Cornell Museum Exhibition: "Puissantes Femmes Bleues"

The Cornell Art Museum will celebrate their one million dollar renovation with a special exhibition called “Looking Glass,” which reflects their dedication to the best and brightest in contemporary art!

Grand Opening Celebration, Wednesday, November 8th, 7-9 pm; $10 admission (free for Old School Square members).

Along side of their grand opening on November 8th, The Cornell Art Museum will feature an exhibition of new and old pieces from my Black and White series, "Puissantes Femmes Bleues" from November 8th to the 28th.

About Puissantes Femmes Bleues:

"Generation upon generation of women have endured and overcome oppression. Yet where does that leave women presently? Puissantes Femmes Bleues begs this question and then answers: We have been labeled whores, prostitutes, sluts, slags, “little ladies,” “the weaker sex”…yet we give birth to both sexes. We have been bound from head to toe, from our hair, to our chests, to our waists, to our groins, to our feet, still we have emerged from those bindings. Our “sex” has been shamed as unclean and yet…we are forged stronger with each generation. Alas we are challenged once more.

The modern women in these paintings evoke the ancient and look to the future. They reflect the bare and raw power of the female sex and survival. The word Bleues (Blue) in the title Puissantes Femmes Bleues is a play on the Blue-Stocking movement of the mid-18th century.  And if you are thinking the word puissant (powerful) is reminiscent of another English word, it is, and it is intentional. Throughout history women have been able to carve out small bastions of power that have been the catalyst for change. Amanda Johnson’s black-and-white, larger-than-life creations are a testament to a new hue of blue, and of women who wield power regardless of social or intellectual status, labels, or material clout. Johnson’s physicality and passion are evident in the media and composition of each. Like her subjects, Johnson is in her power and inviting each viewer in to feel it."

- Amanda J.