Ithaca 50 Years Later: Betsy Damon at the Soil Factory
Image source: The Ithaca Voice’s Jimmy Jordan
This past July, Betsy took a trip up to Ithaca, the home of her Feminist Art Studio back in the 1970s. She gave a talk at the Soil Factory, an unassuming industrial warehouse that The Ithaca Voice calls “one of the most eccentric venues and community spaces in the Ithaca-area.” This conversation went deep into Betsy’s career, with Betsy touching on her role in helping to establish Ithaca as a center for feminist/lesbian activism. Among those present were a handful of women artists from Ithaca's original feminist artist collectives.
Event organizer Linda Weintraub (a longtime colleague of Betsy’s) writes:
“Captivated by their presence, it was learning a living history lesson from the community elders. We discussed how the public historical record about these "performances" are close to non-existent except in the memories of those who were present or participated.
We learned about the history of the movement, and that many of these rebellious artists are still active within our community.
We also talked about the power of "in-your-face public art", and the impact of preserving and rethinking how we deal with water waste and overflow in a future of more extensive and heavy rainfall.”
It’s striking to note the continued relevance of this 1974 Ithaca Times review to these artists’ work 50 years later: “The very media used by the group reflect a willingness to re-evaluate the past,” Stephanie M. Brown wrote in 1974. “The mantle of feminism rests easily on these artists. They are past cutting themselves off from their heritage as women […] They are confronting the old myths and dreams, exploring their significance with sympathy rather than rejecting them out of hand.” 50 years later, many of these pioneering feminist artists continue to do just that—this time, looking back at their own pasts.
“They are confronting the old myths and dreams, exploring their significance with sympathy rather than rejecting them out of hand”
1974 Ithaca Times article. Click to enlarge.