ARTIST STATEMENT
To fight anything is to give it power. Dada bypasses this dead end, disempowering and dismantling whatever it takes aim at through humor, non sequitur, irrationality, and the absurd. In the face of what’s hard and what’s horrid, how about something so soft and gentle it confounds every argument? (And changes the culture.) Let’s try: knitting, text (one of Dada’s favorite tools), and traffic signs. (What could go wrong, right?) What if, overnight, every stop sign transformed into a pink crocheted octagon instructing drivers to “LOVE.” And then every yellow diamond-shaped warning sign turned blue and its knitted words promised blue skies just ahead? If love is the most powerful thing there is, set it loose and see the world change and those blue skies appear. Crazy? Absurd? Irrational? I hope so. Let every intersection turn into a love fest/love nest, drivers leaping out to hug each other. Can peace on earth be far behind?
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Anne Nordhaus-Bike is a longtime member of Woman Made Gallery. An award-winning artist fluent in multiple media, Anne now focuses primarily on watercolor painting inspired by nature and influenced by astrology and mysticism. Her work has appeared in numerous solo and group shows as well as many arts programs, presentations, and performances. Her work also has been published in periodicals and books; covered in numerous print publications; and featured in broadcast media, both on television and in a feature film. She received a degree in art history, with honors, from the University of Chicago in 1981 and went on to launch a fine arts column that ran for two decades in a Chicago newspaper, Gazette Chicago, where she has served in various capacities since the newspaper’s founding in 1983. She joined Gazette Chicago’s board of directors in 2004. She also works as an astrologer, and since 2013 she has appeared as “Astrologer Anne” on WGN TV, WGN Radio, other national radio stations, and several podcasts. She launched her astrology book, Follow The Sun, at Woman Made Gallery in 2012 to showcase her original watercolors for all 12 zodiac signs, which appear in the book along with some of her other paintings. Anne is president of ANB Communications, a communication and multi media firm she founded in 1993. Among her many honors, she was named to the National Women’s Hall of Fame’s Wall of Fame.
© Anne Nordhaus-Bike