Strong Wimmin at the Cleveland Museum of Art

By Bev Stamp and Joye Gulley

The Cleveland Museum of Art has many fine sculptures, paintings, and other art forms which project strong images of wimmin.' Joye Gulley and I looked' for works that could be interpreted from a lesbian and/or feminist perspective.

Because of space considerations, we will discuss only what we feel are the most important pieces. We encourage readers to visit the museum, using our information as a guide. We trust that you will experience an exhilaration as you discover goddesses and other indisputable evidences of wimmin's greatness in the past.

African Art

African Art is located in Room 37, at the north end of the Museum. The Africans have produced extremely impressive sculpture, in some of which wimmin play an important part.

Wimmin are looked upon as powerful and mysterious, having magical powers. They are the subjects of quite a number of African myths. Africans have an outstanding conception of the reality of the spirit world and of the gods. To them the spirits of their tribal ancestors were real and active members of the community, who must be encouraged to be welldisposed toward the living members in their daily round of tribal life. For the Africans the whole of life was lived in day-to-day contact with the unseen.

It seems that the sculpture was geared to satisfy the spiritual world rather than womonkind. The carved figures appear to express the purpose of harboring the spirits who had to be considered and satisfied, and not directed toward critics or owners of the sculptured carvings.

What are the characteristics of such sculptures created for such a purpose? Spiritual powers and unseen forces the repeated formulas and ritual actions performed by the artist at each stage of the carving followed a pattern considered to be acceptable and pleasing to the spirit world.'

Certain offerings had to be presented to the spirit of the tree from which the wood was taken. Other sacrifices were made and rites were performed at various stages in the work. The emphasis was placed on the ritualistic process of creation rather than on the final appearance of a piece. Whatever pleased the spirits must be followed carefully. Conservatism is essential. A carving should have solidity and balance, relative luminosity-a shifting mean to distinguish between dull and shiny surfaces-relative delicacy, fineness of line, and straightness. Other characteristics include skill, good composition, balance and ephebism (making the subject look young).

There are three carvings which are significant. The first is Mask with Female Figure (Santimba). With 'a stark, dramatic profile, it is a good example of the emphasis on craft rather than detail.

The Sim Society Mask (Nimbe pefele), composed of wood with brass tacks, is from the Western Sudan region. Characterized by large breasts, the body is not proportioned to its parts.

A carving of wood and brass, Woman and Child, has a maternity theme and is found in regions untouched by Christian influence.

20th Century Impressionism and Post Impressionism

Surrounding the African art area are rooms of the Impressionistic period. Upon entering this section, a painting and a sculpture stand out: painter Georgia O'Keefe's Morning Glory with Black and Two Women, a sculpture by Henri Matisse.

Georgia O'Keefe has a keen eye for detail. She paints flowers for those of us who overlook them

Page 6/What She Wants/December, 1979

because of their size and insignificance. She has said, "Nobody sees a flower-really-it is so small-we haven't time—-and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time. If I could paint the flower exactly as I see it, no one would see what I see because I would paint it small like the flower is small.”

Delicate yet strong, Georgia's flowers are special to feminists. They possess a certain sensitivity and sensuousness, bordering on the erotic. Whether the artist intends us to see these characteristics is best answered by Ms. O'Keefe: "Well-I made you take time to look at what I saw and when you took time to really notice my flower you hung all your own associations with flowers on my flowers and you write about my flowers as I think and see what you think and see of the flower and I don't."

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Georgia O'Keefe has been painting for over half a century. Viewing her flowers is spiritual as well as sensual. We cannot help but experience a spiritual reawakening or rebirth in relation to our existence as wimmin-identified-wimmin.

The bronze sculpture by Matisse was completed in 1908. This black statue stands two feet high. Two wimmin are standing side by side and each has one arm over the shoulders of the other. Their heads are facing each other. The shorter-haired womon has

especially strong arms. In our opinion, a lesbian theme is expressed; however, if at all possible, it is suggested that readers view the sculpture for themselves and formulate their own opinions.

