Two Great Opportunities for Women Artists

A.I.R. Gallery has two exciting opportunities for women artists...and the deadlines are soon, so check them out!

1. Open Call, submissions due October 2, 2009

"The Man I Wish I Was", Open Call for artist submissions. A.I.R. Gallery in Brooklyn, NY invites any artist worldwide who self-identifies as female to submit original works of art for a one-month group exhibit in January 2010. We look forward to unanticipated perspectives and encourage an open interpretation of the theme “The Man I Wish I Was.” For full details and application see A.I.R. Gallery website.

2. A.I.R. Fellowship Program, applications due October 31, 2009

18-month professional development program with solo show opportunity for women in the NYC area. Panelists: Lowery Stokes-Sims, Curator, Museum of Art and Design; Harriet Senie, Art Critic and Art Historian; and Catherine Morris, Curator of the Elizabeth Sackler Center for Feminist Art at The Brooklyn Museum. Apply online or download an application. Or send SASE for prospectus to: A.I.R. Gallery, 111 Front St #228, Brooklyn, NY, 11217.

The Good Wife

I enjoy a good television pilot, one that keeps you on your toes the whole way through; one that involves you quickly and immersively in the characters' lives, letting you identify with the protagonist in a natural and unforced way; and one that trusts its viewers to be smart enough to figure out what's going on without a lot of obvious exposition. The pilot for CBS' The Good Wife, which aired tonight, was one such episode: quick-paced, well-acted (love Julianna Margulies, Christine Baranski, and Chris Noth), smart and compelling. Of course, only time will tell if the show itself is any good over the long haul, but so far I really like the juxtaposition of political scandal, domestic life, and the judicial office environment in which Margulies' Alicia finds herself. I like that Alicia's portrayed as a capable, intelligent woman who's willing to stand up for herself but who still possesses a certain believable vulnerability and sensitivity around the issue of her husband's infidelity and arrest. She's still learning the ropes at the law firm, and while she may not always get everything right, it's obvious that she won't take any flak...at least not for long.

So far, I like. Anyone else watch the pilot?

What's wrong with this picture?

No comment necessary, I think. From today's NY Times:

Killer Women

A complete draft of my dissertation is now complete (mini-yay!) and though I still have a bit of tweaking and streamlining to do, I think I can safely say that I'm allowed to have a life again for at least a little while. So, I've been thinking about movies, especially movies I'd like to see, and trying to make sense of my recent interest in one particular horror film even though I do no--I repeat, do not--generally like horror films. Now, I can do a psychological thriller or an over-the-top werewolf/vampire blood-fest like Underworld, but I don't generally do strict horror of the slasher variety (and never of the unfortunately-but-probably-aptly-named "torture porn" variety). Thing is, I'm an absolute scaredy-cat when it comes to graphically-violent visual imagery, and I just have no interest in subjecting myself to stuff like that voluntarily. Of course, none of that explains why I want to see this:



What is it about this film that intrigues me? There are many aspects of it--like the exploitative faux-lesbian vibe and the power-hungry vampire girl trope--that are trite and cliched. And yet... Maybe it's because it's written by Diablo Cody (Juno, United States of Tara) and directed by Karyn Kusama (Aeon Flux, Girlfight). Or maybe it's just that I like that it has two female leads (even though one of them is evil). Or maybe it's that amidst the pandering through eroticized violence and typical slasher/revenge plot there's hint of a feminist resonance in there. Maybe just a little...?

What do you all think? Anyone else interested in seeing Jennifer's Body (no pun intended)? I'll let you all know what I think once I see it.

In the same vein, I've been wanting to see this film for ages...



...and, if I had to choose a favorite horror film, this would be it:

Women's Equality Forum

Just a quick jubilant heads-up that my post for The National Council for Research on Women's blog The Real Deal was quoted in Linda Basch's article over at The Huffington Post!

Check out the whole forum here (and comment!) and you can find my post here. A little excerpt:

I don’t know much about politics, but I do know a little bit about equality. And I know that right now the two terms don’t really mix. Still, I have this fantasy about the American political system, and I can’t decided if it’s more disheartening to think that it’s still a fantasy or more frustrating to realize that some people don’t see a problem. Is it too much to ask for a political stage on which candidates are challenged based on the strength of their ideas, not the strength of their jump shot; where debates are waged over the economy and health care instead of necklines, pant length and shirtsleeves? Is it so difficult to imagine a female politician holding political office without first weighing the advantages and disadvantages of having a woman in power? When we consider each new candidate, the question shouldn’t be, “Is this woman right for the job?” but “is this person right for the job?” After all, do we often consider the merits of a male politician’s manhood?

Check it out!

"The Streep Effect": Meryl Streep and Economics

In another of my series of posts wherein I throw short little tidbits at you to cover for the fact that I'm not really posting these days (it's a temporary hiatus, I promise!) due to my dissertation (oh, that old thing?), here's a great article from The Independent, which I found, as I often do, browsing Women and Hollywood.

The article, "The Streep effect: Why economists love her," expounds on Meryl Streep's recent "career renaissance," and then tracks the compelling economic effects her films have had, from increasing the sales of ABBA records (post-Mamma Mia) to pushing Virginia Woolfe's Mrs. Dalloway to number 1 on Amazon's best-seller list after her portrayal of Clarissa Vaughan in The Hours.

Streep, who turned 60 in June, has carried off a unique feat among contemporary Hollywood leading ladies: she has sustained a long, A-list career without a break, and moved into roles that have the authentic prestige of the grande dame without settling for matronly support slots. The achievement is all the more impressive considering how many of her best contemporaries have fallen by the wayside, suffered patchy careers, or bowed out, weary of sub-par roles...

Check it out.

The Rights 5: LGBT Rights in Colorado

A new-ish ad I just saw for the first time here in Colorado, made by Progress Colorado:



Bonus points for the racially-diverse cast of superheroes!

The website can be found here.