艺术ist and 积极分子 Linda Stein shared stories and what inspires her work in a webinar with the Penn State community and online participants.
宾州中央谷. — 艺术 has long since been viewed as a way to explore and express our 真实的 selves. 尤其是, it can provide a pathway to start a dialogue about topics that are difficult to discuss.
在她作为女权主义艺术家的作品中, 积极分子, 和作者, Linda Stein regularly touches on topics that are typically difficult, 即使是禁忌, 对于许多. 她的最新展览, "性别流动性," explores the often-blurred line between masculine and feminine traits, 角色, 还有肉体. The exhibit is managed by Stein’s nonprofit, Have 艺术, Will Travel! (HAWT) for Courageous Kindness, which addresses bulling and diversity. 该展览正在罗纳德·K. DeLong Gallery at 十大网赌靠谱网址平台 (PSU-LV) until Dec. 3.
Stein recently shared the influence behind her work and stories from her 50-year career in an 艺术s Project ONLINE talk with the Penn State community and participants from around the country. 与感兴趣的社区一起, 她讨论了代理, 流动性, 权力嫉妒是她作品中反复出现的主题. 后来, Stein participated in a unique virtual question and answer session and tour of the exhibit, 由PSU-LV学生Allyshia Mohr协调.
Stein struggled with the idea of gender throughout most of her life, 而且它, 太, 继续出现在她的作品中. “So much of my personal history can be seen through the lens of gender,” she said. “内心的冲突在我的艺术中表现出来.”
Growing up in the 1950s and 60s, icons like Marilyn Monroe were the feminist ideal. Tomboys, as Stein describes herself, had a difficult time fitting in with either the girls or boys. 晚些时候, Stein began incorporating Wonder Woman into her art using different media and formats to show women’s unique strengths. “I felt the need to unhinge, break up, overturn, alter stereotypes,” she said. “Through risk taking and experimentation, I felt this yearning hang out.”
9月. 11, 2001, proved to be a turning point in Stein’s work. Stein and her staff were evacuated from Stein’s Lower Manhattan art studio; most of Stein’s personal belongings in her apartment had to be thrown out due to fears of contamination. “我害怕去我的工作室. I couldn’t work on my sculpture for almost a year,” she said. 当她回去工作时，她的状态变了. “我的艺术几乎完全是抽象的. 9/11之后，它变成了垂直的. 当我做这些雕塑的时候, I was startled to see an almost ‘femaleness’ about them…from the trenches of my studio, 我开始建立我的雌雄同体武器库. 我在塑造战士的形象，”她说.
Today, Stein’s work continues to blur the lines between male and female. Many of the forms in the "性别流动性" exhibit do just that — bring a fluidity to the human form, allowing the viewer to draw their own interpretation about gender. “Gender identity is a social and psychological construct,” Stein said. “Most people don’t think of themselves as either/or. In my world in the 1950s, words like ‘nonbinary’ and ‘trans’ were not discussed. Now it’s hard to speak about one category without bringing in others.”
Stein also hopes her work inspires her audiences to be brave, 大胆的, 真实的, and upstanders for those who may not have the voice to speak for themselves. “是大胆的. 敢于创造你想要的，你感觉到的. Bravery occurs for me when I go against the tide in the art world, or anytime. 当我与人群背道而驰时, when I go out on a limb and experiment with new materials…[I try to] be as 真实的 as I possibly can.” Stein said the goal of HAWT, her nonprofit, is to “find tomorrow’s upstanders. [Give] protection and respect for those around us. Bravery is not just for earth-shattering events, but everyday bravery.”
安Lalik, PSU-LV画廊协调员和艺术总监, said it was a great opportunity for students and art lovers to have such an interactive presentation with a renowned artist. “琳达有一个非常有趣的故事要讲, and we received so much positive feedback after her presentation. I especially loved her Zoom visit in the art gallery with our students afterwards, 哪一个允许更非正式的互动. This was exciting for us because Linda truly has an international following.”
For more information on Stein’s traveling exhibit, visit haveartwilltravel.org.
