THE PRACTICAL HANDBOOK FOR EMERGING ARTISTS
Edited by Margaret R. Lazzari
An interview with me on the topic of grant writing appeared in the Financial Concerns section of this book:
“What are the most important things for artists to know when applying for grants?"
"Grants are only one piece of the pie for artists. They are just one part of a whole strategy that you come up with for yourself.
Before you begin looking anywhere for funding, spend time to find your own objective. Always stick to it. That’s the first step. Artists sometimes make the mistake of wanting to mold themselves to what they think the needs of the grantor are. But actually it’s the reverse! You need to know your objectives first…."
Download PDF of Interview
ARTIST PROFILE: F. ALYSON POU
Atlanta - New York/March, 1980
By Angelo Lewis
This artist profile by Angelo Lewis describes in detail major projects from the 1970s:
Pow'er 1979 High Museum of Art Atlanta
Mappings 1977 Atlanta Art Worker’s Coalition
Motherlines 1978 Image Film and Video Center (see High Performance Magazine)
Cycles and Clues 1978 Georgia State Gallery
Personal Maintenance-Preserved Flowers 1978 Atlanta Women’s Art Collective
THE ARTIST PROJECT
Portraits of the Real Art Word
New York Artists 1981-1990
I was honored to be part of Peter Bellamy’s photojournalistic compilation of artist portraits that included artist like Jenny Holtzer, Kiki Smith, and many more famous, infamous and dedicated artists.
“The Artist Project ultimately is a celebration of the artist’s existence of choice and their desire to ‘make art’ in our society. It constitutes the most extensive, interlocking survey of the New York artist hat has ever been compiled, and it transcends the fact that it is essentially a collection of portraits of individuals; it has become, collectively, a documentation of a particular community and a recognition of their contribution to our culture.” William Zimmer, Art Critic
THE POLITICS OF WOMEN’S SPIRITUALITY
Essays on the rise of spiritual power within the Feminist Movement
Edited by Charlene Spretnak
Mary Beth Edelson wrote an essay for this book that included a section called CHANGING RITUALS BY ARTISTS… It included rituals by Donna Henes, Faith Wilding, Carolee Schneeman and more.
“The unique and sometimes zany way in which some women think is given full reign in our art/rituals, where we have the opportunity to recreate the world in our image. Artists bring the creative process to ritual. This process adds to its content, stimulates ritual’s evolution, and helps to avoid repetitious stagnation. The following works are ever-changing and evolving ritual performances by visual artists.
Personal Maintenance/Preserved Flowers; April 1978: A performance in which I sat in a chair for several hours without moving. The chair was at the end of a corridor facing a film image. The film was of me sitting on a toilet, legs spread apart with close-up shots from above of my hands as I pried long red fake fingernails off of each finger with a pair of scissors. The fingernails fell between my legs into the toilet. The film was projected above a bank of live flowers which I had picked and dipped in was. The performance took place at the opening of a large group show. Because of my stillness, silence, and lack of activity, most viewers chose to see and refer to me as an object. Many indulged in comments and insults which were directed at me as a passive receiver. This would never happen had I assumed an obviously aggressivedemeanor. As I sat watching the film, being aware of the crowd, I focused on the audience as individuals, hoping my silence would contribute to their own self-awareness in the situation. I thought about the helpless discomfort of an unwillingly passive role and how that produces frustration, acts of self-destruction, and violence in women’s lives. I concentrated on understanding vulnerability as a place from which knowledge and strength can grow. I concentrated on transforming the victim’s position.