We were also captivated by two smaller sculptures. The first is Rodim's The Good Spirit (1896). Rodin has portrayed two seated wimmin in an embrace. Although viewing is slightly obstructed by the glass case, this is nevertheless a fine work of two interacting wimmin by an artist who portrayed wimmin as strong assertive characters, never subservient to men.

The second sculpture is Emile Antoine Bourdelle's Sappho. The great poet of Lesbos is shown seated with a lyre as if in deep thought. What an uplift in our spirits to experience this enchanting sculpture, Sappho, an immortal fragment out of our past, the Story of Wimmin. Unlike so much of wimmin's culture which has been temporarily buried or even lost forever, Sappho survives to our time.

The last work in this room which we found especially appealing is Elie Nadelman's marble sculpture. Entitled Goddess (1922), it is an exquisite

head of a Grecian or Roman goddess. She awaits. your admiration.

Late 19th Century French

From Room 35, we walk into the section which comprises Rooms 32-34. The first painting we spot is Paul Jacques Aime Baudry's Joan of Arc, a Study. Joan of Arc was revived as a popular heroine in 19th Century France. This picture is described as a "preparatory oil study (esquisse), which is vigorous, rough and quite spontaneous version of the artist's idea in sharp contrast to his finished paintings characterized by a colorful attention to detail and a smoother surface."

Ahead are more small sculptures behind glass, three of which are outstanding. The first two are by Rodin: Fallen Caryatid Carrying Her Stone and The Sirens. His wimmin-with-strength theme emerges in all of his works which represeht wimmin. The first sculpture shows a strong yet gentle womon bent over with a huge stone on her back. She is a Caryatid, a womon-shaped column used in the Erechtheum Temple of the Acropolis in Athens. There were originally four Caryatids in Athens; now there are three, with the last located in the British Museum. The legend of the Caryatids originates as early as 480 B.C. The wimmin of Caryae were doomed to hard labor because of the town's war with Persia. The Phoenicians used mirrors with handles of caryatids.

The Sirens depicts three wimmin, arms around each other, as if in ecstasy. They are deeply into the sound they are experiencing. Both of these works of art are again a part of our story, and well worth viewing for yourself.

The third sculpture is Jean Jacques Pradier's Fisherwoman, which portrays a standing womon with a fishing line. There is an Amazon-like strength to this figure; her face gives off a feeling of cheerfulness and contentment.

Around the corner and to the left is a 21⁄2 foot high vase, Fishing Season is Open, by Joseph Cheret. As we walked around the vase, we learned that all the carved characters are wimmin.

Directly in back of the vase, we made one of our most gratifying "discoveries". The work is Henri Cros' relief, Incantation (1892). The small one-foot ceramic relief conjures up the former days when wiminin were in control and gathered together and worshipped the Goddess. This lovely dark blue, light blue, yellow and rose-colored work shows one womon standing with torches in her hands. Her wrap is below her breasts. Another womon stands holding her long hair, and a third .womon sits playing a wind instrument. In our opinion, this rates as one of the finest works of wimmin we found.

Early 19th Century French

On up ahead to Room 27, there is one representative sculpture by Antonio Canova. Terpsichore is a marble life-size statue of the Greek muse of music. It is significant to note that the nine female muses preside over epic poetry, history, lyric poetry. tragedy, music, love poetry, sacred poetry, astronomy, and comedy. Terpsichore is shown with her lyre, and she is a reminder to us that wimmin were the first to make music.

In the same general area is an oil painting entitled

(continued on page 12)

'In Old English the word woman was originally wifman and later wimman, meaning "wife of man". Since we feel that wimmin are much more than wives, partners, playmates, etc., for men, we use words which recognize wimmin as individuals, and not bound

to men.

'The New International Illustrated Encyclopedia of Art: Volume I. Library of Congress, 6724201.'

*Georgia O'Keefe, Viking Press: New York (1976), p. 23. 'Ibid.,

D. 24.