Yellow Orange to Red

Yellow Orange

Gold

yellow

Center medallion

You don't notice the center medallion so much from a distance.








It's only when you get up close that you see the rich colors and detailed stitching.








I read the book Ann Stewart Anderson kept about the Hot Flash Fan, and there I read about knots.








Can these be them? How long would it take to tie this many knots?

Participating Artists N - Z

Pat Obye
Joyce Ogden
Jacque Parsley
Liz Quinton
Lizi Ruch
Felize Sachs
Betty Senn
Kate Simon
Peg Smith
Marilyn Swan
Rebecca Tobias
Elizabeth Watkins
Donna Weiner
Jeanne Whitty

Participating Artists E - M

Marcia Fogelson
Frima Gelbard
Mary Clay Goodwin
Jean Guy
Shirley Hewitt
Peggy Sue Howard
Naomi Judd
Kathy Kaulitz
Suzanne LaValley
Anne Lindstrom
Micky Lorber
Anne Maiken
Martha March
Shana McMahan
Beverly McKinzie
Betts Meehan
Margaret Merida
Ann Miller
Jacquelyn Moore

Participating Artists A - D

Here are the names of contributing artists (A - D) to the Hot Flash Fan, created in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1985.

Aline Barker
Allis Eaton Bennett
Annie Barnes Bird
Marion Boomer
Lindsey Burns
Ann Coates
Mary Cobb
Miriam Corcoran
Pat Dereamer
Betsy Dienes
Franzee Dobeare
Sheryl Doerr
Nancy Durham

Embellishments

Ribbon









Picture, birth control pills, netting







Dried flowers held in place with netting

Beading

Before the Hot Flash Fan exhibit ended, I went back and took many more photos. I'm glad I did, because it gave me the chance to see details I missed the first time. The participating artists did an amazing job.

I love the sense of randomness within this carefully planned work of art. It's in keeping with the energy of the piece.

Creators of Hot Flash Fan

The creation of the monumental feminist artwork Hot Flash Fan required numerous hands, brains, and hours. I'll post lists all of the documented participants, in small steps.

These women had primary roles in the creation of the artwork:

Ann Steward Anderson, Originator and Principal Coordinating Artist
Judy Chicago, Facilitator
Ada O'Connor, Principal Embroidery Artist Coordinator
Judith Meyers, Quilting Coordinator

I'll post more of the artists' names tomorrow.

Close-up of Lower Right Side of Hot Flash Fan

Close-up of Lower Right Side
Originally uploaded by Ka-ching

You can see, in the tan area atop the green ray, the words that appear above each ray: Menopause is.

All of the lines done in brown paint ( you see them clearly in this photo) were done by the facilitator, Judy Chicago.

Close-up of Right Side of Hot Flash Fan

Close-up of Right Side
Originally uploaded by Ka-ching

This close-up shows the hand-wrapped cord quite clearly. You can also see a good example of the couching that was done here and in several other places.

Close-up of Upper Right Section of Hot Flash Fan

Close-up of Upper Right Section
Originally uploaded by Ka-ching

From thjis angle you can see that each of the colored rays includes an image of a woman. From the lower left all the way around to this ray, the artwork is showing losses that come with aging/menopause. The purple section you see here, though, shows a wildness and freedom breaking forth. The figure looks down-right ecstatic to me.

Close-up of Center of Hot Flash Fan

Close-up of Center
Originally uploaded by Ka-ching

The pink section in the center of this photo pays tribute to the end of child-bearing years. The net holds various contraceptive devices.

Incidentally, can you see the gold cord that divides the pink section from the red and the purple sections? One of the participating artists told me that all of the cord was wrapped by hand, and that it took forever. She said everyone involved with the project wrapped cord at one time or another.

Close-up of Lower Left of Hot Flash Fan

Lower left
Originally uploaded by Ka-ching

In this view, you can see something of the intricacy of the Hot Flash Fan.

The figures in yellow are outline stitched, and embroidery fills the area between the figures.

The green section over their heads is closely quilted.

The orange section depicts the rigors of mastectomy. It includes several post-mastectomy photographs. It feels like a brave thing to have done in 1985.

Opening reception

you can get a sense of the size from this photo
Originally uploaded by Ka-ching

The Hot Flash Fan

The Hot Flash Fan is currently on display in the Huff Gallery of the Spalding University library in Louisville, Kentucky.

Hot Flash Fan is owned by the Kentucky Foundation for Women. At the opening reception last week, Ann Steward Anderson, the originator and principal coordinating artist, told how KFW came to purchase the HFF. She said Sallie Bingham was creating KFW at the time and urgently wanted the documentation Ann had collected (design sketches, letters between her and Judy Chicago, etc.) in the creation process. Ann told her that to get the documentation, the Foundation had to purchase the artwork. And so it came to pass that this monumental work of feminist art has been held and preserved for more than twenty years. According to the participating artists I spoke with at the opening, the piece has lost none of its luster, color, or embellishments.