ARTIST STATEMENT
In 2018 Claudette Stern required medical treatments for a tumor that included saturation via radiotherapy. It got her contemplating the power of something that can move akin to the speed of light, that you can’t see, can’t smell, or even feel until it hits critical mass. Its fascinations were many as were the many encouragements of the “girlfriends” who supported her on this light-filled adventure.
As unseen, sometimes even unfelt forces were at work so was the inherent nature of the best sort of alliances. A potentially challenging time became one of ardent communications, projects and collaborations, and radiation became a metaphor that begat this series of images that Susan Byrnes, D’Jean Jawrunner and Stern worked on (played, more like) when we gathered together to assert our survival as women of the arts and as “girlfriends” who, for decades, have continued to thrive.
Death was a very distinct possibility but the focus was on how to live well in whatever span of time remained. For us, that meant projects, best female friends, those considered kindred. The series of images the three of us created is named after the Pleiades, a star-cluster also known as the Seven Sisters. The images were directed by Jawrunner and Stern and photographed by Byrnes.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Claudette, Susan and D’Jean met in Tucumcari, NM at the annual Mesalands Iron Pour and have been girlfriends ever since. Claudette Jocelyn Stern, based in Ann Arbor, MI, is an artist, writer, film maker, producer and publisher. Her films include Ciao Marcello (1992) and Bilal’s Stand (2010). In 2009 she founded Metal LLC that produced public artworks, exhibitions, publications and events. Stern is currently at work on Panacea, a volume of women artists and writers.
Susan Byrnes, based in Cincinnati, OH, has a wide-ranging art practice that includes sculpture, installation, sound, and photography. Her artwork has been shown in museums and galleries throughout the Midwest including Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Chicago, and Minneapolis. She holds a BFA from Syracuse University and an MFA from Eastern Michigan University.
D’jean Jawrunner, based in Tucumcari, NM is a sculptor working in cast iron and other metals. From 1997 TO 2018, she was the Foundry Director and Art Professor at Mesalands Community College in New Mexico. She has exhibited internationally and nationally beside artists such as Edgar Degas, Kiki Smith, and Andy Warhol.
© Susan Byrnes, Claudette Stern, and D’Jean Jawrunner