By Hollie Gibbs
Melancholy children stare uneasily out, their eyes void of passion, their faces bereft of emotion. Behind each, a faceless figure materializes, lurking, hidden but watching vigilantly. Occasionally a hand crops up, clutching the child, holding on for dear life.
Hidden mother photography of the 19th century was born out of a sort of necessity. Portrait photography’s long exposure time required small children to sit unnaturally still for long periods, while often their mothers, covered in upholstery cloth or drapery, would hold them. Oval frames would then “crop” the mother out, leaving only a “perfect” child portrait.
However, tear that portrait out of its frame and the concealed mother reemerges as an eerie figure looming in the background.
The haunting images also conjure symbols of devotion, domination and imposed boundaries in mother and child relationships. They speak to a certain denial of reality in favor of an ideal perfection, and perhaps represent deeper truths about a mother’s selfless devotion to children who will grow independent and leave her.
The Cleveland Print Room examines these concepts and more with its Hidden Mother: Reimagined exhibit, which runs Fri 3/14 – Sat 4/26. A group of local female photographic artists including Laura Ruth Bidwell, Darrelle Anne Centuori, Jane Critchlow, Hadley K Conner, Joan Deveney, Helen Harry, Diana Hlywiak, Jocelynn Hunter, Honey Lazar, Liz Maugans, Heather Murray, Nancy McEntee, Barbara Merritt, Michelle Marie Murphy, Molly Pamela, Cynthia Penter, Deborah Pinter, Penny Rakoff, Toni Starinsky, and Shari Wilkins, were invited to provide their interpretations of the hidden mother theme.
“I am so pleased at the work produced for this show by these wonderful women artists,” co-curator and Cleveland Print Room Director Shari Wilkins said. “There is a strange comfort in the modern work produced for this show.”
The pieces range from new digital and film images, videos, assemblage, and vintage photographs.
“The work produced by the artists exceeded my wildest dreams,” Wilkins said. “I think both (co-curator) Hadley (Conner) and I feel that the pieces the women produced are either visually stunning or interesting on a deep emotional level and in some cases both.”
She added that the potentially dark theme of the show ended up with a great deal of hope and love, along with absence, hanging on the walls.
“It is a dance all women do, isn’t it?” she said. “We are the presence in our children’s lives until we aren’t. It is kind of confusing at times. And all mothers have mothers, so it is a commonality we all share. It is interpreted differently by each woman. There were also a few unexpected pet-related hidden mother photographs.”
On Sat 3/29 at 1 p.m., Ohio University Associate Professor of Art Laura Larson will discuss the 19th century photographic practice and use its images as a framework for her personal journey into motherhood with the adoption of her daughter. Afterward, some of the Hidden Mother: Reimagined artists will be on hand to discuss their work in the exhibit.
Gallery hours are Tuesday, 12-6pm; Wednesday, 3-6pm; and Thursday through Saturday, 12-6pm.
[Photos: Chin-pao Chen]
Hollie Gibbs has a BS in journalism from Kent State University and studied photography at School of the Visual Arts in Manhattan. Her articles and photographs have appeared in numerous local and national publications. She can also be found playing guitar with various bands and building life-size monster props.
Cleveland, OH 44114