The Collegian

Issue date: 10/8/04 Section: No Limits

Media Credit: Karyn Gilbert Lynn Crisweel painted this with oil, lead and plaster, which she named "Swept" in 2001. She charges $2,200 [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Karyn Gilbert These masks are made mixed media. Blind Faith, which was made in 1999. Behind lies She Ogan which cost $199, and Queen costing $85, both made in 2004. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Karyn Gilbert Serta Le Gayle made this piece with mixed media and ceramic in 2004, which cost $155. [Click to enlarge]

I've been to plenty of museums, art exhibits, and galleries in my time, but by no means would I consider myself a seasoned art critic. When I visited the Uncrossing XX: Women's Bodies, Women's Culture exhibition in Delta's very own LH Horton Jr. Gallery, what I saw pleasantly surprised me.

First of all, the fact that we even have an art gallery at Delta is amazing in itself. It is, in my opinion, one of the best-kept secrets on campus. Having been there on only one other occasion, I decided to check out Uncrossing XX.

I was one of the first guests of the day, yet after five minutes I was joined by an English 79 class that had also come to observe. Students of both sexes, all ages and backgrounds surrounded me. Even though the subject matter of the artwork was women, I was glad to see guys in the gallery appreciating the art.

When I overheard a male student near me talking to a friend about how he liked a piece (by Lucinda Marshall, done in needlepoint) entitled "Menstrual Landscape," I smiled to myself. A few seconds later he pointed out that he would buy the piece and display it in his house, but wouldn't tell people what the title was. I couldn't help but think "What's in a name?" to myself.

"Menstrual Landscape," along with "Tits" and "Orgasm," comprise the Virago series, which portrays "taboo discussion topics," using traditional media such as needlepoint and quilting. Marshall explains how she tries to break barriers for women of the past by using what they had available to give them a voice today.

Lynn Criswell's art explores the topic of childhood and early gender training. Criswell exposes typically nostalgic childhood toys and practices as "training grounds that limit possibility" and reveals girlhood as a "prescription of restricted womanhood."

Still, she admits that "...even though I seem to expose the harsher side of adolescence and confront romanticism with crass reality, I do believe I face the dilemma of being born female head-on with charming sentiment."

I was impressed with Criswell's art, even though some of the pieces left me somewhat confused. I appreciated her message and how her art made me think about my own childhood. The randomly-placed braided ponytails in several pieces were also an ironically humorous touch.

Sereta Le Gayle, a Stockton artist, compared her mixed media African Orisha Ogun masks to pregnancy. While the subject of the masks is the male god of iron, Le Gayle says the process used to make them compares to conception, development and childbirth. Le Gayle's art shows that women in the Yoruba mythology are not only represented as mothers and food producers, but as powerful beings.

Cynthia Tom's pieces, including "Enculturation," "Cultural Anomaly," and "Cracks in the Foundation" combine Eastern and Western symbols on the same canvas, Tom says. "Regardless of dress, the essential core, human spirit, remains constant," says Tom.

Tom encourages her audience to "look beyond the aesthetic to challenge stereotypes and traditional roles, and question paradigms and encourage our internal dialogue." A third-generation Chinese-American, Tom's work has often been described as "cultural surrealism." She also incorporates her own seeking and philosophizing habits toward her ancestors and the community of women into her art.

The last artist, Lynn Shade, says her art "springs from a desire to express a girl's-eye view of ardor, female sexuality and the really intense feelings women have that are hidden in day-to-day life." Her exhibit, an "intimate visual journal," is just that; it expresses feelings she claims cannot be put into words, such as having a crush, obsessing over a guy, or daydreaming. For example, her piece entitled "Self Portrait with Heartburn," which I thought was the most realistically emotional, paints a picture of how it feels to go through a breakup.

After seeing Uncrossing XX, I encourage everyone to go see it for themselves. Even if you aren't a woman, chances are you know one and/or love one. Music playing in the background adds to the pleasant, enlightening experience. Songs by female artists, including Blondie, Gwen Stefani and Annie Lennox comprise the soundtrack put together by William Wilson, the gallery director.

"Students should know it isn't like the library or a (stuffy) museum; you can feel comfortable here, and less like you're on display," he said.

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