Janet Goldner
“Isms” is a suffix commonly used in philosophy and politics. In Isms, figures dance around the top and lower half of the work. Around the “waist” are the words “Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, Anti-Semitism, Classism”. The “isms” included here are meant to acknowledge the ideas that dominant groups use to assert themselves over others. The idea of dominance gets embedded in institutions and gives permission to individual members to disrespect or mistreat individuals in the oppressed group. This piece calls the audience’s attention to those things which society must work vigilantly against.
Janet Goldner makes steel sculptures and installations that also include photography, video and sound. Bridging diverse cultures, her work celebrates the unique beauty and genius of each culture as well as what they all have in common.
Goldner first went to West Africa as a college undergraduate. Since her 1995 Fulbright Fellowship, she has traveled to Mali every year to engage in long-term collaborations with Malian artists. We are all, at the same time, researcher and object of research resulting in ongoing conversations and concrete works of art. The evolution of her art traces her enduring exploration of sculptural form, her ongoing relationship with African culture, and her lifelong involvement in political activism.
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