Item of the Week: "Loose Change" by Suzanne Opton

Opton's photographs portray aging women in a positive light.

New to the Chrysler this week is photographer Suzanne Opton’s book “Loose Change.” It showcases photos from her 2001 exhibition by the same name. All the pieces feature middle aged women posing nude with household items.


Opton, perhaps best known for her “Soldier” portraits, ensures her subject’s anonymity by focusing solely on the body. She stresses her feminist perspective by pairing the women with sponges and toasters, commenting on society’s expectations of women. Many of the women also pose with vases, traditional symbols of femininity.

Few artists have dealt with the aging body with such a positive perspective. Rodin famously portrayed an aging courtesan that had once been beautiful in his sculpture “The Kiss.” In response, Erwin Blumenfeld photographed the model for “The Kiss” as an old woman defeated by her body. Only in recent years have artists like Anne Noggle and Joyce Tennyson portrayed the aging body in a positive light.

The book includes interviews with the models, which provide fascinating insight into the way women see themselves.

“What struck me was the universality of the photos, of the bodies,” says one of the anonymous models. “It felt like we all look like that: we bulge a little here, we sag a little there, and there’s beauty, too. That was nice, seeing that realized as art.”

“Loose change is what’s left over at the end of the day,” author Vicki Goldberg writes in the afterword. “It makes a pretty jingle but hasn’t much power and doesn’t go far.” The women featured, she points out, are so much more.

Ultimately, the project celebrates the beauty of all women, regardless of their age or shape.

Want to learn more about Suzanne Opton’s work? Two of her “Soldier” portraits are included in our collection at the Chrysler, or visit her website for more information.

Intern Collections

During the summer, we asked Interns Chelsea and Casey to create a virtual collection by collecting digital images of some aspect of the library collection to be decided by them. For example, they could collect images of bookplates in the collection, of details on binding, books with funny titles, or books on a particular subject – the possibilities were endless. In July, at the Library Open House, each collection was presented.  You can see both collections scrolling below, or click on them to take a closer look. Thanks to our Summer interns for all of their hard work!


Casey’s Collection



Chelsea’s Collection

Women at the Chrysler Women and World War II

During the exhibition Women of the Chrysler: A 400-Year Celebration of the Arts, we’re celebrating the contributions of women to the history of the Chrysler Museum. Women from all backgrounds have played an integral role in the creation, development, and operation of the Museum from its very beginning. Each week during the exhibition, we’re a story about a woman or group of women accompanied by images from the Library's collections. This week's contribution was researched and written by Spring Library Intern Victoria Schwab. We invite you to join us in the Library to learn more about these dedicated women.

The women at the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Science were not discouraged by the hardships of World War II; rather they persevered by sustaining art and culture in Norfolk. Members of the Norfolk Society of Arts and Junior League regularly held exhibitions, lectures, and concerts in support of war relief. In 1942, ‘Women of the War Week’ was held to sell defense bonds and stamps encouraging citizens to “Stamp Themselves American.” Additional aid was provided through various shows including the Harvest Show, which raised $1,595.63. Aside from war relief, the Museum sponsored free concerts along with poetry and art competitions for individuals serving in the armed forces. The Museum’s commitment to the arts brought support and encouragement to residence in a time of crisis.

 

 -- Victoria Schwab, Library Intern

Lately, I’ve been reading Gregory Gibson’s Hubert’s Freaks: The Rare-Book Dealer, the Times Square Talker, and the Lost Photos of Diane Arbus. Photographer of both the popular and the unorthodox, Arbus lived an extraordinary adventure until her untimely death in 1971. She portrayed her subjects with uncompromising directness and dignity. Though born into an affluent New York family, Arbus chose to photograph in some of the darkest, most forbidden – and most interesting places in the city. She cut her professional teeth as a fashion photographer, but felt restrained by the rules of the fashion world and collaboration with her husband Allen Arbus. Later, through her technical studies with Lisette Model and the encouragement given by her famed tutor, Arbus honed her personal style. Eventually, her work revolutionized documentary photography. Interested in learning more about Diane Arbus? Please join us on May 19th for the latest installment of Books & Art, Wine & Cheese and have a look at ground-breaking photographs by female photographers in Women of the Chrysler.

--SCM

"Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?"

When ArtNews published feminist art historian Linda Nochlin’s essay “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” in 1971, it set off a firestorm of discussion in the art world. Nochlin focused on the male-centric world of art history. Were there really never any great women artists, or had their accomplishments been misattributed and played down? Thirty years later Nochlin’s question became the topic of a conference at Princeton on the state of women artists, and her new essay “Why Have “”There Been No Great Women Artists” Thirty Years After” was published. Are you interested in weighing in on this issue? Please join us at the next Chrysler Museum Art & Books, Wine & Cheese on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 for what is sure to be a lively discussion. Please e-mail us at library@chrysler.org if you would like to have digital scans of the articles sent to you. We hope to see you there!