{"id":2392,"date":"2024-08-18T23:10:10","date_gmt":"2024-08-19T03:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/?p=2392"},"modified":"2025-09-15T13:40:01","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T17:40:01","slug":"virtual-visitor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/virtual-visitor\/","title":{"rendered":"A Virtual Visitor Had Me Contemplating My Lifelong Career in the Arts"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Judy

Photo of Judy Chicago  by Donald Woodman<\/p><\/div>\n

A short while ago I had a virtual visitor enter my studio while I was standing at my easel working on an oil painting. The visitor was Judy Chicago who was interviewed for the 60-year retrospective of her work at the New Museum in New York. Out of the corner of my eye, as I continued to paint, I watched and listened to the live-streaming event for the exhibition \u201cHerstory<\/a>\u201d (here’s the YouTube Video of the event<\/a>) which was the first comprehensive museum survey of her work. Judy Chicago was born in 1939 and as I listened to this interview it was 2023. Eighty-four years is a long, long time to wait to have this type of recognition.<\/p>\n

This juxtaposition of Judy being live-streamed into my studio as I painted was profound for me since Judy\u2019s work and those of many other women artists whom I was fortunate enough to be made aware of during the 1970\u2019s when I was majoring in art in college, are why I\u2019m still creating my work. These women artists weren\u2019t in my textbooks. They were instead presented to me by some of the women art historians and women professors I studied with when I was lucky enough to attend classes at the then, tuition-free, City University of NY. All these women changed my life. The women artists were showing a new way of working and the professors were exposing us to a reevaluation of the art historical canon.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Mary Ahern Painting “Passion – Red Dahlia” Oil on Canvas 30×30″  <\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

I first saw Judy\u2019s work in 1979 as thousands of us made a pilgrimage to the Brooklyn Museum of Art to view The Dinner Party. This groundbreaking installation was created with Judy\u2019s vision and also the efforts of hundreds of women offering their skills in various mediums. This work helped to introduce fabrics, embroidery, stitching, ceramics and various other techniques which had been ungraciously removed from the category of \u201cFine Art\u201d by those who were in charge of writing the history of art. These creative skills were those exercised primarily by women and now were finally being presented in museums.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Photo collage by Mary Ahern<\/p><\/div>\n

We stood for what seemed like hours, quietly waiting for our turn to enter the site-specific art in the room which housed the installation. Most of us on the long line had dressed in better than everyday wear for the occasion. When we finally reached the doorway, we found the room lights were dimmed. We entered as if entering a house of worship. Voices were hushed. Many folded their hands as if in prayer. It was the closest I\u2019d come to a sacred event outside of an actual house of worship. We all knew this was a pivotal point in our lives. Our eyes and minds were to be opened to entirely new languages, visuals and histories that we\u2019d never encountered before in the mainstream art world. Upon emerging from this immersive experience, we were elated, buoyant, excited beyond imagination by the possibilities we\u2019d just been introduced to. We were sure that now everything would be different. We knew it had to be.<\/p>\n

Upon reading Judy\u2019s recent book, The Flowering: The Autobiography of Judy Chicago\u201d, I learned how hard a life she had bringing her visions to fruition and acceptance. She and her work were torn apart, reviled, and denigrated by the conventional art world. The press denounced her vision and the work of the women artists who contributed their skills. Reading about her hard-fought lifetime of bringing her art into the world, reminded me that all of us have obstacles in our lives. They vary from person to person. But to be a creative artist for an entire lifetime takes a certain amount of grit. Success, by whatever measurement we use, takes the ability to keep pushing forward through the hard times. The times your heart is breaking. The times you are having trouble putting food on the table. The times your family is in crisis. The times you feel less than because others feel so much more than.<\/p>\n

