December 13, 2024 - January 11, 2025
Threshold | Emily Scott Beck
Artist Statement:
In Threshold the work examines and visualizes gender-specific boundaries, challenges and emergence through a range of perspectives and material methods. I highlight how specific stereotypes and historically assigned roles continue to hinder and undermine the progress of those identifying as female. In particular, I have taken a close look at what happens during the years when professional development intersects with domestic and family responsibilities. I also point to the unique challenges women face when striving towards or achieving positions of power in the professional or political sector. When we emerge and succeed, it is very hard and uniquely fought. This work celebrates women’s achievements, acknowledges the hours and sacrifices, uses humor as a coping mechanism, and darkness/shadows as a nod to the empathy and interconnectedness of our lived experiences. As an interdisciplinary artist, my media shifts to align with the conceptual basis of any given work. I work seamlessly between the digital and the analog, and chose the material and method that makes me feel most connected to the idea. Using visual expressions of fabric, domestic architectural references, and dollhouses paired with gendered symbols adds layers of meaning. This exhibition is made possible in part by support from the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, College of Arts and Letters, University of Notre Dame. Artist Bio: Emily Scott Beck is an interdisciplinary artist teaching in the foundations program at the University of Notre Dame. She has a passion for teaching foundational courses as it allows her to work with and mentor students at the beginning of their careers, and to teach a wide range of mediums, compositional strategies, and conceptual approaches. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums across the United States, including the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, NC, the South Bend Museum of Art in South Bend, IN, Elisabet Ney Museum in Austin Texas, and Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, IL. Using video, animation, photography, sculpture, fibers, installation and sound, she captures experiences of emotional vulnerability, unrehearsed performances, gender construction, systems of belief, and women's labor and leadership. A focus on art as a powerful tool for visual communication and social change is a common thread between her studio practice and her teaching. |
InventoryQueen B, Lynette
Digital photograph Queen B, Anne Digital photograph Queen B Hand embroidered and laser burned fabric, custom embroidered patches Queen B, Perin Digital photograph Queen B is a fiber-based sculpture that examines the scrutiny and inequity that women face when reaching towards or achieving positions of power in the professional or political sector. Direct quotes about female politicians, CEOs, and public figures are embroidered and burned into the fabric- showcasing the shift from affirmation to vilification that women face as they reach for higher positions. Ladylike (frieze) Mirrored acrylic, wood, fabric, paper, wallpaper Ladylike (frieze) references the historical wall frieze format to capture a moment of the everyday. In this work, I am pointing to women's labor. Globally, women are managing the majority of the unpaid domestic labor even when employed in a full-time paid job. A recent UN Labour report, states that it will take another 200 years to reach gender equality in unpaid domestic work. Ladylike (frieze) is a recognition of the 24/7 workday for mothers who rarely get to clock out, and are constantly juggling the many demands of their labor. Ladylike (expanded dollhouse) digital animation NFS Ladylike (expanded dollhouse) is a digital animation projected onto a laser-cut project screen. The projection screen depicts a 14-room house that contains domestic and public spaces in which women perform. The animations depict the icon for woman. She runs from room to room completing and failing the tasks the room demands. This project is a reflection of the expanded roles women play, and the lack of support and recognition that many of them