During my research, I have discovered many inspiring members of the Feminist Art Movement who have researched and utilized goddess mythology and imagery in their art. The work of the Swedish artist and author Monica Sjöö (1938-2005) particularly interested me because she had included goddess images, symbols, and stone circles in some of her paintings. These are all themes I am currently working on in my artworks.
An experimental mixed media piece featuring Castlerigg Stone Circle, by Kathy Rowan, 2020.
Monica was an early exponent of the Goddess movement and a radical anarcho/eco-feminist. She wrote, ‘The Great Cosmic Mother’ in 1987 to publicize the hidden history of the Goddess and the book is illustrated with some of her paintings.
The Great Cosmic Mother by Monica Sjoo & Barbara Mor (1987)
I have been reading this book on pdf and I've found it hard to put down. Her writing is very engaging and her research fascinating. In the book, she refers to cultural, religious, and archaeological sources to recreate the Goddess religion. Between her artwork and writing, she identifies links between the goddess, the seasons, the phases of the moon, women’s bodies, and the fertility of the earth.
She is most well-known for a powerful piece of art which, at the time (in 1970), was considered to be very controversial. It is called 'God giving Birth' and to emphasize that challenging statement she included the text in the painting. This quickly became an iconic image of feminist art, depicting 'God' as a woman giving birth.
God giving Birth (1970) Monica Sjoo
Monica believed the Goddess was the 'Great Mother' of us all, the generative force of the universe, who birthed everything into being. This theme was apparent in the curves and female symbolism of her paintings, which I consider to be very beautiful. The painting below “Dancing Women, Dancing Stones” skilfully uses some of the symbols identified by the archaeologist/anthropologist Marija Gimbutas (1921 - 1994) as indications of life force and new life, amongst the standing stones, naked female figures, and vaginal caves.
“Dancing Women, Dancing Stones” 1993, Monica Sjoo.
This painting is particularly inspirational to me because it links together stone circles and dancing women. There are many British Legends about dancers being turned to stone for dancing on the Sabbath including the Merry Maidens stone circle in Cornwall (Westwood, 1985). These Legends have an element of warning to them, directed at women who resisted the (relatively recent) patriarchal religions. This particular legend was intended to intimidate superstitious communities and teach them that women grouping together, dancing, and having fun was not only unacceptable but was actually punishable behavior.
In my final project, I intend to use stone circles to symbolize different women and also different aspects of the goddess. I will be concealing the stone circles or erasing them in places to reference the historical invisibility of women and goddesses. This is something that has happened in the past and is still happening now. I might call the project 'Hidden in plain sight.
If you would like to know more about Monica and her work, then follow this link to a youtube recording from 2004. Then you can hear her and see her addressing the audience in Bodmin, Cornwall at the 'Womenspirit Rising' Conference. https://youtu.be/M0XfG4OLbfA
References
Books
Gimbutas, M. (1989) The Language of the Goddess. New York: Harper Collins.
Lippard, L.R. (1983) Overlay: Contemporary Art and the Art of Prehistory. New York: Pantheon Books.
Sjöö, M and Mor, B. (1987) The Great Cosmic Mother: rediscovering the religion of the earth. San Francisco Harper & Row.
Westwood, J. (1985) Albion: A Guide to Legendary Britain. London: Mackays of Chatham Ltd.
Website
New Hall Art Collection (1993) Dancing Women, Dancing Stones by Monica Sjöö [painting]. Available at: https://www.art.newhall.cam.ac.uk/artist/monica-sjoo/#earth-is-our-mother Accessed 26th January 2021.
Youtube
Monica Sjoo Talk - Part One (of three parts) https://youtu.be/M0XfG4OLbfA (accessed 26 Jan 2021).
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