Veronamerica II

By Ann Hutton

In 1997, a small group of artists—mostly from the Hudson Valley, all women—traveled to Verona, Italy to celebrate with artists there in an exchange of creative energy that fueled inspiration on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. This intercultural event was set on a stage that can only be called epic. The very roads of ancient Rome, the Decumano Secondo where the wheels of men carved grooves of civilization and social propriety, became the backdrop of paintings and sculptures, executed by over thirty American and Italian women artists and displayed in historic spaces, cloisters, palace courts and galleries along the way. Coordinated by Veronese architect Bertilla Ferro, the project was called “Veronamerica,” and it celebrated the accomplishments of one and all in exhibits, lectures, and—naturally—fabulous meals.

A decade later, a second exchange has been planned. This October, Veronamerica II will bring artists from the Veneto and Lombardia regions of Italy to New York to reciprocate the generous hospitality enjoyed by the American artists ten years ago and to entertain the Italian contingency in Hudson Valley style. Sponsored by the Arts Society of Kingston, a not-for-profit organization, and funded with a grant from NYSCA through the Dutchess County Arts Council, coordinators Lois Linet and Jane Toby have connected with ten other region artists to produce month-long exhibits in local galleries that feature the works of both groups. With openings at the Arts Society of Kingston Gallery on lower Broadway and the Coffey Gallery on Wall Street for Kingston’s First Saturday (October 6), and at the Open Studio in Catskill for its Second Saturday (October 13), Veronamerica II promises to deliver a variety of artwork from an even greater variety of women artists.

In the history of the arts, standing out has been a problem for women, particularly so in cultures where women have been relegated to subordinate status on many fronts well into the 20th century. Creative self-expression has long been the domain of men, belonging to a club that excluded female membership. In Italy, retrograde family laws restricted women from owning property and bearing public witness as late as the 1970’s, and a woman’s very freedom to work and travel about were severely limited. Though Italian women gained the right to vote in 1946, the harsh years under Facism threw them back into pre-emancipationist conditions. Gradually feminists, grass-roots activists, and women’s study groups were able to emerge again. They altered the cultural environment, especially in Verona where Circolo della Rosa has existed as a gathering place for women artists and writers for the past 15 years.

Though our society has not been, for many decades, as rigidly restrictive for women who choose to operate in the world-at-large, dedicating one’s self to a creative endeavor outside the parameters of family and household management still poses an either/or proposition for many women. Either a woman attends to both, with the subordinating obligations taking precedence over more “superfluous” activities like arts, music, or anything else she finds compelling; or she dabbles and waits until the kids have grown up and left the premises, or until other circumstances force her to honor this sort of self-ish expression. Indeed, a latent creative impulse has been associated with the heat waves of menopause, almost forcing women to find more serious outlets for their interests and talents. And thus, a renewed sense of empowerment emerges, kindled by the duel fires of freedom and maturation, sometimes resulting in powerful work that demands attention and recognition.

Attention and recognition are the purposes of this collaborative project. Toby and Linet have engaged a talented group of artists from the Hudson Valley whose work represents a diverse spectrum. In Italy, the association started by Ferro has continued to support women artists, and many of the original participants are joining the celebration again. Veronamerica II will include sculpture, paintings, collages and other unique art forms, all expressions of the lives of these thirty-two women. The twelve members of the Hudson Valley contingency have each contributed to the logistics of the project, requiring them to develop organizational skills and to be creative in different ways than they might be as individual artists.

Linet has been working exclusively in the medium of collage since 1998, maintaining the idea that “there is no such thing as any material being…unworthy as a means of creative expression” if the artist infuses it with feeling. She’s shown her work in numerous galleries in New York, Japan and Germany and has co-founded two local art advocacy groups: F.A.M.E, a monthly lecture series sponsored by the Woodstock Artists Association, and A.B.C., a women’s group that meets to combine art, breakfast and conversation. Collaborating with Toby in the effort to bring Veronamerica II to life has been yet another labor of love for Linet.

Toby spent a number of years living in Italy where she taught in Elderhostels. An activist and poet, she’s utilized her expert knowledge of the Italian language to do translations and more importantly to bridge communications between cultures. She was involved in the original Veronamerica, and has since held the dream of recreating the project, once again providing a forum for women to learn about each other’s cultures and artistic processes, and to share their stories. She speaks of one participating artist, now in her eighties, who related being born into a world where female children were taught to sew and cook and use their hands for work—traditional work, handicrafts that supported their families and kept them going. It wasn’t until this woman realized that creating art is also using her hands for work, though the products of that work might reap a different sort of reward—that’s when she felt the freedom to seriously engage in it.

Toby also mentions another elder in the group who reported a tale from her childhood: At a very young age, a teacher complimented her melodious voice and told the girl “the world should hear her sing.” When the girl excitedly repeated this to her mother and aunts at home, she was slapped. It was an abrupt reminder that girls should never call undo attention to themselves, however talented they may be. An unmarried girl’s reputation and personal safety could be threatened, so she would never be allowed to pursue such an activity outside the shelter of the family. And a married woman’s duties—the first being to submit to her husband—precluded any such activities, the fear being that the very fabric of society based on strong family values might be weakened by allowing women to indulge themselves in a passion other than parenting and homemaking.

Societal pressures have changed in Italy as well as in the United States. Linet asserts that any artist—male or female—faces certain challenges in the very process of making art. How does one earn a living or produce work that is marketable? Is that issue at the forefront of all creative endeavors, or can a balance be found? What does one give up to commit fully to one’s work? One woman on her own, unsupported in her deepest yearnings yet somehow filled with personal power, can indeed impact the improbable course of creative human endeavor. It is when women join together in mutual support and learning that the improbable becomes the possible. Linet also reminds us that all of life is art, be it expressed in food, home, the sciences or culture. La dolce vita describes a female perspective exactly—the “sweet life” of all that any woman engages herself in when afforded the freedom and opportunity to do so willingly, creatively.

As part of a fundraising effort, artist Cynthia Dill has compiled a catalogue introducing the participating artists and showing examples of their work. Veronamerica II: La Bella Tavola, a work of art itself and printed in both English and Italian, features photographs and reminiscences of the original Veronamerica, along with favorite recipes shared by the group. The catalogue will be available for purchase at Barnes & Noble in Kingston where a weekend-long series of activities is planned to help Veronamerica II launch its October celebration. Come enjoy Italian short stories, songs, dance, music, wine and language lessons on September 15 and 16 in the Barnes & Noble Café. Call 845 336 0590 for the schedule.

In addition to the three art exhibits, lectures will be offered at the Art Society of Kingston, the Woodstock Artists Association and SUNY New Paltz, presented by Paola Azzolini (speaking on the late Veronese feminist artist, Andreina Robotti), Anita and Luigi Traverso and Sara Poli, whose film, Sguardi-Giances, was produced in cooperation with Italian prison inmates in Brescia and has been submitted for inclusion in the Woodstock Film Festival. Participating artists from both countries will also be treated to a local Artists Studio Tour on Sunday, October 7 and a Hudson River School Painters tour on Tuesday, October 9, opportunities open to the public as well. For further information on exhibits and events contact 845 679 8725 or 518 678 2076, or visit www.askforarts.org