Beginning a Visual Conversation: The work of Maxine Hess

“Hidden in Plain Sight,” Hathaway Contemporary Gallery, Atlanta, March 18 – April 15, 2017

By Flora Rosefsky

Installation: The Reading Room, by Maxine Hess

Maxine Hess’s show, “Hidden in Plain Sight” and her artist talk occurred one day after the bridge collapse on I-85, which is not only disrupting the traffic and lives of over 250,000 people each day until repaired, but which also points out the tragic issues of homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction, and a sub-culture living under the bridges of our interstates without much hope for a better life. Do we take responsibility and make it our personal concern to do something about these people’s lives? Or do we get the bridge fixed, get back into our one-driver cars, and keep the reality hidden, as is gun violence, and other issues Maxine is raising with her art?

Artist Maxine Hess with Blue Guns

Maxine’s installation, “The Reading Room” at first glance reveals wallpaper, pretty enough to purchase for one’s home. Look again, and notice the block printed semi-automatic guns perfectly aligned, camouflaged by the traditional baroque design of the red wallpaper. A comfortable wingback chair, draped with a writing-embroidered cloth, provokes questions about what the artist is trying to tell us, or rather, what does she want us to say or think after sitting in that chair with magazines and books nearby with titles like “Guns Safety?” 

As in this installation, all of Maxine’s work encourages an authentic dialogue about important social justice issues including gun violence, sex and human trafficking, women’s and human rights around the world, and perceptions of physical beauty of girls and women. 

Anne Weems, Maxine Hess and Laura Hathaway 

with Maxine's repurposed quilt entitled:

Dedicated to the missing/murdered women on the US/Mexico Border

Maxine brings sincere sensibilities to her art: its intrinsic beauty of color, design and texture, and a certain whimsy within some of the work brighten the otherwise serious subject matter.  The framed monoprints of wallpaper patterns superimposed with printed guns echo the themes of this unique show. Maxine’s delicate embroidery and sewing skills repurpose found materials such as a large Texas star quilt upon which she’s added outlined shapes of women and girl’s bodies. Without personalizing details, the figures appear innocent and beautiful in the warm and happy colors of the quilt, yet there is a disquieting message when you take the time to look carefully, making up your own interpretation. 

As part of her artist’s talk, Maxine read a thoughtful poem by her husband, William “George” Hess, which reveals  a lot about how she approaches her work. 

Maxine Creates

I’ve seen you

Take a scrap of cloth from a sometimes creaking drawer

Lay it flat, but not iron out the wrinkles or smooth the edges nor clip loose threads

As it may become a tear or a drop of blood, or a leaf or a spider’s strand.

I’ve seen how you

Let the world see how you paint with cloth and thread

Stitches loosely made and some in a pattern of purpose

Only you know when your work is finished and ready for someone’s wall.

Perhaps artists can become the conduits of starting a real dialogue for social issues to make the changes needed to improve our communities. To help save one person is to save the world. Let us start with one person or one cause. Thank you Maxine Hess for your part to begin this conversation.

FYI - Eyedrum Press Release 7-15-09

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Eyedrum May Soon Call It Quits

Financial straits snare Atlanta’s longest-running all-volunteer nonprofit arts space

ATLANTA — Facing a heavy rent burden and ever-increasing operating expenses, Eyedrum’s board of directors held an emergency meeting Sunday, July 11, to consider the survival of the longtime art and music organization.

The options are few. They include a significant decrease in rent, bringing on other Atlanta-based arts organizations to sublet part of the 6,0000-square-foot space, a move to a smaller space, or an end to the award-winning venue altogether.

Having just celebrated 10 years in October 2008, the demise of Atlanta’s longest-running alternative art and music space would be a huge loss to the Atlanta community. Eyedrum consistently has been a nurturing ground for creativity and progressive thinking in that time.

The Eyedrum music archive, the gallery’s greatest asset next to the people involved, features more than 1,000 shows recorded live over the past 10 years. It is one of the few venues that features – built-out by members of the all-volunteer board – three visual art gallery spaces, and a performance space with a professional-quality sound system with multi-track recording capability.

Eyedrum secured a $30,000 Warhol Foundation curatorial grant in 2006, and is a 10-year Best of Atlanta winner in both music and art categories (Creative Loafing).

These accomplishments were achieved all while operating debt-free – yet another point of achievement considering the nontraditional nature of the organization, and limited grant and sponsorship funding.

The board plans to attempt a negotiation with its landlord, Braden Fellman, later this week, and will reconvene no later than July 26 to discuss any developments on rent reduction, and to consider proposals from other arts organizations. Arts organizations and investors who are interested in partnering with Eyedrum should contact Vice Chairman Allen Welty Green at agmedia@mindspring.com.

Any donations received through Eyedrum’s website (www.eyedrum.org) will be directed toward operating expenses. And while such donations are greatly appreciated, the urgency and severity of Eyedrum’s financial burden cannot be overstated. Without a hefty reduction in overhead costs, a major move – physically or in terms of the organization’s identity – is unavoidable.

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Started in 1998, Eyedrum is a nonprofit organization developing an interdisciplinary approach to the arts by incorporating a wide range of contemporary art, music and new media in its gallery space. The gallery is operated entirely by volunteers, and supported through memberships
and donations. It has been recognized internationally as well as locally by Atlanta’s Office of Cultural Affairs and within the community at large for its advancement of innovation."