A new exhibit at the University attempts to examine different perspectives on gender in modern society. Through potentially controversial photographs and other works of art, visitors to the Adell McMillan Gallery at the University can expose themselves to a variety of different viewpoints on gender roles past and present.
“Y2G: Gender Perspectives in the New Millennium” is sponsored by the EMU Cultural Forum and features seven artists from around the country.
Patrick Merrill, an artist from Diamond Bar, Calif., said he approached the societal expectations men face through his woodcut paintings in the exhibit.
“Men must be a part of the discussion of gender, not the dictators,” he said. “My pieces attempt to identify institutions of power and to portray a strategy of resistance.”
Different perspectives on gender that are portrayed in the exhibit include Merrill’s vision of the confined male, as well as other artists’ interpretations of women and gender ambiguity.
Portland artist Tamara Lischka said she attempts to appreciate the form of gender in her photographs without an emphasis on conventional roles.
“My work is about appreciating form, without the filter of sexuality,” Lischka said.
While the aim of the exhibit is to examine gender, not all the artists are pointing a moral finger.
Julia Babiarz, who contributed her mixed media art exhibit “Road Trip to Mexico,” said she does not try to place herself above the limits of cultural stereotypes.
“In this exhibit, I question a women’s obsession with personal beauty,” she said, “acts that I am participating in at the same time I question them.”
Some of the artists simply value the opportunity that the University can provide for new artists.
“I think it is essential to have new, fresh artwork on campus, so that students can be exposed to current directions in the arts,” Babiarz said.
Others welcome the idea of controversy with the exhibit, anticipating the attention it would bring to their ideas.
“It should be controversial. Artists are cultural critics,” Merrill said. “Controversy causes dialogue, and through dialogue possible compromises can emerge.”
The exhibit runs through May 12 in the Adell McMillan Gallery, located on the second floor of the Erb Memorial Union.