#brokenwomenstronger: an artist’s portrayal of gender-based violence
Content warning: discussion of sexual violence, art depicting nudity.
Virginia Mallon is an artist who creates paintings photographs, and mixed media whose works address the issues of sexual assault and gender-based violence. In this conversation with WAI, Virginia shares insights into her artistic process, the personal experiences that shaped her work, and her belief in the power of art to drive change.
When did your interest in art begin?
Virginia: I have always made art. In elementary school, I had a great teacher, Mrs. Winemore, a free-spirited, bohemian artist, who taught us the basics [of] perspective and shading. I am grateful for that early training. I realized early on my vocation as an artist. I was fortunate that at a very young age, I was introduced to Robert Barrell, one of the master political satirists and Indian Space artists of the 50s. I mentored [alongside] him for many years and taught at [the] Forest Park School of Art while I was in college. Later, as a young painter, with a Bachelor of Arts from Queens College of the City University of New York under my belt, I was ready to "launch" my art career in a world that neither recognized nor welcomed female artists.
Determined to avoid the starving artist routine, which I know all too well, I have worn many different hats from bank teller to shoe salesman, secretary to sandwich maker. I have sold consumer goods, bug spray, speed starch, and oven cleaners. I have worked in hospitality, law, finance, and non-profit. I can run the rat race with the best of them, while at the same time taking notes for future works of art. As much as I hated this life, I also found inspiration. I have always known that my work would not be created in a vacuum; it is a direct product of surviving contemporary America.
Can you walk me through your artistic process when creating a piece?
Virginia: My process varies from work to work. Some are created quite quickly and in a frenzy. Others take much longer to work out the idea, the composition, etc. Sometimes they even change course and go in a completely different direction. It also depends on the materials I am using. I like to paint on non-traditional surfaces like slate, fabric (Tommy Bahama is a favorite), plates, burlap, and recently even cigar boxes.
What inspired your works, specifically “American Monsters”?
Virginia: I was born and raised on the borderline of two of New York City’s largest boroughs during the turbulent 1960s and 70s, in a family with angry Irish/Appalachian roots, rival to those of the Hatfields and the McCoys. It was a family splintered beyond repair by alcohol, sexual, and domestic abuses. Growing up in a home that mirrored the hostilities of the times, saturated with booze and codependency, my siblings and I were left to fend for ourselves at a young age. We lived a free-range childhood in a town with a bad reputation for urban jungle. A rough and tumble lifestyle, it taught the often painful lesson, that in order to survive unscathed, you had better be aware of what was happening around you. If you survived, you knew you were lucky; but also knew that even in the best of times luck was a fickle friend. One who could and would turn on you, on a dime. In my art, I am repeatedly drawn to the invisible in society because I too have been invisible. I am drawn to every woman because I am every woman. It is about the dangers that lurk around every corner, because I have witnessed them firsthand.
As a woman artist and office worker, I have found myself surrounded by madmen, monsters, and predators. I was not born a feminist, I was made into one by my environment. My first encounter with a sexual predator was at a very young age, probably 5 or 6 years old, and the experience left me infertile. As a result, I experienced dissociative amnesia, and the memories remained repressed until decades later when another encounter with a sexual predator triggered these repressed memories. I was never able to recognize my own patterns of behavior until I was able to metabolize this early childhood encounter.
Since 2018, this type of trauma has been an ongoing influence in my artwork. My first project was called #brokenwomenmendstronger in response to the Kavanaugh hearings. (more on that here). In later years this project segued into American Monsters. The triptych was painted when the Harvey Weinstein verdict was overturned. I could not believe that this could happen after attacking so many women. The logical additions were Donald Trump, also a rapist and sexual predator, and finally Rex Hauermann, the Gilgo Beach Serial Killer whose appetite for rape and murder is only now coming to light.
What message are you hoping to send with these works?
Virginia: A message to survivors that you are not alone. And that I believe you.
As you know, sexual assault has become an American way of life. A worldwide way of life. Women are assaulted in schools, at the office, on the street, in the home, by teachers, parents, schoolmates, colleagues, supervisors, CEOs, movie moguls, Supreme Court Judges, world leaders, the President of the United States...Attacked, mocked, humiliated, and left bereft of justice by the law of the land. It happens to the famous - Anita Hill, Christine Blasey Ford, Hillary Clinton, Emma Gonzalez, E. Jean Carroll to name a few. But there are countless unnamed, unheard of, invisible women - here - there - and everywhere who faced the same fate.
#brokenwomenmendstronger reflects on those women, myself included, who were broken, but who have and will, mend stronger in spite of the experience they faced at the hands of men. These portraits are painted on slate roof tiles, from a condemned psychiatric hospital, which seems quite appropriate in this world gone mad - where daughters, sisters, wives, mothers, all women, young and old, are prey.
American Monsters, painted on rough cloth (a mattress cover), burlap, and in one case, gold lame, depict large, monstrous, naked, predators. Painted with a female gaze, these oversized beasts are stripped of their attire with the hope that this bearing of shrunken manhoods exposes their intent and renders them a little less threatening. Granted, this is an illusion and they remain dangerous, even today, to women everywhere.
I have always held to the belief that art can and will change the world. I hope for the better, with these paintings.
Who are your biggest inspirations and influences in the art world?
Virginia: As I mentioned above, I mentored with Robert Barrell for many years. In addition to being an “Indian Space” painter, he was a political satirist. He was a major influence, as are other social realist artists like George Grosz and Jack Levine. I also love the in-your-face Guerilla Girls, women artists demanding to be seen. I truly believe that art is much more than a pretty picture and should represent the good, bad, and ugly in life around us.
Is there anything else you would like to add that we didn’t get a chance to cover? Where can people find your work?
Virginia: I have a blog called #brokenwomenmendstronger.blogspot.com that includes sexual harassment stories from women I know. When I was younger, I always thought that it was me. I was doing something to attract these predators. It was MY fault. It is only now that I can say with confidence, it was not me. It happens to just about every woman, young and old. No matter who believes us, or not. And we are not to be blamed.
For years, Virginia has bravely used her art to speak out against the predators whos victims have been silenced, the same predators who lead our country and create our laws. WAI is proud to showcase and uplift her powerful works, including American Monsters, which can be viewed at her blog, linked here.
