Construct Femininity: Femininity Construct @ B.K. Smith Gallery 4/2 The opening reception for Construct Femininity: Femininity Construct with GROOP and MOVE Art Audience’s Three Man Show was a successful demonstration of outstanding art and cultural observations in the Greater Cleveland Area. The two shows simultaneoulsy shared gallery space which set off the content of each. Construct Femininity featured new work by Hadley K. Conner and Sarah Curry. Notable was Hadley’s tour de force of photography accurately displaying her unique selection of colorful imagery where female subjects are presented within everyday, intimate environments from a voyeuristic perspective. The implication of covert observation adds an interpretive layer to the photographs which question the position, status, and objectivity of women in modern society.

Each of Sarah Curry’s paintings contain 8 ½’’ x 11’’ transparencies suspended over the painted subject matter (women's faces), delineating condescending and misogynist pictures and statements. The content of the transparencies expose pop culture’s support of male dominant, female degrading attitudes held by advertisers, causing the eye to focus on the subject of the painting, digest the degrading image, and then look past the condescending misogynist statement to refocus on the actual woman or girl in the painting. It is understood by the viewers that the stereotypes projected upon the transparencies are offensive and belittling. It points out these issues, all the while distracting and tempting the viewer to deconstruct the painting.

Ken Chapin, Mike Moritz, and Abe Olvido of GROOP and MOVE Art Audience created site specific works for the exhibition Three Man Show. The art work ranges from sculptures and paintings, to hanging mirrored sculptures, film and video works, and a site specific installation hanging from the ceiling created with copper, plastic, and monofilament. The collection of pieces capture the viewer’s attention, fully activating the gallery space. Although the individual pieces are intriguing, the installation proved much more interesting and powerful. Three Man Show’s use of space and special relation is unprecedented in the gallery, marking the first time the gallery's utilized its space to its fullest potential, complementing the more traditional gallery layout of the Construct Femininity: Femininity Construct show.

Both exhibitions remain on view at the B.K. Smith Gallery on the Lake Erie College Campus through May 14, 2004. A panel discussion on femininity and feminism with artists Hadley K. Conner, Sarah Curry, and Renee Sentilles, Assistant Professor of History at Case Western Reserve University, along with Nancy Prudic, Assistant Professor of Visual Art at Lake Erie College is scheduled for Wednesday, April 21 from 7-9PM at the B.K. Smith Gallery. The event is free. Call 440-375-7461 or visit http://www.lec.edu for more information. from Cool Cleveland contributor DJ Hellerman djhellerman@yahoo.com

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