Bam at the Adams House Art Space

Heralded as "a hard-hitting group show of women artists," Bam, Harvard's third annual women's art show, went up with little advertisement on May 11 in the Adams House Art Space. Sponsored by many of the usual suspects (BGLTSA, Girlspot, Diversity and Distinction, the Signet Society and ABRW), Bam is curatorially the individual undertaking of Mitch McEwen '00. With a wide-ranging mix of film, sculpture, painting, drawing and photography, the pieces addressed subjects from the political to the aesthetic. Aside from the fact that all of the artists were female, I could discern no line of unity between the works. The wide spans of subjects and media, plus the varied artistic backgrounds of the artists, seemed to dilute the strength of the show; it's hard to lump all "women artists" together and come up with something cohesive. Whether this is an indication of an exuberant eclecticism and confidence on the part of female artists to tackle any subject, or merely means that gender isn't a good way to organize a show, is an open question. Although many of the works were well-done and thought provoking, notably the "Police Line" coat, a full-length garment constructed of yellow "Do Not Cross" tape by Erica Waddell '03 and the three untitled 9" x 12" photographs of a dirty wall, a puddle and a beach taken from unexpected angles by Shannon Stackhouse '00 (including "Untitled," the black-and-white print shown to the right), the layout of the works seemed to be somewhat haphazard, taking away from their individual effects. However, the free sushi and a strong performance by the undergraduate band Filament attracted many leaving the VES thesis exhibition

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