally have a college degree or are in school to earn a degree. Given these factors, it’s easier to understand how art institutions can give off an intimidating aura of elitism. How can we, the members of the art community foster a widespread appreciation for art? How can we invite all people to find their entry point to participation? What does it take to connect people with art?. Obstacles and Work-Arounds. Bourgeoisie elitism is out, but have the bourgeois figured it out? With the onset of social media, out...

Why Do I Need Art? The Existential Question . Teenagers like to argue with me about why they shouldn’t have to take art class, mostly because they don’t like it. “Why do I have to take art? I won’t ever use it!” That’s the basic argument. Like most people they really don’t care about your answer because the minute you try to answer, they immediately stop listening. At least, that’s what happens when you teach the class they don’t want to take! The question is valid, however. Why do we need art? . Definitions... . If you’re reading this article, you know realistic drawing in pencil is not the extent of art. You recognize that creative expression takes on many forms, such as painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, installation, cinematography, literature, dance, and music. Creativity has driven people to tell stories through a variety of media. We understand ourselves, other cultures, the present and the past by investigating, appreciating, and analyzing art. We find our personal connections to society and culture by creating. Sometimes it can heal us mentally, spiritually, and even physically. Yet, people still wonder, “Why do I need art?”. Our Need to Express Ourselves. According to the NEA we need art because it helps us to understand how we matter. What inspired the first people to create works of art? Cave paintings reveal that people valued creative expression since at least 35,000 B.C. Throughout history, art has shaped our existence because we wanted it in our lives. Imagine if we did not wish to create or express our ideas? What would the world look and sound like? What would we be like? In some ways, design shapes our world to the point that we often don’t notice how it does anymore. The Evidence is Everywhere . We know art exists in galleries, museums, and collections. Paintings and drawings frequently come to mind when people think about visual art. What’s less apparent is how it influences just about everything in our lives. Buildings, furniture, automobiles, clothes, even your coffee cup: these are designed. Aesthetics govern how objects and appliances get made. We observe the objects in our world and prefer that they embody aesthetic integrity and proper form. To achieve such an end to mundane objects, the elements and principles of design play an important role. Without aesthetics, objects lose their appeal. Therefore, while art isn’t everything, it tends to influence many aspects of our world. Form and Function . I always use cars as an example for my students. They’re easy to talk about because people like to drive attractive vehicles. A Kia commercial from 2010 describes this perfectly by saying, “You can get wit’ this or you can wit’ that...” There will always be a place for design artists in our world as long as we like to travel in style. . How Does it Feel?. Art fosters empathy and can help us make sense of the past and present. We can examine the lives of others more closely by experiencing their art. That’s how we discover that we share universal feelings and experiences. We can identify with characters in literature, feel the emotional quality of music, and recognize the drama in a visual composition. Art can reach across barriers and reach us even when we don’t fully understand it. For example, opera is powerful enough to transcend language to tell powerful stories. . Imagine a World Without Art. If you ever find yourself asking yourself, “Why do I need art?” Think about this. What would the world be like without art? What would be missing from your life if the arts disappeared?

Women and Gender Stereotypes in Art. We are Superwomen, Except When it Comes to the Law. . Since the Women’s March in 2017, women have re-emerged as a strong political force. #MeToo, founded by Tarana Burke, exposed and continues to expose the inequities women face in the workforce. In truth, superwomen of the new political force elect women to office at every level of government. It might seem that we have entered a new Golden Age. Unfortunately, with resurgent power comes reactionary backlash. As we enter Women’s History Month, 2019, it seems like we are losing more of our rights with every passing day. Despite this hardship, women endure and find ways to speak up, often in the arts. . The Legal Backlash . Because I live here, it seems more awful that the Missouri House Legislature found a way to legally oppress women with the most restrictive abortion laws since Roe v Wade. To add to that, it was on the eve of Women’s History Month. Without a doubt, the conservative boot is stamping down on all women’s dissent in this state. It’s not surprising that women suffered the first significant legal actions after the 2018 mid-term elections, especially since we made such an impact on them. It’s also been more difficult for the legislature to attack other groups in Missouri due to the progressive ballot measures we passed in November. However, the fact that people bought the anti-woman goods, means that sexism thrives here. Maybe we just can’t help ourselves. Visual culture remains relatively policed in order to conform to conservative values, historically and culturally. For example, our society has a long history of censorship and regulation of books, magazines, television, and movies. Some of this can be traced back to post-World War II tension about feminism. . Women and the Work Problem. Not surprisingly, gender roles, child rearing, and the workforce intersected in a spectacular way with comic books after World War