Women Are Heros

TRAILER " WOMEN ARE HEROES"
by JR

WARNING: Mature images and content. Grow up and watch it.

An unstoppable force

Ahmed Fadaam, an Iraqi refugee working in Elon, North Carolina had his sculpture vandalized on Saturday Nov. 15th, 2008. Someone came into his studio while he was away and attacked a statue of women he was preparing to cast. It is too ironic that Ahmed was at the Visualizing Human Rights Conference in Chapel Hill when this act occured. Add to this that the statue is in honor of women in Iraq who are loosing their freedom through intimidation and violence. It is also too ironic that Ahmed had his art and University art program destroyed in 2003 during the looting of Baghdad. Most people would throw their hands in the air and give up.

Ahmed has repaired the sculpture, after documenting the violence leveled against it. He writes:

"I have fixed the statue and will cast it soon, nothing can stop an artist from doing his work and tell his message, art survived and will always do because of us, the artists. and a bunch of people like those who burned my school in Baghdad in 2003, or those who have attacked my statue now will not stop you or me. All the best and God bless you."

More on this event with pictures of the damage and repair can be seen at: http://www.elon.edu/pendulum/Story.aspx?id=1332

Sheila Pree Questions What is Female Beauty

Atlanta based artist Sheila Pree is coming to Winston-Salem State University to share her art on Tuesday, November 13, 2007, 7 PM @ Diggs Gallery. "The Plastic Bodies series ... examines the authenticity of female beauty projected by media and advertisers, who create illusions of the body by way of technology. Pree's work presents an explorative portraiture of women transforming into dolls and evaluates projected images using the Barbie to create a mysterious visual of metaphors. " - from flier.

This event is billed as "Ladies Only!" My wife says my idea of going dressed as a women is not funny. In all seriousness, this is an important issue that Sheila and other artists are addressing. For a touching, tragic, documentary short on the subject check out this film made by high school student Kiri Davies.

An Open Window into Lives of Women in Iraq

Open Shutters Iraq is a photo project that provides a window into the lives of ordinary women suffering under the effects of the war in Iraq. In photos and narratives we can experience just a bit of the pressure and fear that invades their daily lives. These images and their narratives are moving. If you are in London you can see the exhibit now. Hope it comes to the US.