Alex Alvis Art

"There is a kind of anxiety that arises about a separate culture, a separate group. How can we do that to art history? How can we take one half of the population and make it totally separate and different? Well, the point is, at the time in history when these things are subject to finger-pointing, one has to make an educational analysis. But certainly none of us ever wants to live separately. I mean, we just wanted to bring ourselves to the attention of the other gender. And of course, coming back to the discussion of power, we do live in a patriarchy, and the rules are set for us women, and we need to move, to integrate ourselves into the totality of society, and we need to bring our own point of view with us as we do that."  ~Miriam Schapiro 1923-  (Oral history interview with Miriam Schapiro, 1989 September 10, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution)

Miriam Shapiro / The Twinning of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden / 1989 / 80″ x 116″, (triptych) / Acrylic on Canvas / Flomenhaft Gallery

“It is easy to follow, but it is uninteresting to do easy things. We find out about ourselves only when we take risks, when we challenge and question.”
~Magdalena Abakanowicz  1930-

Magdalena Abakanowicz-Coexistence 2002, burlap, resin group of 14 pieces 175-215 x 58-65 x 60-90 cm

"Your ego can become an obstacle to your work. If you start believing in your greatness, it is the death of your creativity." ~Marina Abramović 1946- 

Marina Abramović

"I think the neat thing about my life was that it all started from my experience, and we both know that even if I talk about my intellectual experience or my experience with people—anything outside of my studio—we know that the artist can provide nothing for society unless it comes from within. We really don’t admire artists who ape other artists; we don’t take them seriously. We say, “Ah, yes, we’ve seen this before.” So I think what’s been neat about my life is that I am totally aware that all my experiences come together in the studio, and afterwards I could branch out and share whatever it was that developed from the work in the studio. I could share it with others, and I did that in many, many ways." ~Miriam Schapiro 1923- (Oral history interview with Miriam Schapiro, 1989 September 10, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution)

“I wanted to tell you that art is the most harmless activity of mankind. But I suddenly recalled that art was often used for propaganda purposes by totalitarian systems. I wanted to tell you about the extraordinary sensitivity of an artist, but I recalled that Hitler was a painter and Stalin used to write sonnets...“Each scientific discovery opens doors behind which we are confronted with new closed doors. Art does not solve problems but makes us aware of their existence...” ~Magdalena Abakanowicz  1930-

"I am trying to make art that relates to the deepest and most mythic concerns of human kind and I believe that, at this moment of history, feminism is humanism." ~Judy Chicago 1939-

"Art will remain the most astonishing activity of mankind, born out of struggle between wisdom and madness, between dream and reality, in our mind." ~Magdalena Abakanowicz  1930-

"The function of the artist in a disturbed society is to give awareness of the universe, to ask the right questions, and to elevate the mind." ~Marina Abramović 1946-