II. Women, who had taken on jobs previously held by men during the war years, didn’t want to leave those jobs. The conservatives and men needed to reassert gender roles due to job shortages for men. In this scenario, women couldn’t continue to assert their rights to financial or physical autonomy. Thus, Pop Culture served the purpose of re-conditioning society to think about gender roles in traditional ways. . The United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency . The first step towards achieving this goal came from attacking feminism in comic books. The United States Senate Subcomittee on Juvenile Delinquency formed to deal with this issue. Since comic books were widely seen by young people, they were initially villianized as the corruptive force behind juvenile delinquency. Later they served the specific purpose of reinforcing conservative gender stereotypes. Obliquely criticizing women, the Senate asserted that Juvenile Delinquency had risen during the war years and after. This happened due to the hearings in the sub committee held on April 21, 22, and June 4, 1954. While attributing this to comic books, a careful reading of their summary suggests that if women had been at home supervising the children, perhaps this problem could be minimized. . The Comics Code Authority . One of the most notable outcomes of this committee was the formation of the Comics Code Authority which essentially served to de facto censor comic books until 2011. That’s when the last comic publications stopped adhering to the code. The code included many gender stereotypes that explicitly stated how the publications should convey relationships to young people. In 1954, relationships in comic books were governed by many rules. The following are two rules that heavily influenced mainstream stories and reinforced gender stereotypes. Divorce shall not be treated humorously nor represented as desirable... The treatment of live-romance stories shall emphasize the value of the home and the sanctity of marriage. Ostensibly, if young peo...

Why We Need Medical Illustrators . Medical Illustrators Help Society Stay Healthy . Have you ever been unsure about a medical condition or diagnosis? Do you wonder about all the new medical advancements we hear about in the news? Sometimes it can be confusing, especially when breakthroughs in medical research are announced without much context. This is where Medical Illustrators can help. Whether it’s helping patients understand diagnoses, aiding teachers in the classroom, communicating medical concepts to juries, or simply informating the public, Medical Illustrators are literally important to the well being of society. I can personally attest to it. . Visuals Help People Understand Diagnoses. . I struggled with accepting it when multiple doctors diagnosed my son with asthma about eight years ago. Although he suffered with multiple respiratory issues day after day, I just couldn’t wrap my mind around this diagnosis. The truth is, I love my son, but my lack of understanding made me feel helpless. I didn’t fully understand the respiratory system either. Although I was conflicted, I allowed my son to receive treatment for his asthma. In fact, I remained skeptical of the diagnosis for several years. The way I finally accepted the truth about my son’s health and learned to trust the doctors had a lot to do with education. The first time we met the specialist, who ultimately helped my son gain control over his asthma, he insisted that I read about the disease. While I read the material, my son received lessons from the nursing staff about how to correctly take his medications. Afterwards, we talked to the doctor. While we talked, he showed us a lot of graphs, pictures, and used hands on learning aids. It helped us (really me) make sense of the disease. The visual aids supported all of the information I read, but it also just made it easier to visualize what actually happens to a person experiencing asthma. . We Take Visual Information for Granted. . In general, visual aids help people make sense of medical concepts. We see them in so many situations, like in hospitals, doctors’ offices, at the pharmacy, on YouTube, in textbooks and other unexpected places. Medical images, hands on learning aids, videos, and interactive apps must be created. But, who, exactly does this work? Apparently, mostly women. Tucked away between the arts and sciences, a tiny niche exists for the specialists who design medical illustrations. However, becoming a medical illustrator isn’t easy. In fact, only four Universities in North America offer accredited graduate degrees for this field of study. About twenty applicants are accepted by each of the following Universities each year: Augusta University, University of Illinois at Chicago, John Hopkins University of Medicine, and The University of Toronto. Because so few people enter the field of Medical Illustration, it makes up a small portion of the medical profession. Women make up a significant proportion of the student population each year. Despite the majority of men in scientific fields, women dominate in Medical Illustration. . What Exactly Is a Medical Illustrator?. According to the Association of Medical Illustrators,“a medical illustrator is a professional artist with advanced education in both the life sciences and visual communication.” Because science and technology is constantly changing, so is the medical illustration field. In addition to acquiring advanced knowledge in biology and the life sciences, they must stay current in the arts. Medical Illustrators need to continually develop their knowledge of new technology in animation, graphic design, and interactive software, as well as medical research. Medical Illustrators regularly interact with scientists, physicians, researchers, art directors, graphic designers, video game designers, and computer scientists. Additionally, just as medicine is specialized, so is the field of Medical Illustration. For example, one major separation is between ...

