ARTIST STATEMENT
In this body of work, I focus on the women of the Silent Generation—those born before World War II, the last to grow up without technology and modern conveniences. Many lived through the war’s horrors and the transformations that followed, yet they carried on as mothers, artists, and housewives, shaping the world in ways often overlooked. Through my images, I seek to honor their resilience and wisdom, preserving their stories before they fade. By capturing them in their natural environments, I aim to reveal the layers of their lives, the memories they carry, and the tangible traces of a world that existed before the digital age. I think it is important to highlight women who shaped and fought for our rights. Now, because of their age, they are living in the shadows of the digital revolution, not fitting into the newest trends of social construction.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Maria Macko (b. 1990, Cracow, Poland) is a visual artist and photographer. Currently pursuing her MFA in Studio Art at Northern Illinois University, she holds a BA in Photography from Columbia College Chicago. She has exhibited her work in group exhibitions, including For Women, By Women at Hokin Gallery (Chicago, IL), Kavanagh gallery at Fine Line Art Studio (Saint Charles, IL) Skyway Selection Art Exhibits (Sugar Grove, IL) or Gallery at Waubonsee Community College (Aurora, IL). Her photography has also appeared in Horizons Magazine and on the cover of D. Czakon’s book Lost in Interpretation: Hans-Georg Gadamer’s View on Contemporary Culture and Art, published by Jagiellonian University. Based in Genoa, Illinois, Macko continues to create and exhibit work that reflects her evolving identity as a woman artist.
© Maria Macko