Visions of Venus/Venus’ Visions

Throughout history, Venus has stood as the great archetype of love, beauty, enticement, seduction, sexuality, eroticism, fertility, desire and prosperity. As the goddess of love, she was seen as having blessed the unions of mortals by taming and assimilating the male essence and blending it with the female. As a fertility symbol, she was revered as the mother of the Roman people. As a “changer of hearts,” she was seen as a transformative force that encouraged her followers to cherish their sexuality and celebrate it in the context of love, marriage and family. In yet another incarnation, she was seen as the motivator of women on behalf of the military and the state. In all of her aspirations and intents, she is still perceived today as the embodiment of all things feminine and the complementary opposite of her male cognate, Mars. Venus, whether in a contemporary or classical incarnation, represents the female way of being, seeing and creating.

This issue of PoetsArtists and the accompanying exhibition at the Zhou B Art Center in Chicago seeks the work of artists and writers, regardless of gender, in the depiction of the eternal feminine, both as a subject (Venus’s Visions) and as an object (Visions of Venus). Whether the idea is drawn from classical mythology, like Venus, or the ether of cyberspace, all artists are asked to present their best depiction based on this timeless construct. The artwork should fall into the category of figurative realism.

ABOUT THE CURATOR

Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt is the co-curator of The Bennett Collection, a collection of contemporary figurative realist paintings of women that she co-created with her collaborator and spouse, Steven Alan Bennett. She is a student of classical mythology and well-known presence among collectors of figurative realist paintings.

Read interview with American Art Collector here.

ABOUT THE ISSUE AND EXHIBITION
Theme: Visions of Venus/Venus’s Visions

Curator: Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt

Gallery: Zhou B Art Center, Chicago

Opening Night: April 20, 2018

Publication: PoetsArtists print-on-demand, digital and PDF download.

Deadline: January 15, 2018

Publication Date: April 2018

Artwork: Paintings (all mediums), Photography, Digital, Sculpture, and Drawings

Written Work: Essays, Poetry, Short Stories, Short Fiction and Screen Plays.

More information: https://www.poetsandartists.com/visionsofvenuspoetsartists/