Mary Beth Edelson: Small Paintings and Drawings with Various Themes
Throughout her career Edelson made numerous small paintings and drawings with themes that connect to her other creative practices. Some of these examples include plans for projects such as the “Goddess Picture Book” concept from 1975 in which she outlines her plans to include “300 images of the Goddess in her many guises and sacred ritual objects.” This sketch also explains her ideas to perform rituals in locations to which she would travel and her wish to collaborate with an historian or art historian.
Other drawings are sketches for different works or performances such as “Liturgy Transitions: Ritual Movements” (1977). This lays out Edelson’s intentions, movements, actions, props, and sounds for group ritual performances with a note indicating that this was to be performed with women in Chico and women’s studies students in San Jose, both in California. Documents such as these highlight Edelson’s working process and intentions and form a vital part in the study and understanding of the artist’s work.
These three drawings are indicative of some of the musings found in the numerous small drawings in this 10 x 12-inch format that are rarely seen in exhibitions. “Girls Night Out” is a spirited and lively drawing of women dancing as a flying goddess looks on.
Copyright held by the Estate of Mary Beth Edelson; preserved through a partnership with The Feminist Institute. See record
“Self Portrait in the Caribbean with Punk Hair Cut” is unique in that Edelson rarely drew herself. Rather, photographic-based images of her body were integral to her private and public performances.
Copyright held by the Estate of Mary Beth Edelson; preserved through a partnership with The Feminist Institute. See record
These works, however, provide examples of the artist’s style of drawing, a practice she continued alongside the diverse range a media and approaches she used over the decades.
Baubo and Sheela-Na-Gig
Copyright held by the Estate of Mary Beth Edelson; preserved through a partnership with The Feminist Institute. See record
Many of Edelson’s works contain images of Baubo, Sheela-Na-Gig, Medusa, Venus, snakes, and movie stars, themes found in many of these 10 x 12-inch pieces. Edelson turns to the figures of the Sheela-Na-Gig and Baubo beginning in the 1970s, a moment when many feminists sought out alternative sources of power and spirituality that reflected not only an alternative to western religious structures but also spiritual histories in which women held significant positions and power.
Copyright held by the Estate of Mary Beth Edelson; preserved through a partnership with The Feminist Institute. See record
“One Blue Eye, Eager Beaver” (1978), “Trick or Treat” (1978), and “Three Muses” from the “Tricksters Night Out” series (1978) include images of the Sheela-Na-Gig, a figure found on the British Isles, especially in Ireland, as stone carvings depicted as female, crouching in a wide-kneed position and exposing her genitals.
Copyright held by the Estate of Mary Beth Edelson; preserved through a partnership with The Feminist Institute. See record
Located on churches, bridges, castles, and walls of dwelling places in country settings dating to the Middle Ages, the Sheela-Na-Gig is associated with fertility powers and linked with life after death, and served as a model for someone like Edelson seeking new inspirations and social models as alternatives to patriarchal structures. These three images show a smiling, playful Sheela as she opens herself and exposes her female power.
The origins and symbolism of the ancient figure of Baubo remain elusive even though she was mentioned in Greek and Latin sources. What appears most consistent is that Baubo was a servant to Demeter and she exposed her genitals in order to make Demeter laugh when she was in mourning over the loss of her daughter, Persephone.
Copyright held by the Estate of Mary Beth Edelson; preserved through a partnership with The Feminist Institute. See record
The Baubo figure is most commonly depicted as a face on an abdomen with legs and a skirt-like hood revealing a vulva. Edelson looked to this figure for its symbolism of female power, or as the artist and writer Winifred Milius Lubell has explained, “Baubo can be seen as a much older symbol for the power and energy of female sexuality. She can also be viewed as a trickster figure, who with her own jokes, magic, and laughter embodied fecundity and fertility.” (Lubell, 1994, 1-3) The trickster element of Baubo’s character certainly appeals to Edelson. In the undated “Thumbs Up”, Edelson contrasts the image of Baubo with the gun slinging Gena Rowlands from the film Gloria, a playful figure full of female sexual power combined with the don’t mess with me attitude of Rowlands.
Copyright held by the Estate of Mary Beth Edelson; preserved through a partnership with The Feminist Institute. See record
Related items from the archive
Goddess Picture Book concept art
"Self Portrait in the Caribbean with Punk Hair Cut"
Sketches of "Fish Dream" "Healing Arts" " Ears Licked Clean" "Having Seen Too Much"
"Trick or Treat: More Big Hearted Babes"
"One Blue Eye Eager Beaver"
"Three Muses"
"Snakes Eating Out of Her Hands"
"Thumbs Up"
