Woman Made Congratulates Artist, Activist, and Friend Peggy Lipschutz

Peggy Lipschutz in her Studio

Wonderful news! In conjunction with UN Human Rights Day on December 10th, Peggy Lipschutz, an important artist, activist, ally, and friend, will be honored with a lifetime achievement award by the Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom, the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Center for Humanities. The following day, Peggy will celebrate her 92nd birthday!

Peggy Lipschutz is a painter, political cartoonist, book illustrator, labor unionist, feminist, pacifist, and humanist. She pioneered the “chalk-talk”— a performance art form combining drawing and music before a live audience. She traveled the country, performing her drawings with musicians and personalities such as Pete Seeger, Ella Jenkins, Studs Terkel, Win Stracke, Arlo Guthrie, Fred Holstein, Holly Near and many others.

A longtime Chicago area resident, Peggy Lipschutz worked as an illustrator, political cartoonist and served as editor for the newspaper, Labor Today, before devoting herself fully to painting eighteen years ago. Her work has been shown at the Art Institute of Chicago, Detroit Institute of Arts, and the ACA Gallery in New York.

Peggy Lipshutz - "The Screenwriter", oil on canvas

Woman Made Gallery had the pleasure of showing Peggy’s work in a 2007 solo show entitled Women in Dangerous Professions.

Two years ago filmmaker Jerri Zbiral released a film on Peggy’s life and work entitled ”Never Turning Back”. Visit the film’s website to learn more about Peggy’s inspiring achievements and view the trailer.

Congratulations, and Happy Birthday, Peggy!

- WMG Staff

An Extension of Myself: Physical Appearance and the Real Me

“I [feel it is] important to explore the issue of why women, living in a “post-feminist” society, have such a premium placed upon their appearance, pushing many to the point of obsession and most to spend a great deal of time and money attempting to recreate themselves”

-Judy Cooperman

Judy Cooperman - Foils II

As a young woman of today I’ve traveled through many stages of my physical appearance, constantly rediscovering how this outer shell affects or is affected by my inner self. This presentation is an inherently human trait, though it is women much more than men who are and have been the ones logging hours in salons, boutiques, cosmetics aisles, and in front of the mirror getting ready. Women’s work of maintaining physical appearances and the pressures to do so are a persistent and pervasive part of our everyday culture. So after years of fighting for equality and freedom from society’s patriarchal structure, how many of these hours spent constructing and maintaining our image are really our choice?

In a recent experiment with hair extensions for an upcoming piece of performance art I found myself with a new grooming responsibility very telling of this dilemma.  The work of maintaining my new head of hair had become an unpleasant addition to my original routine.  To be honest, the first week or so of extensions was fun; it was a chance to experiment with my appearance and multiple personas.  However, once the 24” strands I had tied to my own began to die and their natural texture became so unruly, I couldn’t wait to take them out.  What began as an artistic accessory for tying myself to another woman using the lengths of our hair, soon morphed into a daunting reminder of how we as women are constantly tied to the upkeep of exterior beauty. I was now spending hours blow-drying, straightening, and ripping combs through this mass.  But if this was all so unbearable (painful, tedious, a waste of time?) why was I continuing to carry out these actions?

Between the First Sip and the Last (Performance)

The truth is I had now become identified with these long locks.  Since day one of their addition I had received so many compliments (many from strangers who assumed I was blessed with this hair), that I began to feel oddly connected to these artificial roots. But for every kind comment I received, I couldn’t help but feel like a bit of a phony.

As the days and weeks wore on and I was yet again combing through my hair for an extended amount of time, all I could think about were the countless other women who invest just as much, if not more time, energy, money, etc., into maintaining their looks— much of which involves artificial additions to what physical features we were actually born with. 

We as women are confronted with these situations much more than our male counterparts, striving to modify, enhance, and therefore improve our looks.  And even though the initial purpose for my extensions was not an attempt at achieving newfound levels of beauty, I certainly began to feel some positive effects from the compliments they acquired for me.  As I found myself thinking back over the process of gaining and maintaining these extensions, and how the resulting positive feedback made me feel, I began to really question and confirm the reasoning for my continued participation in their upkeep.  Deep down I knew it is these moments, this validation that keeps us going back to the mirror, hoping what is reflected back at us will be appreciated by others.

