Integrated Hemispheres:
Woman
Art
and
Technology
[
]
Kenneth E. Rinaldo
Emergent Systems
1342 11th Avenue
San Francisco, CA
94112 U.S.A.
The original concept
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for the gallery exhibition "Integrated Hemispheres: Woman Art and Technology" arose out of a number of areas of research. First, while sitting in the doctor's office a few months before curating the exhibition, I read an article in Discover magazine in which the author described a study using magnetic resonance imaging that indicated that men and women use very different parts of their brains in solving problems. The article asserted that men tend to use both sides of their brains at first, but as a problem is being solved the activity of the brain tends to become more and more localized in the left hemisphere. (The left hemisphere is believed to involve logical, structured relationships and mathematical and sequential thoughts, while the right hemisphere is believed to deal with emotional issues, form and shape, dimensional space, creative processes and abstract relations.) Women, according to the research, tend to remain highly integrated in both hemispheres throughout problem-solving processes. The magnetic resonance imaging research has far-reaching implications for the interpretive processes that women bring to art and technology in particular. The research may also provide insight regarding the areas of focus that women choose when working with technology. In this issue of the Leonardo Gallery [1], a number of the works deal with social and relational issues and the implications of technology within these issues. Therese Lahaie and Rachel Murray each produce time-based sculptural works that relate to navigational strategies and relational imaging within their individual conceptual frameworks. Shelley Cook, Gail Wight, Beverly Reiser and Samantha Simpson produce sensitive works that look at love, relationships and family. Lynn Hershman presents formal works that deal with issues of technology's gaze and its influence on a changing notion of self. The show reminds me of Donna Harraway's words referring to women's technological empowerment: "I'd rather be a cyborg than a goddess." All of these artists display mastery and comfort with their chosen forms of technical expression. Still, we must remember that the terms "biology" and "technology" are merely labels that are determined through a process of individual discourse. These artists have successfully engaged us in this discourse. _____________________________ Note 1. This Leonardo Gallery is based on an exhibition curated by Kenneth Rinaldo at Blasthaus gallery in San Francisco. Artists presented at the Blasthaus exhibition included Beverly Reiser, Diane Fenster, Shelley Cook, Samantha Simpson, Gail Wight, Lynn Hershman, Rebeca Bollinger, Therese Lahaie and Rachel Murray. Pamela Z and Amy X Neuburg performed. |
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