The new art show in the ASA Gallery imposed restrictions on who could enter the exhibit - they had to be women, and they had to be connected to UNM.
"People were so defensive that only women were allowed to enter the show," curator Ana Urquilla said. "That was part of the point, to have a show that got a reaction."
The exhibit, "Fem-i-nin-i-ty," is comprised of 15 female artists who address how being a woman affects their everyday life, she said. Part of Urquilla's motivation, she added, was the divisive, competitive nature of women in the art world.
"The women in the Art Department were more competitive than the men, so I thought it was important for them to have a venue to express themselves as a united group," she said.
Urquilla wanted women from all cultures and backgrounds to enter the show, not just art students and staff. She selected judges from outside the art department because, she said, the same people seem to judge most of the juried art shows on campus, resulting in work that is similar and repetitive.
Still, Urquilla had criteria for potential judges.
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"They had to be strong women, who not only talk about this (women's issues), but act upon it. They had to be active in the field and non-artists."
The judges were Professor Lisa Broidy from the Sociology Department, Professor Louise Lamphere who is on sabbatical from the Anthropology Department and Ellen Grigsby, formerly a professor in the Political Science Department.
And, as promised, a broad variety of powerful work has been chosen by these judges, creating a discourse that covers multiple angles of femininity. From the very abstract to the very concrete, each piece interacts with the concept in an individual way.
Rose Simpson, an artist in the show, said she doesn't think about femininity when she sculpts, but her work usually involves some aspect of it simply because she's female.
Simpson's stunning sculpture of a woman in three different states is suspended from the ceiling.
"My mom was like 'Rose, clay belongs on the ground. It comes from the earth. It's not supposed to float,'" she said.
Leta Evaskus' three black-and-white portraits "Lauren," "Jennifer" and "Dusty" effectively question gender identity. Evaskus said much of her work is focused on looking at points of intersection for masculinity and femininity and at how people display gender - their biological gender as well as the gender they feel most comfortable with.
"I'm interested in how the exterior body and the mind work together and against each other," she said. "By removing these people's clothing and jewelry, I felt I was stripping them down to what they were without using a costume to display gender. They displayed the gender that they felt they were, without me projecting the gender I think they are into the work."
Urquilla said because of the show's success, she hopes to assemble a panel discussion that will include the artists, people from the Women Studies Department and from the Women's Resource Center, along with the judges.
"I really hope the show motivates people to search for their own answers," Urquilla said. "I hope they will find some kind of inspiration in the work."
The What, When and Where
What: "Fem-i-nin-i-ty"
When: Through March 3, 8-5 p.m. Monday-Friday; Opening reception Jan. 23, 7-9 p.m.
Price: Free
Where: ASA Gallery
