Theology in the Work of Mary Beth Edelson, Some Living American Women Artists (1972)

P a s t i n g O v e r T h e P a t r i a r c h y

Theology in the work of Mary Beth Edelson, Some Living American Women Artists (1972)

By Piper S. Manthei

BBST 465: Contemporary Art and Theology Professors Jason McMartin and Jonathan Puls Biola University May 6, 2021 Through the observation of Mary Beth Edelson, it’s easy to notice the combined humor and gravity in her work, where she aims to create an atmosphere that is subversively assertive. Her feminist pieces stand out because of the emphasis put on woman’s beauty and power as an individual, separate from social constructs and cultural normalities. Edelson, as well as other

“numerous artists in the 1970s were influenced by ideas of a Great Goddess and alternative histories in which women held the positions of power”1 In Edelson’s work, especially Some

Living American Women Artists (1972), it is evident that she superimposes herself and her fellow women artists to a level that was never possible in society or religion. Focusing on this piece specifically in her career, it’s important to note how it honors and appreciates contemporary women artists where they might not have been recognized and acknowledged otherwise. It digs deep into the construct of social patriarchy that seats men at the table and leaves women completely out of the picture. Edelson fights this idea throughout her work, placing women at the forefront instead, giving them a place in humanity that the male hierarchy tried to strip away. The decision to use a famous religious art piece was executed to challenge the idea of women being cut out of institutionalized religions and by extent, society. Edelson is using famous religious imagery to critique the patriarchal society that conservative Christianity created. In doing so, she contradicts traditional Biblical theology that says women ought to be subservient to men and makes them equal by quite literally giving women a place at the table.

Mary Beth Edelson’s work has sustained a radical engagement with transforming the parameters and purpose of art. She did a lot of self portraiture, using her own body as a medium and material. Her feminist aesthetic began in the 1970s, engaging with and producing images of female representation that saught to disrupt and transform the patriarchal pictorial codes that

1 Kathleen Wentrack. What's So Feminist about the Feministische Kunst Internationaal? Critical Directions in 1970s Feminist Art. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, 33(2), 76-110. doi:10.5250/fronjwomestud.33.2.0076, (2012), 18. define and limit female identity.2 She emerged during the feminist women’s movement that rejected the enforcing idea that women were of base matter and were seen as only beings who could procreate; incapable of being creators and therefore disqualified from being artists. It’s seen pretty “clearly, Edelson's art is female, or feminist in many ways and on many levels… The complexity of the issues that good feminist art addresses sometimes requires the kind of formal and conceptual multiplicity of which Edelson is a master”3. Her aim in her art career was to break traditions and point out the suffocating hierarchy that intentionally excluded women from access to positions of power, in society and religion. This goal is clear throughout her work:

Edelson addresses the hyper-masculinity of the worlds that are displayed in the paintings.

The power in her use of The Last Supper lies in the fact that Edelson through her

appropriation simultaneously addresses both religious and artistic institutions…there is

little to no room in the institutions themselves for actual women as creative and powerful

forces.4

The Catholic Church argued that because Christ was a man, the leaders should also be men in order to accurately represent Christ, so that the people can relate to the priests as being stand-ins for Christ. With using her body as a sacred being through her work, Edelson broke the stereotypes that the male gender was the only one capable and allowed to identify with a higher being in body and in mind of a primary sacred being.5

In Some Living American Women Artists (1972), Edelson took a black and white photograph of Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic Last Supper (1498) with clippings of women artists over the disciples heads to make a statement about the position of women artists in art history,

2 Edelson, Mary Beth. The Art of Mary Beth Edelson (New York, NY: Seven Cycles, 2002), 25. 3 Bradley, L. . Michelle Stuart and Mary Beth Edelson: Returning to the Root (Published master's thesis). Fort Collins, Colorado. Colorado State University (1988): 13. 4 Wijnia, Lieke. The Last Supper: Marlene Dumas, Mary Beth Edelson, and Elisabeth Olson Wallin.. 33. 48-56. (2014): 53. 5 Edelson, “The Art of Mary Beth Edelson”, 33. the contemporary art scene, and religious institutions. Georgia O’Keeffe’s head is on Jesus’s body, a reserved place of honor that Elelson left open for her since she was regarded symbolically important as one who attained singular professional success.6 The poster was widely distributed to feminist organizations, women’s centers, bookstores, etc and rapidly became one of the most stirring and best-known images of the women’s movement, continuing today to be reporiduced internationally in publications of women’s studies, art history, psychology and theology.7 Edelson writes her own statement on the piece:

My intentions in publishing this poster was to identify and commemorate women artists,

who were getting little recognition at the time by presenting them as the grand subject -

while spoofing the patriarchy for cutting women out of positions of power and authority.

