Unspoken Woman exhibition on display November – January
OKLAHOMA CITY: Ronna Pernell, professional fine artist from Oklahoma City, will present an exhibition of 22 new works of art in the North Gallery of the Oklahoma State Capitol. The exhibition, titled Unspoken Woman, will be on display Nov. 16th, 2015 through January 27th, 2016 on the 1st floor of the Oklahoma State Capitol building. A special artist reception will be held on Friday, November 20th from 5:00 to 8:30 pm with light refreshments from Rococo Catering. The event is free and open to the public.
Pernell uses the traditional technique of stippling, which is the creation of a pattern simulating varying degrees of solidity or shading by using small dots, to honor the story of all women and women of color. Pernell utilizes white ink on black paper to create her art, filling voids to create forms and faces. Each of her art pieces takes two months or more to complete. Examples of Pernell’s past works are available at http://www.pernellimages.com/
The exhibition will also utilize new technology to provide a recorded narration specific to each of the illustrations. Gallery guest will be able to use their smartphones to hear a description of each work and what it represents to the artist. This multimedia experience will be the first of its kind in a State Capitol gallery. The artwork and narration will be accessible on a show-specific website beginning Friday, November 20th at 5:00 coinciding with the artist reception. This unique combination of audio and visual art was a collaboration between Pernell, Kyle Golding of The Golding Group and wordsmith Barbara L. Eikner of Trabar & Associates, along with the narration of Dr. Melanie Bratcher, PhD. Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma.
The UnspokenWoman.com website was designed and built by The Golding Group. The full interactive site with artwork, recorded narratives and interactive elements will not be publicly available until the beginning of the artist reception on November 20th. The Capitol North Gallery will have QR Codes placed on each piece of art to allow show attendees to hear the recorded narratives while experiencing the art in person. A video of the opening event will also be posted on the Unspoken Woman website shortly after the event ends. The Golding Group will also be hosting several art and entertainment celebrities from Oklahoma City, Chicago and New York City during the evening of November 20th.
Pernell has specific reasons for making this exhibition special. “The Oklahoma Capitol North Gallery provides me the opportunity to empower women – to reach an audience of people who will began a conversation about the future of women in society. Unspoken Woman visually expresses the essence of every phase of a woman’s life from birth to death and accentuates the path in their journey called life. This story and message of this exhibition is autobiographical in some regards, but expresses the lives of many African-American women in society.”
Pernell’s Official Artist Statement for Unspoken Woman: This exhibition is not a history lesson or study of tribal activities. It will not unveil secrets of the dark continent left dormant for thousands of years or gender psychologies discovered by some unknown scientist. This exhibition is a moment in time to see/hear the voice of women that are suppressed across all civilizations of the earth yet resonates loudly through the lives of women of color.
The State Capitol North Gallery is open from 8:00 am through 6:00 pm Monday – Friday and 9:00 am through 4:00 pm on weekends. All State Capitol galleries are curated by the Oklahoma Arts Council. For more information contact the Curator of Education and Capitol Galleries Alyson Aitchison.
The Oklahoma Arts Council supports the work of Oklahoma artists in part by presenting 60-day exhibitions of their artwork for thousands of students, visitors, and others to enjoy at the Oklahoma State Capitol. The Oklahoma Arts Council is the official state agency for the support and development of the arts. The Council’s mission is to lead, cultivate and support a thriving arts environment, which is essential to quality of life, education and economic vitality for all Oklahomans. The Council provides more than 500 grants to over 300 organizations in communities statewide each year, organizes professional development opportunities for the state’s arts and cultural industry, and manages hundreds of works of art in the public spaces of the state Capitol.
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For more information, please contact:
Kyle Golding
The Golding Group
(405) 361-4927
Kyle@TheGoldingGroup.com
