A Woman's World...

Earlier this evening, I had the pleasure of watching two documentaries that are being screened back-to-back at Film Forum. The great thing about Film Forum is that they show a lot of smaller movies that are specifically geared towards the arts and academia. The first of the films was called, With My Back to The World, which is about the artist Agnes Martin who passed away in 2004.

The movie is a quiet movie, full of the ideologies and insights of the artist renouned for her lengthy career crafting horizontal line and grid paintings.

Agnes Martin is one of my personal inspirations. In my studio, pinned to the wall, there is an essay entitled Beauty Is the Mystery of Life. This essay has fueled me onward to continue my artistic practices, even on those dark and doubtful days. It can be found in a book called, Uncontrollable Beauty: Toward a New Aesthetics.

The following movie was called, Squatting The Palace: An Installation by Kiki Smith in Venice. In an almost manic pace, the film traces the preparation of the exhibition, Homespun Tales: Stories of Domestic Occupation, held in the Fondazione Querini Stamplia in Italy. Smith is shown easily vascilating between media, sculpting, drawing, painting, and planning. I too am moved by Kiki Smith and her investigations into fairy tales and classical mythology.

Shown together, there is an interesting comparison and contrast between both female artists, examining the multi-facets of what it means to be an artist - particularly a woman artist. Each of the artists is vastly different from one another in style, practice, and generation, but in their disparity a common ground can be hammered out.

The screenings began tonight and will run for another two weeks. On Friday, January 12th, there will be a book signing for Smith and the directors for the Smith movie and a Q & A with the director of the Martin film. The activities begin at 7:30 PM in the main lobby of Film Forum.