face. Erupt(ion) Wood and mirrored acrylic Erupt(ion) represents those moments when life alters abruptly. How do we learn how to see ourselves or our lives anew after a huge shift or eruption? The shadow figures on the ground symbolizes a shedding of a layer of self, shadows of our past or expectation. And as it sheds- reveals the layers underneath. In this case- reflective mirrors. Ladylike (dirty laundry) Wood, fabric, wallpaper, paper Battleground Digital Video NFS Battleground is a video shot at dawn and dusk at Lake Michigan. Sunset, sunrise, sand, bodies of water… are typically peaceful grounding moments/places. In this video/animation, the figure battles an animated shadow and at times becomes a shadow. This is a metaphorical representation of how even in places of peace, we may find ourselves battling shadows. Ladylike (dirty laundry) Laser-cut wood, fabric, wallpaper, paper, accumulated coffee stains, wine stains, mirrored acrylic, grocery lists, anxiety lists Ladylike (dirty laundry) utilizes scraps. As a working mother, I often work with scraps. Scrap time, scrap food, scrap materials, whatever I can scrap together. In this series, I looked around my studio and found myself surrounded by scrap materials from the many tests and trials it took to make Ladylike (frieze). This part of the Ladylike series feels simultaneously the most truthful and the most uncomfortable to me. I manipulated each scrap by adding a material or a treatment showing the aspects of motherhood we try to sweep under the couch- revealing the mess, the anxiety, the guilt, the pressure, the monotony, the truth. And I really want to clean it all up. And also it's not messy enough. Em(BOSS) Paper, wood Em(BOSS) portrays 129 women who are leaders in their field. Their portraits pop off of the wall in the format of a custom-made embossed wallpaper. Globally, women are reaching higher than ever in political, professional, and media sectors. However, there is a long road ahead in order to reach gender equity in global leadership. Using embossed wallpaper is a way to simultaneously reference emergence while also showing the inequity. These women are relegated to the background- using a domestic architectural installation, white on white, low relief and lack of detail is a way to reference the slow but also powerful progression. Ursula Von Der Leyen, President of European Commission/Union Christine Lagarde, President of European Central Bank Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy Taylor Swift, Singer, Songwriter Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup Abigail Johnson, CEO Fidelity Investments Mary Barra, CEO general Motors Melinda French Gates, Cochair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Julie Sweet, CEO of global services company Accenture Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund Mackenzie Scott, Philanthropist, Author Emma Walmsley, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline Ruth Porat, President & Chief Investment Officer And Chief Financial Officer, Alphabet (Google) Safra Catz, CEO Oracle Kathryn McLay, CEO Walmart International Sarah London, CEO Centene Amy Hood, Executive Vice President & CFO, Microsoft Catherine MacGregor, CEO, ENGIE France Janet Yellen, US Treasury Secretary Phebe Novakovic, CEO General Dynamics Tsai-Ing Wen, President Taiwan Oprah Winfrey, Television Host and producer Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister Of Finance And Corporate Affairs, India Thasunda Brown Duckett, CEO, TIAA Beyonce, Singer, songwriter, businesswoman Shari Redstone, Chairman Paramount Global Kathy Warden, Chairman, President & CEO, Northrop Grumman Dana Walden, Co-Chairman, The Walt Disney Amanda Blanc, CEO Aviva Susan Li, CFO Meta Margherita Della Valle, CEO, Vodafone Mary Callahan Erdoes, CEO, Asset Management, JPMorgan Lynn Martin, President, NYSE Group; Chair, ICE Fixed Income And Data Services, New York Stock Exchange Sheikh Hasina Wajed, Prime Minister, Bangladesh Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Minister Of Finance, Indonesia Gina Rinehart, Executive Chairman, Hancock Prospecting Lisa Su, CEO AMD Vicki Hollub, President and CEO, Occidental Petroleum Nicke Widyawati, CEO Pertamina Shemara