Currently out of fashion, old-school feminism gets a genial makeover in Jana Perez’s color diptychs riffing on the familiar themes of obsession with appearance, gynecology, sex and confinement. Perez combines the bite of the past with the confidence and self-irony of the present, as in “Justify,” where we see, on the left, a noose hanging from a tree branch over a river and, on the right, a paunchy woman circling a tape measure around her midriff. Back in the day, the same concept would have been represented so as to evoke rage; under Perez’s ministrations, it is lightened up, yet it still packs a punch along with a smile. Perez even crosses into post-feminist abandon when she pairs, in “Satisfy,” a sensuous image of a steamy woman sucking on a popsicle with a dildo resting in the folds of a silky bedsheet—the girls are all right. (Michael Weinstein)
Through Feb 21 at Woman Made Gallery 685 N. Milwaukee. (312)738-0400.
Repurposing AI: A Review of Stephanie Dinkins at Stamps Gallery While this show is timely for everyone, I consider its setting within a university art gallery and emerging tech hub like the city of Ann Arbor a subversive provocation which Dinkins invites the greater public—including members of the university community—to consider our own positionality to AI and technology.