Because of these feminist artist pioneers, I\u2019m still painting, still creating, still growing. They cleared the path and showed me the way. And as I stood at my easel painting, Judy streamed in to tell me to keep going, there\u2019s no quitting, there\u2019s no calendar, there\u2019s no promise, no destination. I\u2019ll just keep making my art. She still is.<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A short while ago I had a virtual visitor enter my studio while I was standing at my easel working on an oil painting. The visitor was Judy Chicago who was interviewed for the 60-year retrospective of her work at …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,7,145],"tags":[18,4,184,173,43,265,266,47],"class_list":["post-2392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-artists","category-being-an-artist","category-musings","tag-art","tag-art-history","tag-artists","tag-being-an-artist","tag-influences","tag-inspiration","tag-musings","tag-oil-painting"],"yoast_head":"\nA Virtual Visitor Had Me Contemplating My Lifelong Career in the Arts - Art Naturally<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Listening to Judy Chicago who began inspiring me when I began my art training in the 1970s while standing in my studio at my easel still painting in the 2020s caused a great deal of reflection and gratitude.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/virtual-visitor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Virtual Visitor Had Me Contemplating My Lifelong Career in the Arts - Art Naturally\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Listening to Judy Chicago who began inspiring me when I began my art training in the 1970s while standing in my studio at my easel still painting in the 2020s caused a great deal of reflection and gratitude.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/virtual-visitor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Art Naturally\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-19T03:10:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-15T17:40:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Judy-Chicago-Portrait-by-Donald-Woodman-240x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mary Ahern\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mary Ahern\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/virtual-visitor\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/virtual-visitor\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mary Ahern\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a7f5ed8309ff99d121288dc7d5dcc28b\"},\"headline\":\"A Virtual Visitor Had Me Contemplating My Lifelong Career in the Arts\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-19T03:10:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-15T17:40:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/virtual-visitor\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":795,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/virtual-visitor\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/Judy-Chicago-Portrait-by-Donald-Woodman-240x300.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Art\",\"Art History\",\"Artists\",\"Being an Artist\",\"Influences\",\"Inspiration\",\"Musings\",\"Oil Painting\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Artists\",\"Being an Artist\",\"Musings\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/virtual-visitor\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/virtual-visitor\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/virtual-visitor\\\/\",\"name\":\"A Virtual Visitor Had Me Contemplating My Lifelong Career in the Arts - Art Naturally\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/virtual-visitor\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/virtual-visitor\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/Judy-Chicago-Portrait-by-Donald-Woodman-240x300.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-19T03:10:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-15T17:40:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a7f5ed8309ff99d121288dc7d5dcc28b\"},\"description\":\"Listening to Judy Chicago who began inspiring me when I began my art training in the 1970s while standing in my studio at my easel still painting in the 2020s caused a great deal of reflection and gratitude.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/virtual-visitor\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/virtual-visitor\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/virtual-visitor\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/Judy-Chicago-Portrait-by-Donald-Woodman.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/Judy-Chicago-Portrait-by-Donald-Woodman.jpg\",\"width\":768,\"height\":960},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/virtual-visitor\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Virtual Visitor Had Me Contemplating My Lifelong Career in the Arts\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Art Naturally\",\"description\":\"The Musings of Being an Artist by Mary Ahern\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a7f5ed8309ff99d121288dc7d5dcc28b\",\"name\":\"Mary Ahern\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/MaryAhernArtist.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Virtual Visitor Had Me Contemplating My Lifelong Career in the Arts - Art Naturally","description":"Listening to Judy Chicago who began inspiring me when I began my art training in the 1970s while standing in my studio at my easel still painting in the 2020s caused a great deal of reflection and gratitude.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/virtual-visitor\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Virtual Visitor Had Me Contemplating My Lifelong Career in the Arts - Art Naturally","og_description":"Listening to Judy Chicago who began inspiring me when I began my art training in the 1970s while standing in my studio at my easel still painting in the 2020s caused a great deal of reflection and gratitude.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/virtual-visitor\/","og_site_name":"Art Naturally","article_published_time":"2024-08-19T03:10:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-15T17:40:01+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Judy-Chicago-Portrait-by-Donald-Woodman-240x300.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Mary Ahern","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mary Ahern","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/virtual-visitor\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/virtual-visitor\/"},"author":{"name":"Mary Ahern","@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a7f5ed8309ff99d121288dc7d5dcc28b"},"headline":"A Virtual Visitor Had Me Contemplating My Lifelong Career in the Arts","datePublished":"2024-08-19T03:10:10+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-15T17:40:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/virtual-visitor\/"},"wordCount":795,"commentCount":1,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/virtual-visitor\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Judy-Chicago-Portrait-by-Donald-Woodman-240x300.jpg","keywords":["Art","Art History","Artists","Being an Artist","Influences","Inspiration","Musings","Oil Painting"],"articleSection":["Artists","Being an Artist","Musings"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/virtual-visitor\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/virtual-visitor\/","url":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/virtual-visitor\/","name":"A Virtual Visitor Had Me Contemplating My Lifelong Career in the Arts - Art Naturally","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/virtual-visitor\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/virtual-visitor\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Judy-Chicago-Portrait-by-Donald-Woodman-240x300.jpg","datePublished":"2024-08-19T03:10:10+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-15T17:40:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a7f5ed8309ff99d121288dc7d5dcc28b"},"description":"Listening to Judy Chicago who began inspiring me when I began my art training in the 1970s while standing in my studio at my easel still painting in the 2020s caused a great deal of reflection and gratitude.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/virtual-visitor\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/virtual-visitor\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/virtual-visitor\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Judy-Chicago-Portrait-by-Donald-Woodman.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Judy-Chicago-Portrait-by-Donald-Woodman.jpg","width":768,"height":960},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/virtual-visitor\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Virtual Visitor Had Me Contemplating My Lifelong Career in the Arts"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/","name":"Art Naturally","description":"The Musings of Being an Artist by Mary Ahern","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a7f5ed8309ff99d121288dc7d5dcc28b","name":"Mary Ahern","sameAs":["http:\/\/MaryAhernArtist.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2392"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2392\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2539,"href":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2392\/revisions\/2539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}