Women’s contribution to this world has been exponential, as well as progressive, and because of that Women’s history month is given to us as an opportunity to see the contributions that women have made.
In the library’s art gallery an exhibition of Judy Chicago’s, “The Dinner Party,” is being displayed to promote women’s history month. The piece is known as an iconic piece of feminist art, for is representation of 1,038 women, that through history have made change in our world today. Judy herself is a well known feminist, artist, teacher and intellectual, who’s work has been featured across the world, so for our college to have such a prolific piece of art, is an honor.
“I think the exhibit is great to have at our school,” said junior business major Laura Petrucci, “being a fan of art, it‘s awesome to see new things be put in show for us students and it is cool to see that our school is taking interest in such a widely known piece of art.”
There are 3 wings of dinner tables arranged as if there were a dinner taking place, but at each seat there are different collages and decorated table settings, that describe the women of choice and her influence upon us. Chicago wanted this to be seen as somewhat of a memorial and honoring of the women who fought for what women wanted in their lives. To show that, each table is set in chronological order to show the process of how much women have grown since gaining the rights they fought so hard for.
Taken from the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art Web site, “wing one of the table begins in prehistory with the Primordial Goddess setting and continues chronologically with the development of Judaism, to early Greek and Roman societies, marking the decline in women’s power, signified by the Hypatia plate. Wing two represents early Christianity through the Reformation, depicting women who signify early articulations of the fight for equal rights, from Marcella to Anna van Schurman. Wing three begins with Anne Hutchinson and addresses the American Revolution, Suffragism, and the movement toward women’s increased individual creative expression, symbolized at last by Georgia O’Keeffe place setting.”
The exhibition itself is intriguing to look at, due to it’s a-typical format. There is nothing on the wall or a pedestal like a normal art exhibition, its all laid out on the dinner tables, featuring women at each seat, hence the name, “The Dinner Party.”
“I think the exhibit is something neat, the way it is set up is very unconventional,” said junior business major John Baldi, “I wasn’t planning on liking the exhibit, but the timeline and meaning behind the pieces of art showed me the significance of women in today’s society, and gave me some new information I didn’t know.”
Women’s history month is meant to honor the women that, “changed the game,” and brought women into a new era of respect and rights. Mother’s, Actors, Musicians, Politicians, Artists and more were showcased and respected at the exhibit, and that’s what it’s all about. Stop in when possible as the exhibit is up until 3/27, upstairs in the library’s art gallery.
