5 Women Artists from Newark

Newark, nicknamed “Brick City,” has given tremendous space to cultivate education such that one may find several institutions within ten blocks - such schools include Rutgers University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Essex County College, New Jersey Medical School, North Star Academy, Science Park High School, American History High School, Newark Tech High School, and Arts High School (opened in 1931 and was the first high school in the United States specializing in Visual Arts). Besides being one of New York City’s sisters, New Jersey’s largest metropolitan city is filled with hidden treasures such as having the largest Cherry Blossom collection at Branch Brook park, hosting the prominent Dodge Poetry Festival, and being home to the Newark Museum. One overlooked aspect from this great city are the women artists coming from this city, and they cannot be ignored much longer. 

Someone who passes by McCarter Highway on a regular basis may have been shocked to see the

"Invest in Our Youth" by Akintola Hanif, 2017

once barren walls of the Amtrack retention area separating East Newark from the highway be filled with colorful murals. The intersection at Pennington St and McCarter Highway has the words “Invest in Our Youth” with an image of an elated African American boy and similar joyful images of an African American family; this particular mural was done by a male artist Akintola Hanif. Nonetheless, if one were to drive onto McCarter Highway, one would realize that these beautiful works are continuous and are signed by different artists. Newark is now home to longest murals in the East Coast. Titled “Gateways to Newark: Portraits,” this mural stretches 1.39 miles (25 football fields). “Local curator Rebecca Jampol chose the 18 artists who painted Portraits,” 10 of whom are from Newark, were asked to illustrate something related to Newark’s culture and heritage (Gorce 2017). These artists worked from 8:00 PM to 5:00 AM for 13 days in May through the rain and all while their canvases were lit by thirty-five stadium lights. The final product was washed with anti-graffiti sealant to protect it.

"Newark Portal Flow" by Gera and Werc, 2017

“Hooded Warbler" by Gera Lozano, 2017

One of the artists who worked on this was Gera Lozano along with another artist named Werc. Lozano was raised in Newark but currently

resides in Brooklyn; her grammar school is two blocks away from where the mural is created (Gorce 2017). Lozano’s mural titled “Newark Portal Flow” illustrates Newark’s Lady Liberty – not to be confused with Statue of Liberty. Newark’s Lady Liberty “represents the earth, the spirit of flight and its creatures, like the cranes in the Passaic River” (Gorce 2017). The mural symbolizes “…the mind and the industries that shaped the city” and “the lion in the center of the design is an homage to the

architectural ornaments of Penn Station” (Gorce 2017).

Lozano’s other works include murals found in other inner-cities. Her work primarily features striking patterns and designs – several of which feature birds and flowers. Even though her work does not appear to be driven by political or social justice stance, according to Lozano, her artwork is symbolic and the birds and flowers depicted in her murals transcends what meets the eye. For instance, Lozano shares that her pieces like “Hooded Warbler,” “represent and celebrate the natural fauna and flora of the local area where the mural lives…they invoke freedom, focus, and having a higher perspective” (Audubon 2017).

“42 Dresses” by Adrienne Wheeler, 2017

"Lembranca/Resistencia-Memory/Resistance"

by Adrienne Wheeler, 2011

Another female artist who worked on the “Gateways to Newark: Portraits” is Adrienne Wheeler. Her work is titled “42 Dresses” and features white dresses side by side against a navy blue background. Wheeler shared with reporter Tammy Gorce that the mural holds sentimental values for her. Behind the mural, there are two streets – one of which Wheeler’s paternal grandparents were born and later married in Newark in 1887. The dress from her “mother’s grammar-school graduation in 1942 [inspired her]…[her] mother was from Georgia, but she moved to Newark in 1938 as part of the Great Migration; the dress, in its mural form, is now right under the very railroad tracks she traveled to get here” (Gorce 2017). In contrast to Lozano, Wheeler’s work revolves more around her race and her origins; the source of the dress and her reasoning for choosing the dress for this mural hints at that. In 2011, Wheeler hosted an one-woman show in Orbit One Gallery (second floor of the Paul Robeson Galleries, Campus Center). Her show was titled "Lembranca/Resistencia-Memory/Resistance" and revolved around her struggles against oppression and an attempt to connect with her ancestral African spiritual practice (Selman 2011).

