12017-03-17T20:35:59-07:00Bryn Mawr College383197083e2e957a4c01625eb8b832e0db85199c161551Mixed media on photographic paper; The William and Uytendale Scott Memorial Study Collection of Works by Women Artists, gift of Bill Scott; 2006.1.20
plain2017-03-17T20:35:59-07:00Bryn Mawr College383197083e2e957a4c01625eb8b832e0db85199c
This page has paths:
12017-03-15T15:21:55-07:00Bryn Mawr College383197083e2e957a4c01625eb8b832e0db85199cExhibition ChecklistBryn Mawr College25structured_gallery2017-03-21T20:20:54-07:00Bryn Mawr College383197083e2e957a4c01625eb8b832e0db85199c
When we look into a mirror, what do we see? Gazing at our reflection transforms us into images. Only our external appearance is visible in the mirror, while all the complexities of human thought and interiority may remain beneath the surface.
Many artists, in their own self-portraits, make use of the mirror's flattening effect. Yet the mirror image is not static. It poses the challenge of drawing a dynamic, living self always in flux. In this interaction between artist and reflection, the artist negotiates between image and interiority.
The mirror bids us examine our defects by knowing ourselves.” - Cesare Ripa, Iconologia (1593)
As Ripa indicates, the mirror has been conceived as a tool for understanding the self. It sets the stage for introspection and self-reflection. But such uses of the mirror are culturally and historically specific. Mirrors are used across time and place for distinct purposes and to sometimes contradictory ends. What can we understand about ourselves by consulting our reflections?
How do we choose what to wear? Is this choice entirely free? Whether it is selecting what to wear in the morning or dancing a mask as part of a cultural rite of passage, we fashion ourselves in relation to our social world. Dressing up in costumes or masks might allow us to perform our sense of self differently, disrupting the assumption of a singular self and demonstrating the performative nature of selfhood.
Is your sense of self, your identity reducible to your appearance? Sometimes we assume we can know something about people based upon their appearance. Do we use appearances to gender or racialize bodies? These artists use masks or mirrors to resist the ease with which we might interpret appearances as gendered or racialized identities.
1media/mirrors and masks header.png2017-03-15T15:29:38-07:00Events20image_header2017-03-19T15:25:45-07:00
Exhibition Opening/Masquerade Party
Thursday, March 23rd, 4:30-7:30 pm Canaday Library Rare Book Room
Artist Lecture Series
Sigmund Abeles Friday, March 24th, 12pm Canaday Library Rare Book Room
Rachel Bliss Friday, April 14th , 3-4pm Canaday Library Rare Book Room
Jessica Todd Harper Saturday, March 27th, 8:45 am Canaday Library Rare Book Room
Guided Public Tours
Women and the Mirror Thursday, March 30th at 4pm
Costume and Performance Tuesday, April 11th at 1pm
Creating the Bryn Mawr Woman Friday, April 21st at 3pm
