![]() Deep inside me a voice was saying, 'We are strong we must only realize our own strength.'" But the experience of giving birth and raising children and being an artist at the same time made me realize my own strength and the potential power of all women. Women felt victimized by men and society, and they were angry. The women's liberation movement was just beginning in those days, and everyone was full of excitement and energy. ![]() Working there in my basement, I del that I had reclaimed myself. "It was in that dim basement beneath the deep Boston snow that I began silk-screen prints of women in exorbitant color. Rather than blaming the problem on others, we can find our resources and our strength in ourselves." I felt men themselves were mistreated too. Society has mistreated women for many thousands of years. "The reason that I could not become completely involved in women's liberation during the sixties and seventies was that I found that their attitude was to blame men and society. I feel it is very important to insist on our dreams." Among all the other incredible inventions, someone actually tried to make an aerial cycle, and to our disappointment did not succeed. I have a book called Victorian Invention, by Leonard De Vries, in which I found a picture of an aerial cycle. I can feel the excitement and the disappointment they must have felt, and admire their persistence in making their dreams a reality. The kind of lonely struggle these inventors went through must have been extraordinary. "Nearly all the inventions we use in our everyday life date from the last half of the 19th century: typewriter, phonograph, automobile, train, etc. She wrote: The river is bountiful, as though nourished by an inexhaustible breast The river empties into a vast sea enfolding everything, never ending." For Kanoko Okamoto, both the river and the sea represented the vast power of womanhood. In her novel The Wheel of Life, a woman named Choko (child of butterfly) abandoned her home and her lover and became a beggar drifting down the river, until finally she is swept into a vast sea called Life. Kanoko Okamoto, the novelist, was born on the banks of the Tama River late in the 19th Century. ![]() I think people at that time treated the bicycle as a symbol of the wheel of liberation." I borrowed the flamboyant style of the turn-of-the century bicycle poster. In our tradition, there are so few female images of deities. I often wondered what it would be like if he were she. He is one of my favorite deities because of his youthfulness and sharp tongue. ![]() In a Japanese Buddhist tradition Majusuri was depicted as a young, smart boy who was just a bit arrogant. This feminine Manjusri carries a sutra as a symbol of clarity. Manjusuri is the perfect wisdom Bodhisattva, usually depicted with a sword. She has a wonderful online website and this book is still found online. I think it's important to know that Mayumi has more comprehensive lists online for shows (at least through 2019), books, and they are all more comprehensive. This book has Mayumi Oda's biography listed from 1966 thru one show in 1981 (which makes sense, as the book was published in 1981). So besides her reminding me of my Mother, who thought of herself as a Buddhist, there are many reasons for feeling a kinship with this artist. I had grown up close by and have meditated at the center. I was also fascinated to read in her bio at the beginning of the book that she lived near/at Green Gulch, the Zen Center in Marin. I was familiar with Joan Brown and artists from Berkeley but never a lone, commercial woman artist. At the time my love of her work was about the Goddesses, the women and the fanciful, playfulness of her work. I had never seen work I enjoyed this much. I remember the first time I saw Mayumi Oda's work in a gallery in Berkley right off of University in the late 70s. I ask, Why do I love a particular print so much? It could be the colors, the detail, the stylized flowers, water, skies, the symbolism, the visual narrative - but always it's, at the center, the strong thighed woman, with round arms, delicate feet and hands - conquering and moving through some adventure, moving through her space with her cheeks ever pink, her breasts and nipples ever firm always looking out at the world in beauty and with serenity. Each print faces a short description of: the goddess, a piece of folklore or anecdote. However, going slow and savoring each plate is blissful.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |