Art targets negative depiction of women

By Cailie Skelton
STAFF WRITER

Don’t let works like a picture of underwear made of broccoli catch you off guard at the “Proper Behavior, Damas Malcriadas,” art exhibit on the second floor of the Rosenberg Library
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The exhibit has some great art with a strong message. It features the art of Rosa M. Valdez and Heidi Forssell, who both have their masters of fine arts from John F. Kennedy University. Valdez attended Contra Costa Community College in San Pablo and Forssell attended Santa Barbra Community College for undergraduate programs.

“Being at a City College was great,” Valdez said. “It allowed me personalized attention and to build great relationships with my instructors.”
Forssell also appreciates the time she spent at the Santa Barbara Community College. “They really encouraged me to experiment with new materials, which I still do to this day,” Forssell said.

Both Valdez and Forssell experiment with a medley of different materials — hair, wax, photography and, yes, broccoli—the art portrays the current roles of women and how they are valued in society.

“The art that I made was built on my master’s thesis about women’s issues and how many women are still fighting the same battles our predecessors faced,” Valdez said, who gets some of her inspiration from being the daughter of Mexican immigrants.

“I wanted to look at the way in which culture, either Mexican or American, objectifies women,” Valdez said. The art in the exhibit studies the messages about beauty that young girls receive and how the messages stay with girls in their journey into womanhood.

Forssell gets her inspiration from seeing other art and from dreams she’s had, where she first thought of the broccoli underwear, however she says, “most of the time I get ideas just by thinking about how our society functions, and what messages about women we are given subtly through marketing and pop culture.”

Creating the art wasn’t always easy however. “I think it’s a challenge as artists to address issues aesthetically and how to add humor but still be serious,” Valdez said.

Forssell designs her work to provoke thought. “I work hard to try and make the work funny, strange and approachable enough so that people will want to take a second look,” Forssell said. “The work is absurd in a lot of ways, but that’s because American culture can be absurd. Especially when it comes to women and how they are valued and caricatured.”

One of the pieces Valdez created from a white 1950s inspired dress, addresses this issue. The piece is a metaphor for sexual double standards. “Women are taught to sacrifice ourselves for a greater whole while suppressing our own desires,” Valdez said.

Forssell said, “All the things that women buy and wear to look beautiful, all these trappings of modern femininity . I often wonder, do they enhance our identities or hide them? Do I want people to notice me because of my gender or in spite of it? So a lot of the work is about that love/hate relationship with the idea of being attractive, girly, or feminine.”

“I found it very interesting. In some ways when you see this art you wish it was like this again,” said Densise Desha, 38, about the combination of old style art with retro additions that Valdez made. “I like the way the artists mixed the old with the new. They make you stop and look at things. It reminds me of my grandparents,” she said.

“This is a really great exhibit to have at the library during Women’s History Month,” says Kate Connell, who is the curator for the Library Art Exhibitions. “The art is helpful to get people to come into the library and makes them think.”

Although the art carries a similar message, the differing styles the artists use are apparent. Forssell uses actual objects as a base for her art, often using things like underwear to start with and then builds upon it. Valdez, on the other hand, transfers images onto silk and also makes garments. Valdez uses her experiences in life to create a message of cultural expectations.

The exhibit continues through April 29.