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January 8th – February 28th 2009
Artist’s reception, January 8th from 6 to 9 PM
Exhibiting artists - Marina Fortsmann Day, Cheryl Ekstrom, Suzanna Schulten
Margaret Lazzari, Michelle Weinstein , Suzan Woodruff
Curated by Shane Guffogg
Pharmaka is proud to announce the opening of “New Mythologies”, curated by LA artists Shane Guffogg. This exhibition examines how six LA based women artists are creating a new visual mythology. These artists, all independent of each other, create personal and universal images that delve into how the world works from a spiritual, psychological and a scientific view with all levels existing simultaneously. Animal forms find their way into many images. One artist uses the manifestation of human emotions to form into animals, while another combines found animal parts to fabricate humanoid forms. In still another’s work, animals are depicted realistically but exist as a part of a combined reality. The invisible energies that create the natural world are brought into our world through complex lines on paper or pigment on canvas. These six artists give us different views of the world we live in, adding a deeper understanding of the natural while furthering the mythology of the supernatural.
Curatorial statement
The word mythology comes from the Greek μυθολογ?α (mythología), meaning "a story-telling, a legendary lore." Mythology refers to a body of folklore and legends that a particular culture believes to be true. Mythology often uses the supernatural to interpret natural events to explain the nature of the universe and humanity. We have all learned about the ancient Greek myths and their personification of the laws of nature. Every culture has myths that help it understand the world and the events that happen, with art playing an integral part, giving us the faces of the mythological gods or images of the universe that they control.
In 1988, Bill Moyers produced a six part television documentary about Joseph Campbell’s book, The Power of Myth. During one of the interviews, Moyers asked Campbell, “What happens when a civilization loses its myths?” Cambell replied, “Read the front page of the New York Times.” That statement has haunted me for 20 years as I read the headlines and watch what happens in our world.
Art has an important role in society. Art changes the way we see our world and thus, our place in it and potentially ourselves. Because most art produced today follows well-worn grooves in the road of art history or what the art schools are teaching, I often find myself longing for art that is unexplainable and falls outside of categories, defying my idea of logic.
A few years ago, when the doors of Pharmaka first opened, artists started coming to see our exhibitions. Some asked if they could show me their work, not for the sake of having a show, but because they wanted to share and discuss their ideas. As I looked at many artists’ work over the years, I started noticing something that I hadn’t anticipated: art that didn’t fit with what was being presented in the “mainstream”, as in the latest trends. The art wasn’t a commentary on society or the roles people play, but seemingly a result of those things. The art was coming from a personal attempt to make sense out of the chaos we all battle daily. I kept images on my computer of these artists works, and made mental notes.
I noticed something else: the images I kept were all made by women. When I brought this up in Pharmaka group meetings, I said I thought something new was happening, maybe even something like a new mythology. These artists didn’t know each other nor had they seen each others’ works, and yet they were creating images, finding objects and putting them together in ways that alluded to reasons for why things are.
I think it is safe to say that we are living in a man-made world. And by man-made, I am referring to technology, conflicts, racism, and the effects of global warming that we are now all too familiar with. Mother Earth, Gaea, is thought of as a female energy because Earth is the giver and renewer of life. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that women would be the first to start creating a new mythology. How could they not?
installation views
Pharmaka 101 West 5th Street Los Angeles, CA 90013
www.pharmaka-art.org 213.689.7799
Hours Wednesday through Saturday 12 to 6 pm.
Gallery Director- Rebecca O’Leary Rebecca@pharmaka-art.org
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