Vernita N’Cognita
We are so used to staying quiet
figuring out silent ways to persuade/
to stand up / to be polite/ to be attractive
& not get bitchy or angry or say what we really mean.
We have been strong & silent about our observations
for fear of toppling men’s fragile egos
for they are so delicate and
have important things to attend to.
We stood behind them and obeyed
so they would think we are beautiful and loving.
Before we silently screamed our power now we say it out loud.
Vernita Nemec AKA N’Cognita has been active in the art world as a visual/performance artist and curator since the late 1960’s when she co-curated X-12, the first feminist art show of the period, and worked with such political art organizations as Artworkers Coalition (AWC), Women Artists in Revolution (WAR), Artists Meeting for Cultural Change. In the 90’s, Nemec served as Director of Artists Talk On Art, interviewing many art world luminaries, and as independent curator at the Henry Street Settlement for the Arts. She is currently the Director of Viridian Artists, a contemporary art gallery in Chelsea, NYC and on the Board of Advisors for Soho 20, a feminist gallery in NYC.
Nemec continues to curate independently and create art objects and performance artworks. She has exhibited internationally in Budapest, Hungary; Mexico City; Berlin, Germany; Dublin, Ireland and Moscow, Russia, as well as at numerous galleries & museums in the U.S.
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