Some Like It Hot: An Interdisciplinary Program of Provocative Works by Women Artists
The Washington Project for the Arts presented an inter-disciplinary program of social and political art by contemporary women artists from MARCH 26 – MAY 2, 1987. This series of events included four exhibiting artists, two media nights, one performance night, one literature night, and a panel discussion. The opening reception and first media night were on MARCH 26, 1987 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the Washington Project for the Arts.
The four exhibiting artists on display from MARCH 26 – MAY 2 were Erika Rothenberg, Ida Applebroog, Nancy Spero and Leslie Kuter. Nationally acclaimed artist Erika Rothenberg created a new installation especially for the Washington Project for the Arts to help women succeed in the work force entitled, “Secret Penis.” Ms. Rothenberg, who was WPA’s artist-in-residence for March, 1987, gave a lecture on her work on MARCH 19, 1987 at 7:00 p.m. at the WPA. Nancy Spero, a nationally known artist presented “The First Language,” composed of hand-printed paper and painted collages. Ida Applebroog, nationally recognized for her satirical stylized images, pursued an expressive and painterly direction in her works, the “Two Women” series. Leslie Kuter, a Washington artist, used a traditional rug-hooking technique to convey large-scale political images.
The first installment of “Too Hot to Handle”, WPA’s Media Night series, on MARCH 26, 1987 during the opening reception, included film and video works by both local and national women filmmakers. The second media night took place on APRIL 2nd, 1987 at 7:30 p.m.: tickets to this showing were $2.50 for WPA members/$4.00 for non-members.
Performance Night on MARCH 31, 1987 included a short original work, “I Might Have Been Queen,” by Rebecca Rice, a local Washington actress/ writer/teacher, who conducted numerous workshops in women’s shelters and prisons. Baltimore artists/performers Joyce Scott and Kay Lawal, known collectively as the “Thunder Thigh Review,” performed a piece entitled “The Liberty Suite,” taken from their work “Women of Substance.” Pat Oleszko, international performance artist known for her elaborate hand-constructed costumes, performed her new work, “Inflation: The Air Apparent”. Two showings of all three performances took place on MARCH 31, 1987 at 7:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. at the WPA: tickets were $3.00 for WPA members/$6.00 for non-members.
Literature Night on APRIL 23, 1987 at 7:00 p.m. at the WPA was hosted by Michigan author Jaimy Gordon, known for her straight forward style and wry wit, who presented “Woman’s True Adventure.”
The WPA brought together the concerns of women artists on a panel discussion on APRIL 16, 1987. The panel, which was composed of scholars from the academic and arts communities, addressed the status of women in the arts in the 1980’s and the politics of women’s separation from the mainstream art world. With the assistance of panel moderator Dr. Josephine Withers, the WPA also prepared a publication concerning the current status of women in the arts.
The Washington Project for the Arts’ interdisciplinary programs, “Some Like It Hot,” opened Thursday, MARCH 26, 1987 and ran through MAY 2, 1987. The WPA galleries were open Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Thursdays until 7:00 p.m., and Saturdays 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The WPA was located at 434 – 7th Street, NW near the Gallery Place and Archives metro stops.