Wikramanayake, CEO & Managing Director, Macquarie Group Tricia Griffith, President & CEO, The Progressive Jessica Tan, Co-CEO Ping An Judy Faulkner, Founder & CEO, Epic Systems Tokiko Shimizu, Executive Director, Bank of Japan Donna Langley, Chairman, NBCUniversal Studio Group & Chief Content Officer, NBCUniversal Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios Roshni Nadar Malhotra, CEO HCL Corporation & Chairperson,, HCL Technologies Jenny Johnson, CEO, Franklin Templeton Yuriko Koike, Governor Toyko Hana Al Rostamani, Group CEO, First Abu Dhabi Bank Suzanne Scott, CEO Fox News Lynn Good, Chairman, President & CEO, Duke Energy Sinead Gorman, CFO, Royal Dutch Shell Bela Bajaria, Chief Content Officer, Netflix Melanie Kreis, CFO, Deutche Post DHL Group Belen Garijo, CEO, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany And Its Affiliates Paula Santilli, CEO Pepsico Latin America Mette Fredericksen, Prime Minister, Denmark Joey Wat, CEO, Yum China Holdings Rihanna, Musician Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Ambassador To The UN, United Nations Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Founder, Chair And Managing Director, Biocon Guler Sabanci, Chair, Sabanci Holding Trudy Shan Dai, CEO, Taobao And Tmall Group, Alibaba Group Debra Crew, CEO, Diageo Robyn Denholm, Chair, Tesla Solina Chau, Cofounder, Horizons Ventures Lee Boo-jin, President And CEO, Hotel Shilla Robyn Grew, CEO, Man Group Zuzana Caputova, President, Slovakia Mary Meeker, General Partner, Bond Capital Makiko Ono, President And CEO, Suntory Beverage & Food Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organization Mpumi Madisa, CEO, Bidvest Melanie Perkins, CEO and Co-Founder, Canva Dominique Senequier, Founder & President, Ardian Raja Al Gurg, Group MD & Chairperson, Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group Julia Gillard, Chair, Wellcome Trust Samia Suluhu Hasan, President, Tanzania Xiomara Castro, President, Honduras Kirsten Green, Founder And Managing Partner, Forerunner Choi Soo-yeon, CEO, Naver Jenny Lee, Senior Managing partner, Granite Asia Mo Abudu, Media Mogul, Philanthropist, Founder, EbonyLife Media Mia Mottley, Prime Minister, Barbados Phoebe Philo, fashion designer Mira Murati, CTO Open AI Janet Truncale, CEO Elect EY Karin Keller Sutter- Switzerland Finance Minister Lisa Dyson, CEO Kiverdi and Air Protein Marina Silva, Minister of Environment, Brazil Marie-Claire Daveu, CSO Kering Group Barbara Kingsolver, Author, Publizer Prize Winner Lola Shoneyin, Writer and Festival Organizer Narges Mohammadi, Activist, Nobel Peace Prize Winner Katalin Kariko, Biochemist, Nobel Peace Prize Winner Olena Zelenska, First Lady, Ukraine, Screenwriter Elizabeth Maruma, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States Sheryl Sandberg, former COO of Meta, LeanIn.org Virginia (Ginni) Rometty, former CEO of IBM and current Co-Chair of OneTen Dolly Parton, Entertainer, Philanthropist Judith McKenna, President and CEO of Walmart International Cynthia Marshall, CEO Dallas Mavericks Kathrin Jansen, Former Head of Vaccine Research and Development at Pfizer Esther Perel, Author and Therapist Mel Robbins, Author and Speaker Radhika Jones, Editor-in-Chief of Vanity Fair Whitney Wolfe Herd, Founder and CEO of Bumble Marie Eitel, Founder and Chair of the Nike Foundation and Girl Effect Katrina, Founder and chair of Stitch Fix Holly O’Neill, President Retail Banking, Bank of America Katerina Sakellaropoulou, President of Greece Saara Kuugongelwa, Prime Minister of Namibia Maia Sandu, President of Moldova Shonda Rhimes, Television Producer and Screenwriter Rachel Hollis, Author and Speaker Hannah Fry, Mathematician, Academic, Speaker, host Shani Dhanda, British Disability Activist Robin Roberts, Television Broadcaster Elaine Zhou, Chief Technology Officer, Change.org Alissa Abdullah, Chief Security Officer at Mastercard Yamini Rangan, CEO of Hubspot Dr. Lauren Goodwin, chief information officer for NASA’s Johnson Space Center and White Sands Test Facility Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court Justice Geetanjali Shree, Novelist Serena Williams, Athlete Karen Lynch, CEO CVS Tarciana Paula Gomes Medeiros, President and CEO of Banco Brazil |
