Under the spotlight this week is Artist Millicent Kennedy. She is a southern woman with a long family history of misfortune. She uses her artwork to work through difficult aspects of her life. On Wednesday, January 22nd, Ms. Kennedy explained her work in an artist presentation at the Saint Xavier University Art Gallery.
The Gallery presents local, regional, and national artists. Since each artist does a presentation, it offers a potential networking opportunity for rising students.
Gallery Director Cathie Ruggie Saunders often selects these people to inspire students working on their theses. This artistic space is undervalued by artists and non-artists alike. Understandably intimidated by complex artist statements or abstract art, students hesitate to enter the Gallery and or leave with many questions.
The key to understanding art as a non-artist is to understand the purpose of the pieces. From the artist’s perspective, they are always eager to receive the viewers’ subjective interpretation. Millicent Kennedy wanted viewers to put together a scenario and look for clues about the story her exhibit tells. Busy as a gallery director and assistant registrar, no artist remains in the gallery for the run of a show, therefore she is not there to guide views and discuss the elements of her show. As a marketing strategy, the lack of explanation works by increasing the amount of audience participation in contextualizing the pieces.
Is it worth seeing as a non-artist? Yes, students who enter the art gallery will see large clusters of canvases with carefully-stitched strokes of human hair. When there is gestural work such as Ms. Kennedy’s, there exist different layers for understanding. On the surface, she has sewn human hair to canvas. Sublevel analysis suggests that it reflects time, growth, change in an individual’s life. By having various levels available for analysis, a show becomes more appealing to both artists and non-artists.
Is this applicable to all of Ms. Kennedy’s work? Yes, Millicent Kennedy’s work is very deliberate. She works in ways that connect objects that are broken, cut, and severed reattaching the elements through means of sewing them into a new composition. The trinity of hands that are sliced and severed is similar to a broken cup and cut hair. It is faulty to analyze these compositions without considering physical craftsmanship as an element of their underlying message.
The Gleanings are one example of incredible craftsmanship. Millicent expressed that the process involved included growing her own hair and cutting it off in order to collect the material to begin. She also acknowledges receiving hair donations, which accounts for the dark curly hair in her series. These strands of severed hair are sewn into cloth and canvas in order to spread the hair into gestural shapes. These shapes are partially arranged and partially organic. Sewing into these surfaces meant that Millicent had to carefully pierce the surface without disrupting the arrangement of the hair.
During her presentation, one student asked her where she got her inspiration from. Her response varied from piece to piece but foundationally, her work is a representation of her family history. The foliage that she used was a reflection of her Southern upbringing. The trinity of hands being the hands of craftsmen and hard workers, reflecting the generational connections despite being cut into pieces. She considers herself to be an installation artist, fiber artist, printmaker, and bookbinder, all of which are evident in the curation of her pieces.
Feminism is a difficult topic to approach in the workplace, especially when you are a woman in the art world. The Public Library of Science conducted a survey to show that “the permanent collections of 18 prominent art museums in the U.S. found that out of over 10,000 artists, 87% are male, and 85% are white” (National Museum of Women in the Arts). Women like Millicent have a silent set of standards that inspire them to work hard and be strong in such an underrepresented field.
A member of the audience attributed her interest in “domestic objects” as a result of being a woman. A quick response demonstrated her vibrant smile rejecting this comment and the gender norms associated with it. She stated, “…We all live in domestic spaces…”. Traditional gender norms suggest sewing a hobby for women. When sewing progressed into fiber art and installation, she assured the crowd that it was not, in fact, the coincidental x chromosome. She explained that she wanted to capture the essence of living in a space that has connected generations. She had the intention of capturing a moment in time, like a picture, though the use of craft.
Picture the following scenario:
“Charlie likes to sew”
Was Charlie a man or a woman in this scenario? What made you think that? How did the action of sewing influence your vision? Misogynistic undertones drive assumptions that contribute to a division and marginalize women. Millicent Kennedy’s remark followed a similar logic. Why did her choice of craft have to be related to her sex? It was not related but it sparked a flare in her response. The only thing that mattered was the conception and execution of a topic interesting to her.
The marginalization of women and the desire to change something about sexist culture is not only an act of feminism but a true act of contemporary art.
Finding time to both create and curate shows, Millicent Kennedy is setting the stage for women to shine in gallery spaces. She sets an example with her exhibitions. Similarly, she is a gallery director at the Rockford University Art Gallery. Having women as directors of galleries brings hope of a new horizon for female artists. The potential to curate a show based on talent rather than sex seems like a logical measure of aptitude. I am confident that the space for women in the arts will grow.
What’s next for Ms. Kennedy? Viewers should be on the lookout for a new project incorporating Millicent’s printmaking skills, foliage, and hopefully a more gentle craft. Careful elements of bookbinding printmaking and origami may be present. Her intentions have the potential is to consider topics on inclusion. Her plans may not directly tie into this current show, but there is a similar theme of change that occurs in a person’s life.
Liking her art may be subjective, but there is a benefit to attending a free artist’s presentation on campus. You have the opportunity to be exposed to different practices, people and perspectives. The presentations can open a new understanding of the gallery exhibit while you listen to people with a passion for visual communication.