“Ms. Conception”
Opening Reception, Thursday 4-6pm
Art exhibition area of the Johnson Cultural Heritage Building
Cleveland State Community College
Facebook Event
Student artist Kate Leko has spent the past semester recreating historical works of art that depict mothers and their children. The original paintings illustrate the idealistic nature of motherhood, while Leko’s recreations examine the difficult balance of being both a mother and an artist. After the paintings were finished, after her art life was done, her home life, in the form of her daughter Caroline, took over.
From the artist statement:
“I am interested in issues that deal with domesticity in an era of feminism and sexual equality. My work explores how motherhood fits into the feminist perspective and where these two ideas overlap and contradict each other in my personal experiences. The work explores gender roles imposed by society while maintaining self-identity and dispelling ideals of what makes a good woman, mother, and partner.
This series of works illustrates a traditional view of motherhood that does not necessarily exist in today’s society. Just being a mother and a wife is not enough. Traditionally, these labels have such expectations that are not realistic to who I am. They seem to define me, rather than letting me define them. By having my daughter draw on the paintings, it makes a more realistic statement of motherhood than the actual paintings themselves. The idealistic images portrayed in these painting do not necessarily define the values of myself as a mother. My daughter’s chaotic scribbles more accurately describe the truths of our reality.”
