Sunday in the Art Room (SITAR)

 Welcome to  

 

SITAR is about ANYTHING art. Your art, someone else's art, writing, photography, the art of cooking, the art of sewing and textiles. Sharing historical art, street art, a story about art. Do you have a question or need help with art? Write a blog post and link it up here. We will all try to help with it. My only rule is that if someone asks for critique it must be done with generosity and consideration. This is a place of learning, encouragement and inspiration. 

 

Before I get started yesterday Mr. M. and I celebrated 46 years together. 

Wow! That went by so fast.  

  

Now for SITAR. 

 

Today I want to introduce Marjorie Strider. Pop Artist

 

When we think about Pop Art the names that come to mind are Andy Warhol or Roy Lichtenstein. Women Pop Artists remained behind the scenes,  for one single reason.  The art scene of the time promoted the myth of the male "artist-as-genius," sidelining women into the periphery of galleries and museums. Art critics often trivialized female perspectives. As art historian Lucy Lippard noted, male artist making work about the kitchen or household items was seen as pioneering Pop Art. Where as women doing similar art was dismissed as "cute" or domestic.

 

Marjorie Strider was born in Guthrie, OK. January 26, 1931 

Marjorie knew at a young age exactly what she wanted to do and that was to make art. Later in her life in an interview she stated. 

"I never wanted to be anything but an artist." 

Girl with the radish 

 

She pursued her passion formally by studying art at Oklahoma State University and the Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree. After college Marjorie did moved to Knasas City and spent two years designing creative commercial window displays for the Robinson Shoe Company. She said this experience helped her hone her understanding of spatial design and three-dimensional forms.

Tierra del Fuego, 1982 Mixed media sculpture with aluminum, acrylic, glitter and sequins.

216x140cm   Galerie Gmurzynska 

 

As Marjorie began creating large instillations she moved to using  urethane foam.

This medium allowed her to cast much lighter, bulbous, and free-flowing organic shapes—such as oozing liquids or exaggerated anatomical features—that could protrude multiple feet out from the wall.

 

 

Installation view of the exhibition "Marjorie Strider: Tower Project" at the Clocktower

February 26 - March 13, 1976. MoMA PS1 Archives, I.A.50. The Museum of
Modern Art Archives, New York. INPS1.46.2. Photograph by Jonathan Dent.
 

In 1957, she moved to New York City. By the early 1960s, she grew incredibly bored with traditional, flat canvas painting. To break the monotony, she began experimentations she called "build-outs" attaching wood, cardboard, and Styrofoam to her paintings so the imagery literally burst out into the room. This unique hybrid of painting and sculpture caught the attention of the mainstream art world and launched her into the legendary 1960s Pop Art scene.

 

 

Marjorie  applied her artistic concepts to everyday consumer goods and nature. She crafted oversized pieces, like structural radishes and asparagus stalks rising off the dark backgrounds. 

Venetian blinds buckled and warped by flowing blue matter and Coca Cola cans pouring out thick solid waves of pink foam. Through these build-outs, she humorously attacked the male-dominated status quo of Pop Art. She actively changed how viewers interacted with space and form.  

In 1964, Pace Gallery, in New York, set up and exhibit with Marjorie alongside Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. The landmark exhibition titled, "The First International Girlie Show" opened in January. The group show was highly coordinated, tongue-in-cheek artistic statement that brought together 10 prominent Pop artists to explore the theme of the American pin up girl. 

 

Instead of being overshadowed, Strider actually became the standout star of the show.

Strider's comically provocative build-out painting, Girl with Radish, was chosen by the gallery as the official banner and marketing image for the entire exhibition. 
While the male artists were painting pin-ups from a position of voyeurism, Strider used her 3D "build-outs" to push the women's physical features into the viewer's space—satirizing the sexual objectification of women and aggressively confronting the male gaze. 

The show was an immense critical and media success, heavily covered by television and newspapers. It solidified Pace Gallery's presence in New York and launched Strider's career, leading directly to two subsequent solo exhibitions for her at the gallery. 

 

Marjorie had a highly successful and prolific 50 year career, though its trajectory followed a path common to many pioneering female artist of her generation.  

 Marjorie Strider died on August 27, 2014 at the age of 83.  

I hope you enjoyed meeting Marjorie.

 

That's it for now.

 

I will be joining Gillena  

It's time to show me your art. 

Nicole