Event: Who’s Afraid of The Pivot? The Power of Artistic Reinvention
You’re never too grown (or too old) to pivot. Join writer Beverly Aarons and artist Stephanie Hargrave, on June 23, in a conversation about the power of artistic reinvention.
In the 1960s, artist Lee Bontecou became known for her relief sculptures of forged steel and canvas made of worn-down conveyor belts procured from the laundry beneath her New York City apartment. These dark, “post-apocalyptic” artworks became known as Bontecou’s signature style. But she wasn’t to be limited by the expectations of others, not by museums, galleries or even collectors. By the late-1960s, Bontecou had withdrawn from the New York City art scene. She moved with her family to Pennsylvania where she would continue to make art but would rarely exhibit. And by the 1980s she was creating new work that contrasted with her “signature style.” Her new sculptures were more abstract and organic in nature. They were often large, freestanding forms made from a variety of materials including wire, ceramic, and epoxy. She had pivoted.


“I kept thinking how nice it was to be able to change, not to be stuck in a mold,” she told NY Times writer Eleanor Munro during an interview in the late 1970s. “But the strange thing is that even after you have changed, as you believe you have, and then look back, you see there is one thread through it all.”
Bontecou would go on to be honored, in 2003 and 2004, with a major retrospective of her work by the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.

And in that nascent era of women artists standing in their power, Louise Bourgeois, was embracing the pivot. Born in 1911, this French-American artist began her career as a painter in the 1940s and 50s, mostly focused on abstracts; but by the 1960s she was creating sculptures using a wide variety of materials, including latex, plaster, and marble. But she wasn’t done evolving, changing and reinventing her work and processes, in the 1980s she began working on the "Cells" series — small, room-like structures that contained symbolic objects.



“What modern art means is that you have to keep finding new ways to express yourself, to express the problems, that there are no settled ways, no fixed approach. This is a painful situation, and modern art is about this painful situation of having no absolutely definite way of expressing yourself. This is why modern art will continue, because this condition remains; it is the modern human condition.”
— Louis Bourgeois, statements from an interview with Donald Kuspit (1988)
Because of the bigotry and misogyny of many art institutions at that time, Bourgeois didn’t receive major recognition for her work until much later life. In 1982, she received a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA), becoming the first female artist to be honored with a retrospective at MoMA.
So many artists fear the pivot. They fear what people will say. They fear the judgement, the bigotries, and the simplistic conclusions of the people in power. Let us be like Louise Bourgeois and Lee Bontecou and confront our fear, conquer it, then cast it to the side so that we are no longer afraid of the pivot, the reinvention, the discovery of a new and more shocking, yet authentic artistic self. Join us on June 23, 2023 to discuss how pivoting, in the context of these two artists’ lives, can be liberating and transformative.
Date: June 23, 2023
Time: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Location: Juan Alonso Studio, 306 S Washington St #104, Seattle, WA 98104
Price: $25
This isn't just an artist talk, it's a one-of-a-kind, interactive experience to connect, contribute, and potentially unlock your own creative transformation.
For only $25, you get exclusive access to this intimate conversation, along with refreshing drinks and snacks. 🍹🥨 Limited seats! Grab your spot NOW.