As we continue our conversation from This is Not a Doll’s House, we reached out to all the exhibiting artists and this week we asked Rita Valley and Melanie Brewster the following questions:
Please tell us how you think the theme of the exhibition reflects the current position of women in our society?
Rita: Women in society today are in a one-step-forward, two-steps-back conundrum. More women occupy positions of authority (ie; we have a woman vice president) but our rights are being curtailed (erosion of Roe vs Wade). The theme of the exhibit reflects the many conflicting roles women are expected to play and comes at an important but complicated time.
Melanie: Despite how many decades have passed since the initial performance of "A Doll's House" -- women in society today are still struggling with a number of the same expectations, particularly around motherhood and caregiving. There is still unyielding pressure to become a mother, but also the belief that we can "have it all" with successful careers in addition to parenting. When women choose to shirk this 'duty' to have children, they are seen as immature or selfish.
In today’s world, what role do you think dolls play? Has that role changed at all in your lifetime?
Rita: Dolls are most definitely different now than when I was young. Dolls were cute, perky and seen as preparation for motherhood, and they were overwhelmingly white! Thankfully, today dolls represent a much broader society and offer more possibilities to role play. Many of the dolls in “Not A Doll’s House” appear to riff on pre-existing themes of doll as a cute- and possibly pliant- female, but with a twist: these dolls often hold messages about not mistaking them for weak, submissive women. There is an implicit critique of society’s simplistic assumptions of women as either compliant or bitchy.
Melanie: Dolls used to be training tools for motherhood (i.e., baby dolls) or femininity (i.e., barbie). I'm not totally sure that's changed, but it is nice to see the rise of more gender neutral toys like Pikachu.
We have your individual statements, but now that you have seen images of the installed exhibition, what purpose do you think all of the dolls serve?
Rita: I was captivated and astonished at the range and interpretation of “doll”! Literal dolls, yes, but mobiles, costumes, books… all wonderful and diverse renderings of the show’s concept. The dolls illustrate an expansive vision advising the viewer to never underestimate artists.
Melanie: The dolls offer new perspectives on care, gender, and femininity.
If dolls are given to girls and boys to help them identify themselves, and their future selves, how does your doll shape that?
Rita: Well… my doll has appealing doll elements, like a soft squishy body and Raggedy Ann inspired hair and silly googly eyes. But she also has a haunted face and is a bit of a hybrid monster. I think she falls into a “Nightmare Before Christmas” sensibility so she’d be fun for boys, girls and everyone in between. Girls and boys (and adults!) benefit by being given as many expressions as possible.
Melanie: My Wolfmother Plushy offers a topsy turvy view of femininity and caregiving. Rather than using her teats to feed babies, there are silver chains that hang from them. Can a figure still nurture if she does not, quite literally, offer her own body as a comfort object?
Do you have a particular memory of any time you’ve spent with dolls/dollhouses that you carry with you?
Rita: Yes! I reiterate what I mentioned in my original statement: I was given a baby doll by a family friend. I (rather rudely) gave it back, declaring that I didn’t play with dolls and proclaiming my preference to playing with my (real live) dogs. (Bit of a monster?) I’m still like this…
Melanie: Somewhat ironically, my primary "doll" was a pound puppy stuffed animal named Emily. I was never drawn to baby-dolls or real babies and I'm still staunchly childfree today at nearly 40.
Can you elaborate on the connection between your piece and the theme of this year’s show? What do you hope folks take away from it?
Rita: What do I wish folks would take away from the show? My doll! Give her a good home!
Melanie: In A Doll's House, Nora makes the radical choice to leave her family for a new, unencumbered life. People were so jarred by this decision they stormed out of theaters whenever it was performed. My hope is that considering this narrative in a contemporary landscape of reproductive freedom and choice will open viewers up to Nora's complexity. My piece shows a humanoid version of the famous capitoline wolf of Rome, but she has chosen a different path than raising Remus and Romulus--should she be scorned or celebrated? Perhaps women should dare to change history.
Rita Valley is an American fiber artist with a recognized career of over seventeen years, As a mid-career, known Artist with a local presence, she works out of Westport Connecticut, and has exhibited mainly in the United States with gallery and museum exhibitions, as well as art fair presence, having worked with CAMP for over three years now.
Melanie Brewster, is an artist with a steady local presence with exhibitions in galleries across the US. Melanie Elyse Brewster lives and works in New York City where she is currently completing her MFA at the School of Visual Arts (SVA). Brewster’s interdisciplinary art and scholarship focuses on how marginalized communities cope with stress and stigma.