Numbers Tell a Story About Women in the Arts The most expensive painting ever sold (to date) is Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvatore Mundi. It sold for $450,000,000 in November 2018. Compare that to Georgia O’Keefe’s Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 Her painting was sold for $44,405,000 in 2014, breaking the record for selling a work of art by a woman. That means that the da Vinci sold for just over ten times the cost of the O’Keefe. Yet, this disparity isn’t an anomaly. Jenny Saville broke the record for selling the most expensive artwork by a living female artist in 2018. Her painting, Propped (1992) sold for $12.4 million. That very same year, David Hockney’s Portrait of an Artist (with Two Figures) sold for $90.3 million. Saville’s sale, again, was an anomaly, rather than progress. Markedly, less than 10% of the rest of the works for sale in 2018 were by women artists. By and large, people perceive men’s artwork as superior in quality to women’s artwork. Certainly evidence points to this phenomenon in numerous ways. According to the National Museum of Women in the Arts, in the first half of 2018 only five of the top one hundred top sellers at auction were women. Further, “Only 13.7% of living artists represented by galleries in Europe and North America are women. (artnet News).” Driving Forces With this information in mind, I can’t help but wonder if we can hope for gender parity in the arts. Indeed, we can examine many driving factors that make gender disparity intractable. Notably, leadership, income inequality, education, and opportunity appear to significantly influence public opinion about women in the arts. Why Leadership Matters in the Art World To illustrate my point, let’s consider leadership. Whether it’s politics, education, museum leadership, galleries, or the boards and committees behind such organizations, women continue to be underrepresented. In fact, in 2017, the New York Times reported that women were directors of only three of the twenty art institutions with budgets over $15 million per year. Because of this disparity, choices about who receives grants, who we see in exhibitions, galleries, or in history books tend to reflect the people in those positions. To put it differently, what would happen if more women from diverse backgrounds filled those roles? The Effect of Income Inequality Another key point is income inequality. Specifically, women earn, on average, 81 cents for every dollar a man earns. Another point often overlooked is that women of color earn approximately 67 cents for every dollar a man earns. With this in mind, consider how that impacts the buying habits of all women as it relates to collecting art. Under these circumstances, women’s income inequality cannot help but marginalize our influence in the art world. Women’s Art Lost to History To demonstrate the central idea that women are centuries behind men in the art world, we merely need to look to art history itself. While women have made some inroads into the history books as of the mid-twentieth century, we remain poorly represented. By and large, from the Renaissance period to the 19th century, women are nearly absent from the history books compared to men. That is not to say women are completely absent, merely that they are more of an exception than the norm. Despite this fact, women made significant contributions to the arts during that time frame. Nevertheless, historians must prioritize research and resources to share that information with the general public. Who is Representing Us? Because of the technological advances of the 21st century, we have tools to study gender disparity in the arts. In a recent study by MIT, two researchers discovered that in the United States, more than 75% of artists in museums are white men. Significantly, the percentage of women represented only amounted to just under 13%. Therefore, these numbers show that the artwork displayed in our institutions don’t reflect the society in which they exist. Because I...

Platitudes and Power in the Art World What are platitudes? Often, these simplistic and overly repeated phrases are accepted as truisms. Specifically, they may appear to point out something obvious despite being patently false. An example of a platitude is, “It is what it is.” Explicitly, this overly broad and simplistic statement can apply to almost anything, means nothing, and reinforces whatever condition currently exists. But why even talk about platitudes? In my recent article, I argued that the art world left women centuries behind men. Quite frankly, it’s almost impossible to develop that argument in a single article. However, I was fortunate enough to receive three comments that provided insight into the way platitudes reinforce gender disparity in the art world. . The Persistence of Platitudes Each comment represented common logical fallacies that shape how we all perceive gender balance. Without delay, the first comment appealed to ignorance by stating that most art for centuries had been made by men. The fact is, we don’t actually know that to be true. At present time, evidence shows that women did make art throughout the centuries. However, lack of attribution, recognition, and unclear records make it difficult to fully grasp the role women played in the arts. In other words, this argument relies on the platitude, “it is what is.” Shortly thereafter, another commentator used a red herring to discuss other topics. At the same time, they added a weak analogy to support their argument by comparing art world leaders to other business leaders. The problem with this argument lies in its lack of reflection on the main issue and it’s “it is what it is” platitude. Finally, the third comment relied on equivocation. That is to say, the argument hung in the balance on the meaning of the word, “art.” While this may not be a platitude, it does represent a logical fallacy. To question whether or not the definition of art was clear in terms of art museum directors was a bit of a stretch. Debate vs. Platitudes With this in mind, I appreciate when people comment on my articles. Specifically, it helps me examine my own writing and improve it. Additionally, it’s important to realize that discomfort is the first step towards actually seeing the gender imbalances in the art world. Unless we start to openly discuss and analyze uncomfortable issues, change cannot happen. Granted, those that speak in platitudes may not want change. Indeed, a careful analysis of people’s attitudes towards gender equality could reveal a rejection of that very change. Who Were Women Artists of the Past? According to encyclopedia.com, during the Renaissance, women made up a large sector of working artists. However, most of these artist went unnamed because of the social, legal, and religious norms of the time. Whereas, while male artists of the time enjoyed the relative privilege of joining artists guilds, women were barred. Women, however, were joining a growing number of writers who began to influence feminism and humanism through their written works. Women who worked as artists primarily fell into the following categories, nuns, daughters and wives of professional artists, and lesser women of nobility. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, European women worked in virtually every artistic field. The most numerous women artists were nuns, though they were rarely identified because they created objects and images primarily to honor God's glory. Historical records show that an extensive art industry was conducted by nuns and that convents were often artists' workshops. Even under these circumstances, some women managed to achieve recognition for their work. In particular, Lavinia Fontana, born in 1552, grew up with a father who encouraged her artistic development. Throughout her life, she learned how to paint from her father as well as other influential artists like Ludovico Carracci. By marrying a supportive painter who recognized her talent, she wa...

