The last time WAG Weekly spotlighted Marcy B. Freedman, it was to advance the Croton-on-Hudson artist’s Jan. 8 presentation at the Croton Free Library.
Freedman, an art historian as well as performance artist, was speaking as part of the Croton Council on the Arts’ “Considering the Arts” series – and offered an illustrated lecture on “Great Women Artists of the 20th Century.”
It proved to be quite a tour-de-force with Freedman holding an impressively large audience’s attention as she offered a survey that touched on artists including Agnes Martin, Diane Arbus, Nan Goldin, Georgia O’Keeffe, Dorothea Lange, Cindy Sherman, Yoko Ono, Marina Abramović and Pipilotti Rist.
And at the end, she invited those in attendance to keep in mind her own next performance – which she’s calling “Knock, knock. Who’s there?” – would be in February in Yonkers.
The new, multimedia presentation is inspired by an exhibition called “The Alternate Self,” and now, we have the full details, as shared by Freedman:
“As a video and performance artist, I am frequently involved with role-playing. Recently, I have come to see that the characters I invent (and inhabit) often reflect aspects of my own identity. As an art historian, I know that a similar phenomenon can be discovered in the work of many painters, photographers, performance and video artists. Interestingly, I have noticed that a large number of these shape-shifters are women.
For this presentation, I will demonstrate the ways in which artists such as Artemisia Gentileschi (1593 – 1653), Marcel Duchamp (1887 – 1968), Andy Warhol (1928 – 1987), and many, many contemporary women artists, including myself, have used their art to challenge notions of fixed identity. I will also tackle an important topic: why have so many female artists been concerned with alter egos, role-playing, and multiple personalities?”
Catch the performance at 2 p.m. Feb. 25 at Blue Door Art Center, 13 Riverdale Ave. in Yonkers. (Snow date March 4). Bluedoorartcenter.org.
Freedman also has quite a lineup planned for March, Women’s History Month:
- With Carla Rae Johnson, Freedman will curate an exhibition, “STRONG AS A WOMAN,” opening March 6 at the BeanRunner Café in Peekskill.
- At 2 p.m. March 19, Freedman will be part of a panel of local artists in an event, “The Peekskill Museum presents OUR WOMEN IN THE ARTS.” The program will highlight the accomplishments of women working in dance, ceramics, painting, video and performance art in the Peekskill community. Examples of their art will be on view in the museum.
- On the topic of “the older woman,” Freedman is offering a performance, “WOMEN RISING, Scars and All,” at 2 p.m. March 26 at the Talking Arts Foundation in Yorktown Heights. The musicians of SKIN AGAINST METAL will provide an ambient soundscape and musical interludes to enhance Freedman’s spoken-word performance.
- Freedman will be one of the 100 women artists included in “100!,” an exhibition at the Howland Center in Beacon.
For more on all, contact Marcy B. Freedman at 914-271-5891 or mbf@bestweb.net.
– Mary Shustack
