Homages to Body

Form is rendered literally in sculpture. Rather than suggesting texture, it ultimately possesses it. Of course, you cannot touch most sculptures at a museum (you can touch them even less, on a website). A lot can be conveyed through nonvisual experiences.

Eugenie Gershoy, Homage to Audrey McMahon (Goddess of Fertility), 1977, papier-mache on wire armature with cut out paper and painted with egg tempera on wood base, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1984.76

“Art just recently something to be secreted behind imposing walls, understandable only by the initiate, possessed solely by the millionaire, the luxury of luxuries. It is still not something that can be cooked for breakfast, and the artist is just a neighbor who might, if he were put to it, use a pick and shovel. The very obviousness of this is sad.”

-- Audrey McMahon, 1936, One year after the establishment of the Federal Art Program, which she directed.

Due to McMahon’s actions under the Federal Art Program, and the later Graphic Section of the War Services Division, thousands of works of art were made. Many artists in the SAAM’s collection were benefactors from this program; her legacy, although subtle, is obvious.

It can be hard to thread the needle of allegory; a woman depicted as a Goddess of Fertility could, accidentally, imply that all women should be like goddesses of fertility. Eugenie Gershoy’s depiction of McMahon as a ‘Goddess of Fertility’ is both deeply sincere, and tongue in cheek. This work is filled with visual upset: its use of papier-mache, and its roughly hewn edges make it unpleasant to look at, as well as a very individual piece of art. This work can really only be read uniquely; although it uses the allegory of the Goddess, it uses no other universalizing language. McMahon is commended here with a feminine role of power, but this work does not over-extend that allegory. It is just glad that McMahon existed to make art accessible and valuable.

Bessie Stough Callender, Torso, ca. 1930, granite on marble base, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Harold Callender, 1960.8.5

‘Torso’ is purely an anatomical study. It is undetailed in its representation, except in its gentle curvature. Instead, the focus of this work is the medium’s texture. It is a rough texture; it does not look pleasing to touch.

‘Torso’ could fit in your two hands: it’s about one and a half feet tall, but you probably would not want to hold it. As a piece, it appears with a real weight to it. Subtly, a feminine ideal is rejected by embracing the natural feel of the medium. Rather than being a body rendered in granite, it is rendered through it.

When looking at ‘Torso’, you have to realize that every other time a nude body is rendered stone-smooth, that was a choice.