youstilldrawlikeagirl

YSDLG PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
Contact; Sherrie Medina
602.348.3356
smedina64@hotmail.com

You STILL Draw Like a Girl

(September 19, 2003 Phoenix, AZ) The exhibition, You STILL Draw Like a Girl, is inspired by a Nike commercial that shows two men are playing one-on-one hoops. Off camera a voice shouts at the men, “Hey! You play like a GIRL!” The men stop playing; look in the direction of the accusing voice, and say, “WHAT?” Following the gaze of the men through the camera, it becomes apparent that the voice belongs to the Houston Rockets’ Cynthia Cooper, twice selected the Women’s National Basketball Association’s Most Valuable Player of the Year. When the men realize that it is Cooper accusing them of “playing like girls” they drop their defensive posturing. Unfortunately, in everyday life, to be accused of playing, throwing, or acting anything like a girl is still almost always an indication of poor or inadequate performance.

You STILL Draw like A Girl (2003) features local and nationally recognized artists exploring drawing through materials such as china plates, coffee filter, video, mobiles, music, duct tape, cleaning supplies , and rags. The original YDLAG exhibition, curated in 1998, started as a women’s drawing show, but was adjusted by curator, Sherrie Medina, when men asked to be included. This change of direction seemed a natural response to messages in the artists’ work asking for a reconsideration of limitations within the obvious, and the not-so-obvious prejudices.

In a time of redefining and looking for new ways of understanding and broadening our identities, we question many of the activities and beliefs in our daily lives. Beyond sports, there are many other areas in our competitive lives that are progressing towards being equally shared by men and women. Developing respectful exchanges around the ideas of making art, as in this exhibition, is an aspect of Medina’s mission to foster dialogue within the group of artists, their artwork, and their community. This show presents fervent drawings that share ideas linking these artists together, along with their abilities to STILL draw like girls.

You STILL Draw Like a Girl opens Friday October 3rd from 5 to 11 pm at the Sixth Street Studios, 918 N. 6th Street, Phoenix, Arizona. The show runs through running Saturday, November 1st, with a closing event that evening from 6 to 11 pm. Gallery hours are Fridays 5 to 9 PM and Saturdays 1 to 5 pm.

Sixth Street Studios is a renovated and adapted reuse of a historic building providing affordable artist studio space in the Roosevelt Row arts district.

Images of artwork available upon request.

Artists

Carrie Bloomston
Jeremy Briddell
Sue Chenoweth
Cyndi Coon
Vikki Dempsey
Angela Ellsworth
Jon Haddock
Julie Hampton
Janis Henderson
Heidi Hesse
Kris Keul
Darren Lewis
Ryan McNamara
Sherrie Medina
Matthew Moore
PJ Novelli
Sean Ross
Gregory Sale
Betsy Schneider
Mollie Siegel
Deborah Sussman Susser
Karolina Sussland
Helene Renard
Paul Andrew Wandless
Karen White
Mary Kay Zeeb

Contact: Sherrie Medina
Phone: 602.348.3356
email: smedina64@hotmail.com
Exhibition Blog: http://girldrawing.typepad.com/

Girl Media

THere has been a lot of wonderful media response to the show. The New Times, Amy Silverman (Yeah she is back!) is covering the sow in the Upcoming Week section and there will be an image with this as well as the announcement. It will either piece and image of Heidi's or Paul's pieces.

Kathleen Vanesian who is also back at New Times will be reviewing the show.

The Arizona Republic will be covering the show this week in the community section with images of the artists installing in the space.

And I have heard that Josh at Shade said he would review the show which would be amazing if that did happen.

Now all we need is a tv station to come down during the opening.

Girl Performance Art

Mollie and Julie are thinking of doing actual performative work during the opening. Julie is thinking of cleaning during the opening. THis relates to her drawings that are goin to be rags with drawings done in cleaning liquids such as bleach and Pine Sol.

Mollie is thinkign of engagin the viewer in making their own fishing line drawing on coffee filters and she is planning to be near her piece that will be installed in a closet. Her piece consits also of fishing line drawings on coffee filters suspended and pulled.

I love that artists are taking this show into different levels and bringing in the ideas of performance as a "working" process around the "drawings"

You Install Art Like A girl

Everything is coming together and we begin installing Tueday of this week. The Arizona Republic is doing a community story on the show and a photogrpher is coming out to phtograph while we are installing on Tuesday evening. Ryan and Angela jsut arrived into town and everything is goin great! This show is goin to be so amazing!!

Talking like girls

The buzz about the show is really happening. I talked to John Spiak today from ASU Art Museum and he is totally jazzed about the show. I am so excited to get the show up after the critique the other night. Combined with Ryan's "You DJ Like a Girl" this show is going to be the hottest thing in Phoenix in a long time, besides the weather.

Please post your artist comments to this post.
sherrie

Artists in Show

These artists all draw like girls

Carrie Bloomston
Jeremy Briddell
Sue Chenoweth
Cyndi Coon
Vikki Dempsey
Angela Ellsworth
Jon Haddock
Julie Hampton
Janis Henderson
Heidi Hesse
Kris Keul
Darren Lewis
Ryan McNamara
Sherrie Medina
Matthew Moore
PJ Novelli
Sean Ross
Gregory Sale
Betsy Schneider
Deborah Sussman Susser
Karolina Sussland
Helene Renard
Paul Andrew Wandless
Karen White
Mary Kay Zeeb

You STILL Draw LIke a Girl Exhibition

This is the second show exploring the different approaches of drawing including men and women artists who are working within different disciplines and current interests such as; writing, film and documentaries, performance, design, ceramics, greeting card production, quilting, music etc. I am really excited about the group of artists in this exhibition. Many of them live in Phoenix, AZ. and are the most progressive art makers that I know of in this community. The other artists from out-of-town have lived here at one time and have strong ties to this city and the ideas of making. At one point they all contributed greatly to the philosophies practiced here and we miss them. Each artist will exhibit 3 to 5 drawings that are 8 x 10 or smaller. The show is taking place in 6th Street Studios (6th Street & Roosevelt) an adaptive reuse space developed by Greg Esser in a historic downtown phoenix home that will provide artist’s affordable studio space. The opening is the First Friday Oct. 3rd, 5 to 10 PM and will continue through November 1st (space hours are fri. 5 to 9PM & Sat. 1 to 5).

I hope that this BLOG can be an arena for conversation around the work being created for the show.