By April Isaacs
Through March 22, 27 of these portraits will be on display at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning. The exhibit, “Women of Substance,” is curated by Heng-Gil Han and commemorates Women's History Month, which takes place in March. Though the project began eight years ago, feminism has been a primary interest for Oguibe since early on his academic career. “The fascinating thing about [sexism] to me is that it still persists when everything shows that it's illogical,” he said. “Why do women still make less money [than men], for example?”Some of the first women Oguibe painted were Chien-Shiung Wu, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist, and the South African politican Winnie Mandela. He said he always wanted to do something exploring canonization and women, and originally he had planned to write a book on the topic. “Like most ideas, it began as something else and manifested in a different form,” he said.Oguibe has seven sisters, a biographical factor that he doesn't like to have read into his work and interest in feminism. “I think despite that circumstance, I would still explore these issues,” he said.Oguibe has been painting since he was young and received a Ph.D. in art history from the University of London in 1992. Since the 1980s, his work has been exhibited in major museums and galleries around the world. He is also a prominent curator and has written extensively on contemporary art. He is currently an associate professor of painting and African-American studies and associate director of the Institute for African-American Studies at the University of Connecticut. One of the points of his exhibit is to build awareness of these women and their contributions to art, music, science and the political landscape. “Men are more readily acknowledged in these fields,” he said. “It's important to keep track of how much these women did to shape the world.” Some of the women on display include feminist Simone de Beauvoir, architect Maya Lin, politician Graa Machel, singer Edith Piaf, journalist and activist Ida B. Wells and two-time Nobel Prize-winning scientist Marie Curie. While there is a range of professions and fields represented, the featured women are mostly scientists, activists and politicians. In keeping with the theme of introducing the obscure and anonymous into popular canons, Oguibe explained that writers and actors are more well-known, and he wanted to give scientists and politicians their turn in the spotlight. Some of the women featured may be unfamiliar to younger generations – a cultural illiteracy that Oguibe hopes to remedy. When the education department of JCAL asked Oguibe to write a short piece explaining the achievements of the women depicted in his collection, he refused. He wanted to encourage visitors to find out about these women on their own. “I want people to explore, to be curious,” he said. “Otherwise it's just a show-and-tell.”If You Go“Women of Substance” – Paintings by Olu OguibeDate: Through Saturday, March 22Time: MondaysÐSaturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Location: Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, 161-04 Jamaica Ave., JamaicaFor More: 718-658-7400 or www.jcal.org