Even though the Last Supper is a Christian image, the point was to challenge all

organized religion to prove that they are no longer a major cultural force that

subordinates women.8

Her pieces were perceived as attacking Christianity and theology when in reality she was only trying to expose the treatment that women were receiving on account of the exclusion that men enforced in religion and society. The goal of Edelson’s work that aimed to challenge societal norms was to seat women at the same table, being seen as equals in spirituality, the church, and as sacred beings.

Upon first seeing Some Living American Women Artists (1972) it’s easy to recognize the base of the collage as the black and white photograph of the original Leonardo da Vinci. There were a couple main observations that were apparent when studying Edelson’s variation of The

Last Supper. The eye is first drawn to the center where Jesus sat and is now replaced with the

6 Edelson, “The Art of Mary Beth Edelson”, 32. 7 Edelson, “The Art of Mary Beth Edelson”, 33. 8 Edelson, “The Art of Mary Beth Edelson”, 32e. head of a woman, Georgia O’Keeffe. All the disciples have cut outs of women’s heads as well. It is interesting how all the women covering the disciples have their names on the table except for two women who seem to be in the farthest background, one of which is the only colored photograph head of the 13 at the table. The women at the table are diverse in age, styles, presentation, and expressions. It almost seems as if Edelson tried to match the expressions of the cut out faces with that of the disciples; Georgia O’Keeffe is looking at the audience along with some others, M. C. Richards and Lila Katzen are the only two caught speaking, and the others have expressions that look to be matching the gestures that the disciples’s hands or body language present.

It was creative to create a frame for the work using photographs of women instead of only covering the heads in the painting and leaving it at that. It feels symbolic and representative to have 60 other photographs of women surrounding to point to the fact that there are many women artists out there; that they aren’t rare, they are just buried beneath the fame of male artists. Noticing too how Edelson’s title specificies that they are only some of the American women artists in the world, who even more specifically are still living. Seeing 73 photographs of women pasted on this painting with the title of “some living american women artists” just shows how many female artists are out there and not being recognized or appreciated in the same way as male artists. Furthermore, these are only women artists in America, which is why the photos are predominantly white with a couple exceptions. These aren’t specially photographed portraits of these individual women as if they were set up in a studio to take pictures for this art piece, but rather the photos depict all styles. Some are concerned, sad, contemplative, zoned in, gazing off, while others are smiling at the camera, into the distance, or standing next to their work or a chosen environment. This makes it feel more human, to have a diverse appearance of expressions and color in how they individually present themselves and express who they are through just one photograph. It also feels more personable, as if the artists chose their own photograph or Edelson pulled the photographs from a variety of sources because she didn’t know the women; it connects them in a unified way, showing that they are rallied and collected against the oppression. By specifically choosing this way of presenting the women, it adds to the interpretation of the piece in a necessary way.

It’s curious why Edelson chose the Last Supper to be the base of her piece, and whether it was done as an outward statement against men or the church, since her piece only accompanies women. Noticeably, this chosen painting is of Christian men who sit at a table, suggesting that only specific people and gender are reserved a seat at the table both in religion and society. This would exclude women and diverse people groups, which was the normal commonality during

Edelson’s time. It was also a huge part of traditional christianity and how the churches were run in the early days. It was common even in Jesus’s time on earth the way leaders and churches handled and treated different people or those who didn’t fit the pristine qualifications. Exclusion has always been around in institutionalized religious practices, and Edelson was one to challenge the idea of these practices through her artistic practices. In terms of interpretation, it is beneficial to ask what it means for this piece to intentionally critique the traditional conservative christian values that have led to women not having a seat at the table or being in positions of authority and honor, both in the Christian world and other parts of society like the art world. It definitely feels like Edelson is making a statement that women are oppressed and unrecognized in their art, seating women at the table instead for a chance at equality in society, the art world, and institutionalized religion. Even if Edelson does not believe in or agree with traditional Christian theology or institutionalized religion, she understands and fights for inclusivity which falls under

Egalitarianism. There doesn’t seem to be any record of Edelson claiming this belief, but the ideologies connected to Egalitarianism fit with how Edelson views the church and inequality in religion. When observing her Last Supper piece, it is evident that the switch of hierarchy works to shine light on not only women in the art world, but women in the church. To have women now sit at a table that was reserved for religious men serves an Egalitarian point that women too can have equal roles as men in the church and other religious settings.

