Thursday, 2nd October 

Feminism & The Maternal  in Contemporary Art

by Maggie Cardelus

This survey seminar looks at how women artists since the 60s have grappled with the problems and joys of motherhood in their work.  We will take a look at a range of artists including Mary Kelly’s Post-Partum Document, Mierle Laderman Ukeles’s Maintenance Art projects, Renée Cox’s Yo’ Mama portraits, Sally Mann's Immediate Family project, and many more.  Through careful analysis of their different approaches to art-making we will unpack the many layered conflicts and tensions that arise when ambitious women artists find themselves faced with the challenge of raising children. This seminar encourages lively participation and discussion.

Instructor:  Maggie Cardelus is an internationally exhibited multi-media artist whose photo-based works challenge our conventional understanding of photography and stretch its boundaries into drawing, sculpture, installation, and video.  Her work is internationally exhibited and collected.  At the Accademia di Belle Arti di Santagiulia in Italy, she taught undergraduate and graduate courses in studio art and in the theory of photography.  She earned her undergraduate degree in studio art and art history from Wellesely College, and her graduate degrees in architecture and fine arts from Columbia University and Hunter College in NYC.

You can learn more about her work by visiting her website at:  www.maggiecardelus.com.