Yesterday I went on an art date with a friend, and saw "Who Does She Think She Is?", at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
Who Does She Think She Is? is a film about women in the arts, and the struggles many of us have (or have had) negotiating between a art professional career and a family life. The movie highlighted a number of visual artists, as well as an actress, and a drummer. There are clips with comments from people involved in the arts in one way or another, about women in the arts and men in the arts. Some interesting statistics were presented.
There were probably 95% women in the audience when I saw it, some of whom I know because they're local artists. I hope men will find an interest in watching it too.
The movie was very moving! I found myself tearing up a number of times as some of the different women spoke about their need to be creative.
I was especially interested in the story of Janis Mars Wunderlich, a mother of five children, from Columbus, Ohio. I loved her work, and was amazed how prolific she is, even as she is raising her children. Read her thoughts on her website.
One added bonus of seeing a movie at the MFA is sometimes the director or producer is there to talk or answer questions afterward. This was the case yesterday. Pamela Tanner Boll, the Director, was there to answer questions afterward, as was one of the artists.
For a review about the movie, read "Celebrating mothers of invention", by Wesley Morris in the Boston Globe, on January 7, 2009.
Also, read "Q&A: From the director’s chair, ‘Who Does She Think She Is?’" by Eric Tsetsi in the MetroWest Daily News, posted January 6, 2009.
I hope this has sparked an interest for you to go see Who Does She Think She Is?, if you haven't already. If it's not going to be near where you are, I suggest adding it to your Netflix queue, so you can see it when it's released on DVD.
