"Birth Control Attire" by Cassandra Leopold

The critic on the block:

Feminist art in Milwaukee

By: Hannah Yale

Posted: 2/26/09

On the eve of a holiday that celebrates traditional romance, one event set out to remind us that there are some 'traditions' that deserve a second look. "Rouge" is a feminist art exhibition that opened Friday evening, February 13 at the Kunzelmann Esser Lofts at 710 Historic Mitchell Avenue. The participants are female artists in Milwaukee, many of them UWM students or alumni. The displayed media was diverse, ranging from photography and installations to fashion and wearable pieces. The voice of the show was clear and set out to challenge perceptions of gender roles and what it means to be female in the 21st century.

Upon entering the exhibition at the opening, gallery goers are immediately bombarded by an energetic Laura Gorzek shouting, "Diet cupcakes for sale! Vegan! Gluten free! No trans fats!" One cannot help but snicker when it is discovered that the treats she's selling are actually skillfully knitted cupcake-shaped sculptures. Both the performance and the advertisements that accompany her strawberry cream and German chocolate bundles of yarn poke fun at the obscurity of fad dieting in America. However, it is certainly not by accident that Gorzek's piece conjoins two traditionally female hobbies, knitting and baking. Gorzek takes the serious issues of stereotyping and obsessive eating habits and playfully gets our attention, causing the viewer to really think about what we put in our bodies and how we categorize gender and activities.

An equally compelling piece that uses similar media is Cassandra Leopold's "Birth Control Attire," a frock and messenger bag printed with recognizable images of the birth control pill. Historically, oral contraceptives opened doors for women and their rights. By using this image as a design pattern for women's clothing and accessories, the artist exerts a certain amount of pride she believes women should have in the product and the opportunities it provides. Having this symbol printed on outerwear also promotes a sense of shamelessness that is not always associated with the use of the pill. Being unashamed to exercise a right is obviously a step in the direction of freedom and equal treatment.

The piece I personally spent the most time with was April Heding's "How to be a Good Wife," an installation of Polaroid photographs and text-printed linen pinned to a clothes line like laundry hanging to dry. The text was appropriated from a chapter of a Home Economics textbook from 1954 of the same title. The instructions were five paragraphs on dos and don'ts a "good wife" should follow to prepare for the arrival of her husband home from work.

Heding lightly edited the original text by replacing all the masculine pronouns referring to the husband with feminine ones. Juxtaposed with Polaroid photos of men doing chores, it is obvious that the artist intended to flip the male and female roles in marriage and relationships.

Overall, aesthetically, the show was a success. The artists brought to light many feminist issues that are often written off as insignificant or irrelevant in today's society through thoughtful and beautiful works.

To my shock and disappointment, over half the show had been taken down after I went back for a second look at the particular pieces. All the images with nudity were removed after the opening, including my favorite photograph of the show depicting a nude, female mother-earth figure. To a point, I understand a tenant's resistance to seeing some of the shocking images of male and female nudity, but it raises an interesting question of censorship in the arts. Is it fair to require artists to change or censor their work in order to be shown? It seems obvious that, since a curator of such a show should be aware of both the content of the show and the limitations of the space in which it is to be displayed, someone chose either the wrong venue for "Rouge" or the wrong exhibition to show at Kunzelmann.

The show is currently running through March 26 and is available from 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday.