Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Oct. 4, 1979, edition 1 / Page 11
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Thursday, October 4, 1 979 Weekender Psga 3 rtisis find respite i in selr-expression V: A By GELAREH ASAYESH A night out with the girls: the often-parodied society of coffee clatch and chit-chat. But for about 70 women in the Triangle Area, get-togethers are devoted to the artistic talents that often get sandwiched between careers and husbands and children. The women professional artists, not hobbyists indulge their artistic natures under the auspices of an organization they have named CenterGallery. The name is meant to convey the group's two-fold purpose: to present art exhibits and to share ideas and interests. Gallery member Carol Adamec explained the value of such a group: "Jobs are tight in art. Some people think if you're not an artist on a 48-hours-a-week basis, you're not an artist at all. But these women have other commitments; they have families, they have to earn a living and some have to put their husbands through school. In the process, art is pushed further and further into the background, and there's tremendous frustration. "CenterGallery tides you over these periods and re-energizes you. When someone like Miriam Schapiro comes down from New York and talks of what's going on in art, it's like a shot in the arm. It boosts you up." Another member explained: "Most of us were working alone, ji I; J 2 " V X ' I '' " lJ t " if ' 1 1 1 i & , t VZ ' lltk . ll f- fW with little feedback, support or exchange of information. Each of us had news of shows, ideas and technical know-how in various media which collectively represented an impressive untapped source." The decision to tap this resource was born out of a discussion in 1977 at the Lucy Lippard art festival in Chapel Hill. With the encouragement of Lippard, a well known art critic and feminist, the artists began meeting regularly. At the end of the summer of '77, approximately 30 people attended meetings, 13 of whom wanted to formalize the group. A charter was drawn up, the center was established as a non-profit organization and its membership increased rapidly. "There was no need to campaign for members Adamec said. "People came knocking on our door." CenterGallery now has a membership of 70 including 28 exhibiting artists and the number is growing by an average of one or two new people at every meeting, Adamec said. The women said the center is above all a support group. "I don't know if I would have gotten back into art without such a group," said artist Day Higgs. The artists, styles and mediums of CenterGallery are diverse. The women range in age from about 25 to 55, and their works represent a fairly comprehensive cross-section of visual art. Academy Award winner Es- telle Parsons delivers another J powerful performance this time as a paranoid and sexually $ frustrated schoolteacher in the J award-winning, one-woman show, "Miss Margarida's i Way.' Curtain time is 8:00 p.m. i in Memorial Hall. Reserved seat tickets are $4 and $5. 5 Mature audiences. Sunday, October 7 8 p.m. in Memorial Hall Reserved seat ticket s $4 and $5 cano!:na 'Stainless Steel and The center also includes several writers, mostly art historians who produce a publication called Egg. Although the group arose out of a common need rather than feminism, feministic ideas are incorporated into the center's activities. These activities range from poetry readings, lectures, discussions, workshops, speakers, films and slide presentations, to horseback-riding, swimming, nature walks and "just hanging out and lazing." Gallery members said they would also like to increase their group's interaction with the town, using two f i ancial grants they have received. Artist Jo Whitten said the group would like to become "a sort of liaison betwen the artist and the community. "Once we've moved from our present space (a basement that floods everytime it rains) to a place NOW OPEN Area's Newest Raw Bar Food Served 6 10 Steamed Oysters Steamed Shrimp Steamed Scallops Steamed Snow Crab Legs Clams ' Bar Open 4-12 Beer & Wine SILVER BUCKET OYSTER BAR 15-501 & Smith Level Rd. Starpoint Center 3 miles from Downtown Chapel H.!l OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK Still Life' by MissieT)ickens more accessible to the public," Whitten said, "we will have regular gallery hours for people to come and perhaps look at our slide registry and find out about what's going on in art." "We'd like to have tours for students of all ages, outside of gallery hours, so we could talk to them about our art." That art is something special in the lives of these women, something they set apart for themselves in a hurried existence. Adamec compares her art to a thread "... which is weaving in and out amongst the everday routine of washing dishes and making beds and taking care of kids. CenterGallery gives you an evening out to go pick up that thread." Gelareh Asayesh is a staff writer for The Daily Tar Heel. 933 0506 i I! ! I! ij : I! t ft f ti o n i o !! o o ? ii o o ii il O () Ji ?! O ( !! O !! (
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Oct. 4, 1979, edition 1
11
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