OUR HISTORY, OUR VOICES PROJECT
The Mary Ruden Exhibit
About Her Exhibit…
I am Mary, an artist with a focus on natural subjects such as orchids, butterflies & joyful expressions such as music.
My love for art was influenced by my Welsh roots, and my ability to explore museums and gardens in Europe.
I am active in the Knoxville Arts Alliance and I participate in art shows in the state of Tennessee as well as surrounding states.
For Women’s History Month I have chosen to display a couple of different pieces I have curated over the years.
The 9-minute video includes the history of conditions for working women before labor laws and has the bronze bust of the famous Knoxville suffragist and quilts I made to honor women’s rights.
The pieces displayed include:
1.) My “Anne M. Davis Quilt” which includes wildflowers, butterflies, and native plants in it. It is also on display at Arrowmont in Gatlinburg, TN.
2.) My bronze bust of Knoxville Suffragist Lizzie Crozier French on display at City Hall, Salisbury, NC.
3.) My life-size drawings of Tennessee Woman Suffragists.
4.) A quilt on display at Arromont in Gatlinburg to commemorate the Centennial of Women’s Right to Vote.
Click to view images at larger scale.
Connect with Mary Ruden »
Instagram: @MaryRudenArt | Website: https://maryruden.com
More Exhibits
The Mera Ragsdale Exhibit
My paintings question the way we look at feminine bodies especially in comparison to how masculine bodies are viewed. In art history, the objectification and presentation of female bodies and an accepted way to present and view them has long been prevalent, specifically as non-threatening objects of sexual desire. My work questions these long accepted practices and empowers my subjects to visually challenge the viewer.
The Connie Flachs Exhibit
I am inspired by movement and human growth, physical, mental and spiritual. This work in particular is part of a series of dance journal entries that have enabled me to document a time of major transition (of career, personal life, and place) in my life. The female spirit, to me, is sensual, feeling, flexible, and deep.
The Cheryl Prose Exhibit
The MeToo Art Project launched October 2017 and is designed to (1) give survivors of sexual violence another vehicle by which to speak their truth about their experience, (2) be a means by which to hold perpetrators accountable, (3) raise awareness of the epidemic of sexual harassment and assault, and (4) be a means by which solidarity is shown- without regard to gender- with and to those who have experienced this type of life-altering attack.