To Cast Too Bold a Shadow
October 15, 2020 - February 6, 2021
Betty Tompkins, Apologia (Caravaggio #1), 2018. Courtesy of Betty Tompkins and P·P·O·W, New York. [Image Description: A torn book page features the print of a painting by Caravaggio depicting a boy playing a lute. To the right of the young man is a bouquet of multi-colored flowers on a table. In front of him are fruits, a booklet of sheet music, a violin, and bow. Pink, handwritten text across the boy’s body and face reads: “R. Kelly has close friendships with a number of women who are strong, independent, happy, well cared for, and free to come and go as they please…”].
The Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation is pleased to present To Cast Too Bold A Shadow, a thematic exhibition that examines culturally entrenched forms of misogyny as a means to understand the dynamics between sexism, gender, and feminism. This exhibition, celebrating the 100th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage, features artists who have positioned their practices as acts of resistance in the face of oppressive societal conditions. Artists include Anetta Mona Chisa & Lucia Tkáčová, Furen Dai, Tracy Emin, Hackney Flashers, Rajkamal Kahlon, Joiri Minaya, Yoko Ono, Maria D. Rapicavoli, Aliza Shvarts, Betty Tompkins, and Mierle Laderman Ukeles, whose work collectively challenges the constraints women have endured across economic, cultural, and political lines.
The fourth installment of Revolutionary Cycles, an ongoing series of shows exploring art’s social and political potential in uncertain times, the title To Cast Too Bold a Shadow is borrowed from a line in the late feminist thinker and poet Adrienne Rich’s poem Snapshots of a Daughter-In-Law (1963). The exhibition posits that 'casting too bold a shadow' is not only a right, but a necessity, and that building on this potential for cultural transformation – namely, equality for women – will help form a more just society.
To Cast Too Bold a Shadow advocates for equity in spite of the dominant culture of misogyny. While discreet and insidious forms of gender-based discrimination remain, and thrive, the reevaluation of social and political systems and constant activism are necessary, even after 100 years of women’s suffrage. The exhibition makes visible the experience of women transcending history, geography, and economic constraints, and also serves to amplify issues – access to childcare, immigration, and fair pay – that intersect with women’s rights. In a democratic society, having such human rights reciprocally implies a responsibility to make these essential freedoms count for others, so that patriarchal systems can be dismantled.
The exhibition is organized by Sara Reisman, with George Bolster and Anjuli Nanda.
Installation views of “To Cast Too Bold a Shadow” at The 8th Floor, October 2020. Photos by Julia Gillard. Courtesy of the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation.
Virtual Walkthrough
To view a virtual walkthrough, narrated by Sara Reisman, please click on the video below. The tour leads the viewer through a selection of works in the exhibition, providing an in-depth look into their conceptual underpinnings, along with image descriptions. The video was filmed and edited with the help of 10x10 Studios.
Please click here to read a full transcript of the virtual walkthrough.
Funding was provided by the Italian Council for a newly commissioned artwork by Italian artist Maria D. Rapicavoli, which will have its premier as part of this exhibition.
To view Rapicavoli’s film The Other: a familiar story, please email info@the8thfloor.org to receive a link and password.
