In April 1979, Dorothy Gillespie was in the city as artist-in-residence at Fort Wayne Museum of Art. Her work was exhibited at the museum, the Performing Arts Center (now Arts United Center), the Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne National Bank and Lincoln National Life.
The exhibitions began in late April and Gillespie's art was on display through June 10 at the museum and June 2 in the other locations.
Gillespie died in 2012.
Some of her work is on display at Fort Wayne Museum of Art now, and an exhibit of work of other artists from her collection runs from Sept. 3 to Nov. 13.
appDorothy, wizard of art,app by Roxanne Mueller (April 27, 1979)
Dorothy Gillespie's work doesn't just lie there waiting to be noticed. It jumps out at the viewer with its vibrant colors, wild shapes and unabashed optimism. It's as though the energy of the artist is pipelined directly into her work.
"Yes, I have a great deal of energy app I'm a worker," she says proudly. "My mother has told me when I was a child she never saw me walking app I was always running or walking backwards talking to my friends."
The optimist label doesn't offend the 58-year-old sculptor-painter in the least.
"I'm a real Pollyanna," she admitted in a telephone Interview a week before she arrived in Fort Wayne as an artist-in-residence of the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. "I used to think I was real humble; that if I had a choice of being famous now or having an anonymous painting of mine hanging in a gallery 500 years from now, I would choose the latter, but when you really think about it that's not really so humble." Not unlike many artists, Gillespie prefers to let her art speak for itself.
"What we do is there for anyone to see. I sometimes think that the artist is no more than the brush or the paint. Something flows through them to the canvas. The artist is merely the conduit app the thoughts come from some other place.
"I don't have any recollection of making decisions about my work, the decision to use blue here or green there. Those decisions come from something flowing through me at the time. I might start off with the thought that it's a beautiful day so I finish with that on my mind."
Virginia born, Gillespie had a traditional Southern upbringing where ladies were taught to be genteel and mindful of those in authority. She remembers a time in fourth grade when the students were to draw a map freehand.
"The teacher graded mine and gave me an F. She accused me of tracing it," she said laughing. "My fellow students came to my rescue and told the teacher, 'She's a good artist, she did it herself.' So the teacher came up to me and had me draw a map freehand right then. When she saw me do it, she really felt bad so she let me do all the turkeys and the holly, all the things for the holidays.
"It made me not defend myself. I've depended on other people to do that ever since.app It's a rather surprising statement coming from a woman who has been a supporter of women's rights in art for many years. Actually, her views on that subject are feminist-oriented but grounded in reality.
appThe bias against female artists has to do with money and the price of things. We don't try enough. As a woman artist, you have to be a superstar to succeed. In a top New York gallery, you may see 30 artists, two of them women and both superstars while there may be 10 recognized male artists and 18 other male artists yet to reach the top."
Despite active participation in the New York Women's Interart Center and the Women's Caucus tor Arts, she says it is still not unusual to hear some gallery owners brag about having no women artists represented in their collections or to have collectors brag about the same thing.
Why is that? Gillespie thinks it stems from the ancient sexist myths that prevail in some circles. appWe recognize female authors. It might be because authors need no large space to create. The female artist must get away from the home environment to create. I myself had to get rid of the mentality that men are better and more accomplished. Women are supposed to help other people. I've been programmed to do that, to help others first."
She says the movement for upgrading the image of female artists is spreading throughout the country.
"The exciting things in the art world are being done by the women. Men are asking to be let in. Why? You can be very daring if you have nothing to lose app and men very definitely have something to lose at this point,"
While raising her three children, Gillespie did somewhat submerge her artistic pursuits. "I didn't try to exhibit for about 10 years. It would have been too painful. But my children did have the most beautiful costumes," she added with a laugh.
She said it isn't unusual for aspiring female artists to seek her out for advice.
"I tell them they have to live with themselves. I had to do it my way and I can live nicely with myself. I'm not sure about anyone else. I see some younger women who can daily shift their priorities. But with me, for example, sickness in the family came first.
"I sometimes think the young people are too anxious for success. In art, you have to have a foundation and some people want to bypass that. I had my first one person show when I was 24. It wouldn't have mattered if I had waited five or 10 years. In the art world, there are just an awful lot of artists around and very few who appmake it.app "
Though successful, Gillespie says she does not understand why the artist wants to become famous in the first place.
"When someone wants to be a lawyer, they don't think in terms of becoming famous. A teacher wants to be a teacher, not a famous teacher. Somewhere along the line, the artist thinks "art: fame," rather than just being an artist working at what he wants. Something is wrong with the way we're taught. Maybe it's the society."
Whether it is Gillespie's energizing paintings or her flowing, draping art currently on view at the museum, the Performing Arts Center, Fort Wayne National Bank, the downtown library and Lincoln National Life, the viewer cannot help but be placed in the position of being confronted with the art of someone who is not afraid to show joy, happiness and vibrancy.
"A painter is the luckiest person in the world," she declares. "There are no bosses. The communication is direct. There is no stage as needed by a playwright, no musical instrument that a composer needs in getting the art presented. A painting or a piece of art is finished and 50 years from now. you can take it out and it will be there. We're the only people in the world who can do that. Imagine being a playwright and never having your play produced, or a songwriter who has to wait until someone can perform the song. The painter has some very direct satisfaction."
Does she ever slow down?
appI just work all the time. That's what it's all about. Actually, it's not even work for me app it's a way of life."