The approving, accurate confirmation of our hope-to-be identities is why many of us women submit to the pressures and keep up these routines, no matter how ridiculous or destructive they can sometimes be.  Because in the end we do what makes us feel good, what makes us feel whole and true and appreciated.  And in our culture this feel-good sensation is largely a result of praise based on the appearance of things.

-Elena Katsulis, Gallery Intern

Photo from performance with Nikki Zaleski at Dispatch Gallery

Opening Night at WMG

A Coming Out Party for Mothers and Girl: Please!

Mothers Opening Reception

Last Friday was an exciting night at Woman Made with opening receptions for both the “Mothers” and “Girl: Please!” exhibitions. Over 250 people were in attendance, including many of the artists who were both local and from out of state.

“Mothers” has taken over the first floor at WMG and includes moving works by 37 women addressing the culturally ubiquitous role of motherhood, historically under-represented in visual art. The artists utilize a wide range of media, from photography, video, 3D, and even frosted cakes. The artists’ individual and sometimes intensely personal approaches to the subject of motherhood vary as much as their media. The work speaks to personal experiences (as a mother or as related to a mother), social constructions of motherhood, the balance of home and work, the politicization of mothers, pregnancy, breastfeeding, childbirth, bodily transformation, miscarriage, loss, and fertility/infertility. Artists are using materials traditionally found in domestic settings including clothes pins, canning jars, and yarn. Others use iconic imagery such as the Madonna and child.

For those who are unable to view the show in person, the entire exhibit is available through our online gallery.  On facebook, Sara Baum, Doula, writes:

“I loved browsing the virtual gallery of this art show on motherhood that’s up right now at Woman Made Gallery in Chicago. Lots of beautiful pieces exploring birth, cesarean healing, breastfeeding, and postpartum body image in here too. Wish I could see this show up close, but grateful to be able to see it online.”

In contrast to “Mothers”, “Girl: Please!”, in the lower gallery was open to artists of all genders. The opening was hugely successful, and included a live performance by Karen Bovinich.

"Girl: Please!" Opening

In “Girl: Please!“ the content focuses on gender as a performance, an act that is perpetuated and maintained by societal norms and expectations. The show asks how, and to what extent gender defines us. In the words of the curators, this show is not about the roles of specific genders, but rather an illustration of femininity and masculinity in shades of grey.  The work includes abstract imagery to accompany a theme of ambiguity or the indefinable. For example, Nancy Simmons Smith’s piece intends to be genderless but tempts viewers to see an image of female or male genitalia. The artist asks “Once gender is established, how difficult is it to remove that perception?”

“Mothers” and “Girl: Please!” will be on display at Woman Made Gallery through December 23rd.

Photos taken by Kelsey Curkeet.

-Kelsey Curkeet, Gallery Intern

November Poetry Reading

"Jeffery (from the series entitled, Fancy)", Jennifer Greenburg

Girl, Please: Somewhere Over the Gender Spectrum

Sunday, November 14, 2010 / 2-4 p.m.  

Curated by Nina Corwin and in partnership with WBEZ’s Chicago Amplified Series, Woman Made Gallery will host a poetry reading on November 14 from 2 to 4 p.m. Participating readers include Tristan Silverman, Kurt Heintz, Kristiana Colon, Anthony Madrid, Arielle Greenberg, and Jakob VanLammeren. Free admission and refreshments will be served.

“We are all born naked, the rest is just drag” -Rupaul
Gender is a performance, an act that is perpetuated and maintained by societal norms and expectations, but how, and to what extent does it define us? This reading seeks to push and transcend the definition of gender while also exploring its relation to individual character amongst collective expectations.



Entry due date: November 13, 2010

14th International Open

Invitation to all women artists worldwide to submit artwork in all media for this open exhibition. All themes, styles, and media will be considered.

Awards: 1st Prize: Solo Show in 2012 at WMG; 2nd Prize; $500 Cash; 3rd Prize: $250 Cash; 4th Prize: Honorable Mention
Exhibition Dates: March 4 – April 28, 2011
Juror: Laura Anderson Barbata
Online Entries: Submit jpgs of three of your works on our website.
Mailed Entries: Mail slides or cd with images of up to three of your works, completed entry form, and a $30 entry fee to Woman Made Gallery, 685 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL 60642.