“Untitled (Your Gaze Hits the Side of My Face)”

by Barbara Kruger, 1981

Moving on to the third female artist who was born in Newark to a working class family and a product of Newark Public Schools (Hyman 764), Barbara Kruger is a woman who broke barriers set for her – and has crashed that hypothetical glass ceiling. Verging on the integration of Postmodernism and feminist thought (Chadwick 385), Kruger’s works take on the male gaze as she uses the texts that accompany her “blown-up, severely cropped photographs of women” (Chadwick 382) to shift the focus so that the individual displayed on her work may be viewed as an individual, and thus destabilizing the view “of women as object[s]” (Chadwick 382). One of her well-known artwork is the “Untitled (Your Gaze Hits the Side of My Face)” from 1981. The word “gaze” is a very explicit nod to the male gaze, and use of this word on the piece highlights – and places shame to an extent – on the act of “gazing” at another human being and viewing her as an object.

Kruger also works with other aspects of feminist artwork besides

"Untitled (Pro-life for the unborn, Pro-death
for the born) by Barbara Kruger, 2000

the male gaze. One example of this would be the ongoing debate on abortion in America and her take on it. Published in 2000, there is an image of George W. Bush with the words “Pro-life for the unborn, Pro-death for the born.” Eight words are sufficient to understand the hypocrisy Kruger is pointing out. Bush’s argument that he does not support abortion (and is not willing to give women the right to decide what to do with their own bodies) because he values life seems contradictory as he is a supporter of capital punishment. Kruger’s work also addresses other issues faced by society today such as the concept of consumerism. Her piece from 2007 titled “Face It” has these words plastered on an image of material with the words “[t]his fantastic outfit is ridiculously overpriced.” Kruger’s work illustrates the power of words whether it be spoken or read and its impact are indisputable; she is able to use them to address topics which concern her whether it be the male gaze, abortion, or consumerism.

“OVER, the rainbow” by Chakaia Booker, 2012

Looking into artists involved in sculpture-making from Newark, Chakaia Booker stands out. She attended Rutgers University and was a recipient of Guggenheim Fellowship of Creative Arts. She started making large outdoor sculptures in the early 1990s. Booker “fuses ecological concerns with explorations of racial and economic difference, globalization, and gender by recycling discarded tires into complex assemblages” (NMWA). According to the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), Booker uses discarded tires in her work as references for industrialization, consumer culture, and environmental concerns. Her sculpture from 2012 titled “OVER, the rainbow” features tires stacked on empty milk gallons. “Booker slices, twists, weaves, and rivets [the tires] into radically new forms and textures [as] the varied tones of the rubber parallels human diversity, while the tire treads suggest images as varied as African scarification and textile designs” (NMWA). Akin to Wheeler, Booker also introspects into her roots for her artwork, and a time period like that of postmodernism gives room for that to occur.

Last but not least, Judith Bernstein was also born in Newark. According to the Paul Kasmin Gallery,

“Money Shot – Green” by Judith Bernstein, 2016

Bernstein “surged into art world prominence in the early 1970s with her monumental charcoal drawings of penis-screw hybrids.” One of Bernstein’s work from 2016 titled “Money Shot – Green” was very relevant to the presidential election happening that year. Trump’s name is placed on the slot machine  between two Nazi symbols. Next to the slot machine appears to be a phallic symbol of perhaps a penis from which the word “shot” is being shot out. She has made multiple other paintings related to Trump in a negative light and she used her artwork to serve as a medium to express her point. Something that Bernstein has in common with the previous four female artists is that they all used their work to address topics which concerned them, and her artworks are reactive to activities around her.

This sums up the five female artists from Newark! Nonetheless, there are many more female artists from Newark – some of whom were not born here but spent a substantial amount of their life here. Artists like these, especially those who are active in Newark such as Lozano and Wheeler, adds to the rich culture of Newark and allows for the greatness of Newark to flourish.

By Maisha Manzoor 

Citations:

Audubon. “Hooded Warbler by GERALUZ.” Audubon, 25 Oct. 2017, 

            www.audubon.org/news/hooded-warbler-geraluz. 

Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. Langara College, 2016. 

Gorce, Tammy. “Newark Mural Showcases Brick City's True Colors.” New Jersey Monthly, 19 

Jan. 2017, njmonthly.com/articles/arts-entertainment/newark-mural-showcases-city-true-colors/.

Hyman, Paula E., Moore, Beborah Dash. 1998. Jewish Women in America. An Historical 

Encyclopedia. New York, NY: Routledge. Sponsored by The American Jewish Historical Society.

NMWA. “National Museum of Women in the Arts.” Chakaia Booker | National Museum of 

Women in the Arts, nmwa.org/explore/artist-profiles/chakaia-booker.

Selman, Carol. “Adrienne Wheeler: Keeper Of The Flame.” Newark, NJ Patch, Patch, 31 Dec. 

2011, patch.com/new-jersey/newarknj/adrienne-wheeler-keeper-of-the-flame.