Art Illuminated Rwanda’s Plight . One of the questions I often ask my students is, “Can art save lives?” Of course, the reactions tend to be mixed. However, because today is Rwanda Remembence Day, I thought it would be a pertinent question. If you’re like me, you might have learned about the genocide in Rwanda when Don Cheadle starred in Hotel Rwanda. He played a well connected hotelier named Paul Rusesabagina, who was married to a Tutsi woman, Tatiana. While this film offered a bleak example of world indifference to human suffering, it also helped shine a light on Rwanda’s plight. Despite the fact that Hotel Rwanda lacks the totality of grotesque butchery of genocide, it marks the event so we won’t forget it. Notwithstanding some of the controversies surrounding the facts of Hotel Rwanda, it accomplished a goal. As a work of art, it conveyed the violence, emotional trauma and displacement experienced by the people in Rwanda at that time. It’s almost impossible for me to hear about genocide in any society without thinking about how the people must be feeling and suffering. Above all, I understand the way people must feel helpless and trapped. This is due to the film maker’s ability to connect audiences with that experience. Thus causing us to empathize with the people in the story. . 100 Days and Beyond . Today we recognize Rwanda as a place defined by genocide. Unfortunately, when Rwanda needed help, the world mostly turned a blind eye to the horrific human devastation inflicted on the Tutsi people by their ethnic rivals. Specifically, we ignored the fact that for 100 days, the Hutus slaughtered the Tutsi with impunity. By the time the world started to notice, 800,000 people were dead. Although the Rwandan Patriotic Front, backed by the Uganda Army, ended the violence on July 4, 1994, the war was really about to start. Because the Hutus feared retribution from the Tutsi controlled government, hundreds of thousands fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Consequently, when the new government invaded DR Congo, war broke out, spreading across six countries. Ultimately, five million people would lose their lives and the conflict would last until 2003. . How Could this Happen? . According to World Vision, an imbalance of power between the Tutsi and Hutu ethnic groups had existed long before the conflict. While both groups worked in the farming industry, the Hutus made up a majority of the population. Until 1959, the Tutsis, held wealth and power as the ruling class, despite their minority status. This was especially the case under Belgian colonial occupation. However, in 1962, Rwanda gained its independence and the Hutus took power. As a result of the new power structure, a substantial number of Tutsis to flee the country. If I have to describe the build up to the genocide in a word: that word is tension. For decades, both groups pushed back and forth for power and equity within a system designed to suffocate one group or the other. Much like other polarized societies, the group that held power refused to acknowledge the truth behind low level violence against the other. Low level violence included dehumanizing language, which was accepted and acceptable. By intentionally looking the other way, the government bred the conditions for escalating violence. Thus contributing to the rise in polarization that hastened genocide in Rwanda. Unfortunately for the president, Juvénal Habyarimana, this led to his own death on April 6, 1994. In spite of his efforts to restore peace, his plane was shot down by an unidentified group as he returned from the conference. Consequently, this led to the 100 days of violence that we recognize as the Rwanda Genocide. . Art’s Role in Rwanda Today . Despite numerous tribunals, attempts at reparations, and a sincere desire from many people to repair Rwanda, problems persist. Even with the work within and aid from others, it’s difficult for people to simply forgive and forget what happened. Meanwhile, p...