{"id":1674,"date":"2021-01-19T10:21:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-19T10:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/wla\/?p=1674"},"modified":"2026-01-12T21:34:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T21:34:00","slug":"visions-in-conversation-exploring-the-visions-a-highlight-of-chicago-women-artists-digital-collection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/wla\/2021\/01\/19\/visions-in-conversation-exploring-the-visions-a-highlight-of-chicago-women-artists-digital-collection\/","title":{"rendered":"Visions in Conversation: Exploring the \u201cVisions: A Highlight of Chicago Women Artists\u201d Digital Collection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Every archive has areas it collects in, known as a collecting focus or collection policy. At the Women and Leadership Archives, one area of collecting focus is women artists\u2019 papers, with special interest in Chicago and Midwest-based artists (see our full collection policy here<\/a>). One might wonder why such a policy exists \u2013 after all, aren\u2019t archives supposed to take everything historical? <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Not quite. Having a collecting focus is useful for several reasons. First, it allows archives to focus their resources instead of stretching themselves too thin. Space and time are finite after all! Secondly, it facilitates the research process, since researchers can find related collections at a single place, instead of having to expend time and effort at different institutions. Lastly, it also allows collections within a single institution to speak to one another.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking women artists\u2019 papers at the WLA as an example to illustrate the last point, we could ask the following. How did different artists engage in public art initiatives? How were women\u2019s issues explored in their work? What kinds of issues? To show that these questions are not merely rhetorical, this blog post will look at a WLA digital collection, \u201cVisions: A Highlight of Chicago Women Artists<\/a>\u201d (henceforth known as \u201cVisions\u201d), to trace the connections between different collections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overview of Visions: A Highlight of Chicago Women Artists<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through documents such as artwork, exhibition catalogs, correspondence, artists\u2019 statements and press coverage, \u201cVisions\u201d gives a glimpse into the careers of ten Chicago-based artists and artist groups. The artists worked with media ranging from photographs to non-recycled plastic waste and addressed themes spanning the gamut of perceptions of the body to interrogations of the structure and psychological implications present in the work of Italian pre-Renaissance artists.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given the rich range of interests and media reflected in the collection, how does one begin to make sense of it?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the sections that follow, I will be exploring some ways in which the artists can be placed in conversation with one another. I will also look at how the collection can give insights beyond the artists\u2019 individual careers and into the Chicago arts scene. Linked artists\u2019 names lead to finding aids of their papers at the Women and Leadership Archives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women\u2019s experiences <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SisterSerpents, Lindsay Obermeyer, and Barbara Ciurej and Lindsay Lochman sought to raise awareness of the issues that women faced.  Established on July 4, 1989, SisterSerpents was a Chicago-based women artist group whose members were feminist artist-activists seeking to use their art to raise awareness on issues that women faced (read their manifesto here<\/a>). Participation in the collective was largely anonymous. However, some members such as Mary Ellen Croteau (also featured in the digital collection) exhibited both their independent works and collective pieces they created.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adopting installations and guerilla-style tactics such as putting up provocative street posters and stickers all over Chicago, the SisterSerpents<\/a> highlighted issues confronting women such as misogyny, motherhood and subversive messages in the media. One of their installations, \u201cDart Game\u201d, invited participants to take part in a dart game where the targets were \u201cmisogynists, pillars of patriarchy and obnoxious role models\u201d. To read more about the SisterSerpents\u2019 work and the reception they received, check out this blog post here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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