Isabel Pardo - historically hysterical

historically hysterical

April 2019

The Peale Center Baltimore, MD

Organized by Maryland Institute College of Art’s (MICA) Exhibition Development Seminar (EDS), historically hysterical was on display during April 2019 throughout the entirety of Baltimore's Peale Center. The show featured artists who reject the coercive hierarchy of gender roles in order to smash the patriarchy. Created by a class of twelve women curators, the exhibition uses installation, performance, photography, and mixed media fiber works—all created by contemporary women artists—to transform three floors of Baltimore’s historic Peale Center.

historically hysterical featured women artists from diverse backgrounds who reference some of the materials and methods of seminal feminist art from the 1970s but draw their content from the present moment.

This link between past and present mirrors current political realities: As a record-breaking 102 women joined the U.S. House of Representatives in the wake of #MeToo and the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, some journalists dubbed 2018 the “Year of the Woman”—a title previously used to describe 1992, the year Anita Hill testified against Clarence Thomas during his Supreme Court confirmation battle. The struggle for the acknowledgment of women’s experiences, contributions, and imaginative labor in a male-dominated system seems to echo across decades, forever unresolved.

As well as the the work on display, the show featured a performance by Baltimore Hardcore feminist punk group War on Women during the opening, an artist talk, and interactive room interventions such as a selection of anarchist and feminist texts in the library, and a 'hysteria room.'

Each room was named after women of the Peale family, Elizabeth, Rachel, and Sophonisba, recognizing their history in a traditionally male dominated space.

The entrance way and library featuring selected anarchist and feminist texts.

Suzanna Scott's "Coin Cunts" featured on the staircase leading to the show

Suzanna Scott's "Fiber Fetishes" on display next to the introductory text

anarcha-feminism in historically hysterical

“it's like suddenly in the middle ages, people figured men should be in charge of women's bodies since they were in charge of pretty much everything else.”

—inga musico, cunt: a declaration of independence

for historically hysterical, the twelve women curators in mica’s exhibition development seminar (eds) reject the hierarchy of gender roles and take back men’s claims over women’s bodies. stretching across three floors of baltimore’s peale center, the show invites artists from diverse backgrounds to reclaim processes known as “women’s work” and bring them into the present. the resulting installations, performances, and works in photography and fibers redefine the conversation around contemporary feminine identity.

historically hysterical reflects the spirit of anarcha-feminism, an ideology that rejects traditional power relationships and demands horizontalism, equity, and free association. the curators present this perspective as a radical approach to the fight for gender equality.

following 2018, “the year of the woman”—a title previously used in 1992 when anita hill testified against then-supreme court nominee clarence thomas—we continue to hear echoes of women’s marches, the revelations of the #metoo movement, and the voices of the 102 women who have joined the house of representatives.

Katie Bell

Nakeya Brown

Veronica Casado Hernandez

Margo Elsayd

Amy Helminiak

Suzanna Scott

Tamar Stone

"Hysteric's Workout" featured an installation of and live performance by Veronica Casado Hernandez during the opening reception.

A banner for Baltimore feminist punk band War on Women

Photography by Shan Wallace

Tamar Stone's Corset Book and Doll Bed Sculptures

"The Rose Garden" by Amy Helminiak

Works by Amy Helminiak

Installation by Katie Bell

Margo Elsayd's "pate-tree-ark-ee beatdown" hanging before work by Amy Helminiak and Nakeya Brown

Photography by Nakeya Brown

The hysteria room was created by the education team to feature four interactive activities questioning societal gender expectations.

dirty windows, stained glass offered menstrual pads for participants to write their responses to the prompt "share a time you challenged the societal expectations of gender."