In the myth, Pandora’s curiosity is threatening because
of its transgression of boundaries: Pandora not only opens the box and accesses
‘male’ knowledge, but also signifies active/ masculine rather than passive/
feminine.[1]
The
Pandora Group is Opening the box with an impromptu invitational exhibition of
women artists with similar sensibilities curated by Linda Swinfield.
By
opening the box we are opening up our enquiry into conceptual and abstract sensibilities
once again. As women artists we have continued to investigate and to question
the traditions of abstraction born out of mid-20th century art.
Each
of the 6 artists invited by the group represents a diverse range of cultural backgrounds,
ages, disciplines and media. Two of the artists chosen live outside the Hunter
region including Melbourne based Melanie Lazarow. All of the artists in this exhibition have
similar concerns that cross link family, abstraction, representation, place,
memory and identity.
Maree
Macmillan in her 1995 article The Myth of Pandora: An exploration of
G.W. Pabsts Pandora’s Box (1929) stated
that the box opened by Pandora was once a household jar kept
in houses to hold familial remains. And this is highly symbolic and a sign of
social misunderstanding of he mythology.
Pandora’s Box was not originally a
box, but a big and immovable storage jar, used for preservation or burial, a
powerful symbol for the deity in an earlier era. The jar was never just
Pandora’s, but part of Pandora and Epimetheus’ domestic establishment, perhaps
even a marriage rite.[2]
The
Pandora myth has become symbolic and she has become a misunderstood
woman, who supposedly wrestled with personal circumstances and social
constructions of her identity. This group of artists is new and mid-career
women artists who for a multitude of reasons have also “fallen through the
gaps” of the wider art community. Their art practices have been interrupted by
the ever present issues of women’s social constraints in the 21st century-
juggling careers, families, and studio life. Art history underlines the
complexity of this ever present mix of obstacles, mythologies and barriers for
women artists that is still prevalent.
The
historic symbol of Pandora and her related mythologies represents the ongoing
discussion of the way women have been traditionally represented and discussed.
In
2006 The Pandora Group initiated their first exhibition titled Pandora’s
box at Newcastle Art Space.
Artists invited to exhibit are: Una Rey, Carla Feltman, Joy
Longworth, Kiera O’Toole, Caroline
Hale, Melanie Lazarow
Pandora group artists in this exhibition are: Patricia Wilson- Adams, Sally Bourke, and Annemarie Murland
Linda Swinfield 19/11/13
Gallery
hours: Wed to Fri 10am - 4pm,
Sat 10am - 2pm
Opening
event: Saturday 23rd
November 3.30pm- 5.30pm
Guest
speaker: Sarah Johnson, Curator, Newcastle Art Gallery.
Address: four point gallery- 681 Hunter Street, Newcastle, 2302.
[1]
Ed. Doyle, van der Heidie, Cowen, SELECTION ON, article by Maree Macmillion The
Myth of Pandora: An exploration of G.W. Pabsts Pandora’s Box (1929), 2000, Page
163
[2]
Ed. Doyle, van der Heidie, Cowen, SELECTION ON, article by Maree Macmillion The
Myth of Pandora: An exploration of G.W. Pabsts Pandora’s Box (1929), 2000, Page
163
