AUDIO
MAGICAL WOMEN
Audio 4/14
4.
Mary Beth Edelson
0:00
AUDIO
Mary Beth Edelson
In the 1970s, Mary Beth Edelson began working with her own body—as did many artists of her generation—but in her own signature style. She photographed herself in expressive poses, mostly naked and outdoors. She then reworked these images using paint, drawing, and elements of collage.
The exhibition presents several of these works, which play with societal roles and media attributions. In one of them, Sheela’s Secret Weapon, Edelson associates herself with the sheela-na-gig—a Celtic mythological figure depicted with an open vulva. In Sophia of Wisdom, Edelson replaces her own head with a rose surrounded by classical busts. In yet other images, she becomes a praying mantis wearing high heels, a one-eyed monster with long eyelashes and tentacles, or a technoid creature with a television and antennas on her head.
Wall collages hang alongside these pieces, featuring imagery associated with female power: goddesses, animal figures, masks, body fragments, hybrid creatures. If you look closely, you can even find other female artists represented in this exhibition: for example, you can spot a portrait of Ana Mendieta in one of the collage elements.
Edelson reassembles familiar images, creating alternative concepts of femininity. Her works present the body not as an object, but as a tool. She uses it to question attributions, reinterpret images, and develop new narratives. She strives for complexity rather than for clarity—indeed, her works open up the possibility of imagining other realities.
The exhibition presents several of these works, which play with societal roles and media attributions. In one of them, Sheela’s Secret Weapon, Edelson associates herself with the sheela-na-gig—a Celtic mythological figure depicted with an open vulva. In Sophia of Wisdom, Edelson replaces her own head with a rose surrounded by classical busts. In yet other images, she becomes a praying mantis wearing high heels, a one-eyed monster with long eyelashes and tentacles, or a technoid creature with a television and antennas on her head.
Wall collages hang alongside these pieces, featuring imagery associated with female power: goddesses, animal figures, masks, body fragments, hybrid creatures. If you look closely, you can even find other female artists represented in this exhibition: for example, you can spot a portrait of Ana Mendieta in one of the collage elements.
Edelson reassembles familiar images, creating alternative concepts of femininity. Her works present the body not as an object, but as a tool. She uses it to question attributions, reinterpret images, and develop new narratives. She strives for complexity rather than for clarity—indeed, her works open up the possibility of imagining other realities.