Lily Lihting Li Kostrzewa Blog: Half The Sky

Lily Lihting Li Kostrzewa

Solo Exhibition at MWHOF

“Half the Sky: Women’s Rights are Human Rights”

Opening Reception, Sunday, August 5^th, 2:00-4:00 pm, 2012

The Michigan Women’s Historical Center and Hall of Fame is presenting a show by Mt. Pleasant artist Lily Lihting Li Kostrzewa. The show starts on Sunday August 5^th with a reception from 2-4, and continues through October 27th, 2012.

The show is titled “Half the Sky: Women’s Rights are Human Rights”, and deals with issues of the powerful dynamic between men and women. Lily, a Taiwan-born artist, who now lives and paints in Michigan, incorporates elements of Chinese philosophy and women’s figures into her paintings along with contrasting abstract backgrounds. Her goal is to cross-culturally exam women’s rights issues. There are around fifteen paintings on paper and wood panel.

"Women’s Rights are Human Rights"

STYLE

Here I use Chinese ink to mix acrylic paints on rice paper to create layers of shadows, brick walls and ancient writing on the walls. In this way I create a time zone from ancient history to modern time. With this style, I am showing art in a cross-cultural way.

DESCRIPTION

The series of paintings focus on the western feminist view about the male and female relationship. The female figures are in white cartoonish outlines to create contrast with male shadows. The male and female roles with power struggles continue to waken the respect through different cultures. I would like to introduce the cultural harmony all the way to acceptance of diversities. You’ll see a peaceful resolution to power struggles by using respect.

In my paintings I also depict the dynamic of man and woman in a marriage. With male chauvinism still affecting this society, some may gain power with sweetness, others with force. I try to show the male and female roles with power struggles and continue to waken the respect through male/female with East/West different cultures. However, in the end it is still the power struggle of domination.

In the final picture I come out with the words “When I hear people talk about the equality of men and women, I draw a ? on the wall." Here I propose to the community it doesn’t matter if you are man or woman. People need to be open-minded and discuss how our society has progressed since women's suffrage (right to vote) movement in the late 19th and 20th century.

"Half the Sky"

DESCRIPTION

The three panels of painting - Half the Sky, are depicting about the Chinese Goddess – Nu Kua. She is one of the oldest and most powerful of the female deities from Chinese myth. She is depicted as a beautiful creature, half-woman, half-dragon…who wanders the earth. There was a great battle, the monster Kung-Kung (water God) wreaked a lot of havoc, flattening mountains, tilting the earth and tearing a hole in the sky. Fires raged out of control, the waters overran the world, and the cardinal points became misaligned. Nu Kua restored order with five colored stones, fixed the directions on the legs of tortoise, controlled the water and put out the fires, and repaired the sky.

I used this story to represent women can hold the half the sky and have the restoral power.