Art Commentary With Marion Wolberg Weiss

Janet Culbertson's Ecofeminism at Greenport Library

While the Ashawagh Hall exhibit last week, "21 Women," mildly suggested a feminist theme, Janet Culbertson's show at Greenport's Floyd Memorial Library provides a strong, salient statement.Culbertson's connection to female sensibilities goes back to the 1970s with a drawing series called "Mythmaker." Her disappointment with traditional sources involving only male mythic heroes certainlymotivated such an interest. The result was a depiction of heroines who had gone on their own mythic journeys, had had their "own unique experiences and returned with ... enlightenment." Several years later the "Mythmaker" series was exhibited at Washington D. C.'s prestigious National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Culbertson's concern with mythic women has brought a new focus to her latest series, first shown this year in San Jose, Costa Rica, before coming to Greenport. This time, the subjects being explored deal with Industrial Parks and Billboards. Yet the interested spectator may ask what billboards have to do with feminism. One look at the artist's work in this series may evoke an answer: women's love and preservation of nature.

Culbertson's provocative commitment to saving the environment takes the form of toxic industrailized settings. More importantly, however it's the way she depicts these sites using silver paint, iridescent pigments, found objects like feathers and other "natural" objects. Such materials not only give a "glow" to the subjects, but also make them look almost beautiful.

And therein lies the irony of Culbertson's work: that destruction could be pretty, that certain people have made us believe nuclear waste is not such a bad thing. Environmental horror is made acceptable. Culbertson uses specific motifs to also reinforce her theme. For example, there's her various sunsets, at once beauiful yet also suggesting fire and dissolution.

These ironic juxtapositions have become Culbertson's emblem. Consider the billboards amidst some toxic containers. The billboard setting is "pure,"possessing wide horizons and no polution, compared to the containers which are seen in close-ups. The misty background suggests infinity, a spatial eternity that will continue to haunt our land forever.

Ms. Culbertson's show will be on view at the Floyd Memorial Library in Greenport until July 1. Call 631-477-0660 for information.

Back to Contents