Artist Andrea Kalinowski has created a series of large paintings exploring the feminine identity from historic and contemporary perspectives. The artist ingeniously transforms her considerable scholarship of American history into captivating and lively mixed-media works. Kalinowski’s artwork weaves a rich and informative narrative, while combining tropes of early American landscape painting with existing contemporary media. Central to the work is the examination of the boundaries and contributions women have made to the economic well-being of their families and communities. In her remarkable series—Society of Women—Kalinowski succeeds in annihilating the myth of women as helpless beings.
A woman’s work is never done… I know my work is never done! But whose work is? Today, as in the past, women toiled in the home, in the fields, in the store, and later in factories and offices. The essential point about “women’s work” is that over time it hasn’t really changed. (Woman do not exchange one set of tasks for another. For example, going from farming to factory work.) Instead, new opportunities and more choices have increased the amount and type of work they do. Within the last century, women have worked equally alongside men (just not for equal pay!). But as surveys show, women still bear most of the responsibility for the housework and children.
Women as multi-taskers… Women are inherently—possibly even biologically—multi-taskers. Think of women bearing and nursing children while simultaneously working in the field, or gathering wood, or mending, or weaving, while still keeping an eye out for the overall safety of her community. Women throughout time have had to be very good at doing a number of things simultaneously. A woman certainly couldn’t just plunk down her infant somewhere and go off to forage for food. Still can’t, in fact.
If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy… This is not a true statement. A family is only as healthy as its unhealthiest member. Within the context of a “group” any one member has equal power to render concern, misery, or unhappiness upon the rest of the group. Unfortunately!
The courage, hope, and pride of women… Women don’t hold a monopoly on these traits— we share them equally with our male counterparts. However, historically women were rarely recognized for their bravery, encouraged in their hopes and dreams, or allowed to express personal pride.
Women as the hunter or women as the gatherer… This delineation is simplistic and, perhaps, reflects a male point of view. In fact, women have always undertaken both roles to ensure their survival. Women have often been left to fend for themselves, and we know that they manage to “hunt” and to “gather” and survive. Women have often sought and won men they deemed to be the best providers. In doing so they fend off other females, strategize, and implement well-considered tactics. These are skills associated with the hunter, not the gatherer. And surely, as a means of survival, this skill is as vital as shooting an arrow or bringing home a paycheck. Perhaps men have just not yet realized that they are the ones being hunted.
Women’s roles in times of war and strife… Well, the woman has do everything! Everything! A woman has the same responsibilities as before a war, plus all the other jobs that keep home and hearth together—many of which she has to learn for the first time. She does this alone, with a reduced income, and historically with a desperate shortage of necessities. And worse, these conditions may never end for her. Her family may never be whole again. Her husband or brother, son, and, increasingly today, her daughter or sister, may never return. Or they may return so broken that she has even more to manage. I’ve read numerous first-narratives written by women during wartime, and found their lives to collectively demonstrate a powerful legacy of purpose and fortitude, qualities I admire.
Women’s work in the American West… In the West, women were engaged in developing strategies for survival. Women worked with their male counterparts in the fields and in the home, struggling to improve their harsh and primitive surroundings. I think in the West more than in any other part of the country, women formed a true partnership with men, out of necessity.
The power of women… It’s not a myth! Admittedly, women have come from behind and have fought hard for every bit of equality they now enjoy. Of course, it’s still not an even playing field, but that’s the truth about the power of women. Watch out!
Why women should rule the world… Women should rule the world because we are as a rule more capable and less greedy than men. Generally speaking, women lead with their hearts and minds in a more proportionate manner.
