October 11, 2021

Hello Everyone :)

Just a reminder that this Tuesday at 3pm PDT is our BYOB meeting hosted by Brittany Lynch! If you didn't receive the RingCentral video invite, let me know and we will get that sent to you. There wasn't anything specific to read for this month so bring your recommendations, thoughts, and queries. I'm looking forward to what gets brought to the table.

The Weekly Three

1. Something about art and feminism in the 21st century: Last weekend I was in the Bay Area and went to the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive exhibit New Time: Art and Feminisms in the 21st Century. The exhibit's name was taken from the local poet Leslie Scalapino and opens with an array of posters from the Guerilla Girls, " feminist activist artists [who] wear gorilla masks in public and use facts, humor and outrageous visuals to expose gender and ethnic bias as well as corruption in politics, art, film, and pop culture."

It doesn't have the same effect in photo as it does in person, but also on display is Lilith by Kiki Smith. I found her frightening, crouched as she was on the vertical plane, her face not angled so as to be in full direct view. In horror movies, humans in this position are usually being portrayed as possessed, or part animal. The plaque labeling the work (which can be read in the link) describes Lilith from Jewish tradition to be just that. The sculpture was included in this exhibit as part of the record of the cultural portrayal of independent and disobedient females as wicked.

I also recommend learning about Farah Al Qasimi: It’s Not Easy Being Seen 3.

2. Something about Elizabeth 'Betita' Martinez: Read the obituary for the "prolific author and pioneering Chicana" who died at the age of 95 at the end of June.

"She was among the first to explore how issues of race, class, poverty, gender and sexuality could be connected under overlapping systems of oppression, making her a foundational voice for the concept of intersectionality long before that term came into vogue."

3. Something about laziness: It doesn't exist. Listen to author Devon Price on NPR's Life Kit podcast make the argument. I LOVE this. It reminds me of the quote about how if you don't pick a day to rest, your body will pick it for you. It's necessary!

Thank you for taking the time to read and I'll see you on Tuesday,

Amber