By using da Vinci’s religious piece of Jesus at the table with his disciples, Edelson invites an Egalitarian view of seating anyone and everyone at the table, calling them equals as Jesus did.

A parable in Luke 14 demonstrates Jesus’ teaching of all people being welcomed at the table of

God. Jesus made it clear to His Pharisee host that all people should be invited to the table - all being inclusive not exclusive. Religious leaders would not think of inviting the poor, crippled, lame or blind. But while on earth, Jesus spread what was important and necessary for the people to hear and one message was that there is room for all at God’s Table. The Parable gives a picture of God’s Love. For certain groups or sexes to be uninvited to the table and frowned upon in religious settings, that is going against what Jesus taught and who He is. Edelson’s art, especially her Last Supper, is grappling with this theme of minorities or groups predetermined as lesser by men in the church and within society as a whole.

Some living American women artists (1972) goes hand in hand with 4 other peices of hers that tackle a similar feminist message of equality and use the same style of cutting out paper clippings of women artists and pasting them on famous art pieces; the base paintings chosen are ones that have or represent male exclusivity of the patriarchal culture. These four other pieces include Happy Birthday America (1976), Death of the Patriarchy/Heresies (1976), Death of the

Patriarchy/A.I.R. (1976), and Bringing Home the Evolution (1978). Edelson’s beliefs and journeys in her art relate to two other women artists who also took The Last Supper and turned it into rejection pieces against institutionalized religion and the male hierarchy. Marlene Dumas’ painting The Last Supper (1985-1991) and Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin’s photographic Last Supper

(1998) took creative and visual twists that accomplished similar repercussions that Edelson’s piece delivered.

The activist pieces caused debates about the works themselves by overtly hitting open

nerves. In turn, these represent more fundamental and underlying problems, which are the

real topics of debate. Reaching these fundamental layers of social issues requires

unveiling social constraints that are taken for granted. Edelson and Ohlson Wallin address

this sense of automatism and routine in direct ways, while Dumas does this through

ambiguity.9

Just like Edelson, Dumas and Ohlson Wallin sought to expose and address the detrimental results that these social issues made light of. If inclusitivity and representation to minorities shown through art is hitting nerves, then these feminist artists have succeeded in shining light on the fundamental problems. Edelson and Ohlson Wallin created a shock effect with their pieces, directly calling out the issues during their time. These three women artists managed to create and widely distribute art that exposed the underlying problems of society and religion, and the way it excludes anyone that doesn’t fit into the constraints of institutionalized religion, which was built to hold up men as sacred beings. Ohlson especially honored the words of Jesus by giving social and religious outcasts a seat at the table where they would otherwise have been turned away from the church and judged on account of marginalizing theology. These traditional leaders did not

9 Wijnia, “The Last Supper”, 54. proactive the words “come as you are” and turned away thieves, the poor, the sick, and the outcasts. These views are still alive today and why Edelson makes an effort to break the stereotype religious institutions created that exclude anyone who does not fit into the hierarchy that men have created.

While Mary Beth Edelson’s view on the church and women in power in the religious institutions may not line up with traditional Christian theology, her views are closely linked with

Egalitarian theology. She aimed to challenge all institutionalized religions which forced women into subordination and viewed them as just a means for reproduction. Edelson was a big part of the feminist movements that gave names to female artists and worked to give equality and social justice to the female marginilization that the male hierarchy suppressed them into. Edelson was asked by a fellow artist (during a seminar where 22 people gathered to suggest an art piece that they wanted Edelson to produce) to use organized religion as a point of departure and to expose whatever negative aspects might occur, making the political, social, and philosophical implications clear. It’s safe to say that Some living American women artists (1972) absolutely accomplished this. It was because of her fervent passion for social justice that many women were encouraged to stand up and fight for their seat at the table, and the chance for women artists to find success in the art world. As Edelson would put it, the patriarchy had been spoofed. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bradley, L. Michelle Stuart and Mary Beth Edelson: Returning to the Root (Published master's thesis). Fort Collins, Colorado. Colorado State University (1988)

Edelson, Mary Beth. The Art of Mary Beth Edelson (New York, NY: Seven Cycles, 2002)

Kathleen Wentrack. What's So Feminist about the Feministische Kunst Internationaal? Critical Directions in 1970s Feminist Art. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, 33(2), 76-110. doi:10.5250/fronjwomestud.33.2.0076, (2012)

Wijnia, Lieke. The Last Supper: Marlene Dumas, Mary Beth Edelson, and Elisabeth Olson Wallin.. 33. 48-56. (2014)