The unexpected rewards of being
yourself
Artist Debra Olin receives coveted Rappaport Prize from DeCordova Museum
by J.A. Lopata
SOMERVILLE, Mass. — At about the time that marriage for same-sex
couples erupted full force onto the Massachusetts political
landscape, artist Debra Olin found herself working on a piece
that included a wedding dress.
She looked down at the cloth in her hands and asked herself,
“Are you going there?”
The coincidence of the two events was serendipitous. Ultimately,
and even though Olin is an out lesbian, “It didn’t go there.”
That’s not to say that it couldn’t have. Olin told in newsweekly
that she embarks on new works “with some kind of a plan,” but,
once started she says, “The work informs me.”
The work hasn’t let her down.
On Sept. 28, the 53-year-old Somerville, Mass., resident
received The Rappaport Prize from the DeCordova Museum and
Sculpture Park in Lincoln, Mass.
“I never expected to be honored this way, while I was alive
anyway,” says Olin.
The $20,000, one-year stipend that accompanies the award allows
her to buy her own press. That’s a big deal to a woman who still
needs her day job.
For a woman who creates monoprints — “unique, one-of-a-kind
prints” — the ability to print in her own studio opens up far
more flexibility. Especially since she says her works are
getting larger. Larger indeed — with items like wedding dresses
in her art, pieces can be several feet in height and length.
Wedding dresses and printing? What exactly is Olin’s work like
and what’s it all about?
To explain, Olin tells the story of cleaning out her deceased
grandmother’s apartment in the early 1990s. Olin returned home
with a whole wardrobe of lace and brocade outfits that didn’t
fit her and for which she had no real use. Uncertain what to do
with them, she decided to try to use the garments as a stencil
from which to print, thereby immortalizing them.
The technique worked beautifully.
“I have come to think of clothing as an extension of the body,”
says Olin. “The coat becomes a thick hide, a shelter, a vantage
point from which to safely view the world and one’s relationship
to it. The slip holds the skin, delicate and vulnerable. Under
this covering are revealed the mysteries that live inside us.
This work explores that inner life with an emphasis on hope and
healing.”
She began incorporating other items into the printing — found
objects, as well as text, frequently Yiddish poetry from her
Jewish cultural heritage.
The resulting confluence of objects and ideas resonated with the
artist, curators and buyers. A statement on Olin from the
DeCordova reads, “The artist suggests that identity is as fluid
and multifaceted as the clothing we change each day.”
Most of her earlier work explores themes concerning women and
being Jewish.
She sees her more recent work as exploring more universal themes
of cultural connection.
“Cultures have amazing histories, sciences and arts,” she says,
her voice taking on a sense of awe. “Look at Chinese
acupuncture. How did they ever come up with that? It’s
fabulous!”
One of the reasons she believes that her art hasn’t explored
much of her lesbian identity is because she came out later in
life, in her 30s. She could only think of one work that
specifically referenced her sexual identity. In the piece, she
asks several questions including, “Can I believe in God? / Can I
keep my name? / Can I love a woman?”
The piece is called, “Can I be myself?” And it’s an apt
question, not only for a lesbian, but also for a local artist
without a great deal of commercial success.
That’s where the Rappaport Prize has been a godsend for her.
The prize seeks to “encourage” artists “to continue in a career
of art making despite the ever present challenges which such a
choice confronts,” states the mission of the prize-giver’s
provider, the Jerome Lyle Rappaport Charitable Foundation.
“Until this prize happened, I felt isolated,” says Olin. “You
put your head down in your work, and you don’t pay attention to
the fact that the real world thinks of you as a loser.”
All of that has suddenly changed for Olin. The answer to the
question, can she be herself, seems to be a resounding yes, and
more. She laughs, “I mean, now my uncle’s asking me for a
loan!” s
For more information on Debra Olin and her work, connect to
www.brickbottomartists.com/weblets/artist_olin.html. For more
information on the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, connect
to www.decordova.org.
Photo Credit: Debra Olin.
Artwork: "Around My Heart" by Debra Olin
This piece first appeared in "In Newsweekly: New England's largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender newspaper."
September 12, 2004