Outtakes, opinions from Seattle female artists

Posted by Erika Schultz

ERIKA SCHULTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES

"I'm a little frustrated by all the frenzy around being a woman artist," says Seattle artist Amanda Manitach.

Seattle Times photographers Steve Ringman and I recently photographed three Seattle female artists for this Sunday's NW Arts & Life section.

Writer Gayle Clemans asked the artists, each at varying stages in their careers, if being a woman affects their art and about the significance of the upcoming all-female show at SAM. You can read the article, here: "Women on art: What does 'woman artist' mean?"

Photographing Amanda Manitach was one of the most collaborative and colorful assignments I've worked on in awhile.

Before the shoot, we brainstormed ideas and approaches for the images. Manitach uses a variety of materials in her artwork including produce, flowers, fish and even.... lamb tongue. We decided to focus on her colorful wardrobe, antique furniture and fruit while shooting in her Capitol Hill studio.

ERIKA SCHULTZ/ THE SEATTLE TIMES

"The female body comes up a lot in my work," says Manitach. "I’m a pastor’s kid and I grew up really wanting to be a boy."

ERIKA SCHULTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES

"People ask me if I’m a feminist — I don’t consider myself a feminist artist but anyone who has common sense these days is a feminist," says Manitach. "It’s about human decency."

ERIKA SCHULTZ/ THE SEATTLE TIMES

Manitach works in a variety of mediums including paintings, drawings, video and curation.

STEVE RINGMAN/ THE SEATTLE TIMES

"...Because there are places in the world where women still can't be seen, there is still a need to show women's work," says artist Sherry Markovitz.

Photographer Steve Ringman approached the assignment with Sherry Markovitz—a painter and mixed-media sculptor—intending to capture both still images and video.

The day of the shoot was sunny, and her studio offered a lot of reflective light. "When you first walk into the setting, I look around like a madman for good light or something that will work," he said.

All of the photographs in this post, and in the Sunday paper, are video frame grabs. Trying to do both mediums is a challenge. "Video absorbs a lot more energy and time," he said.

STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Sherry Markovitz applies a wash of water before applying paint. Markovitz is painting with imagery of dolls.

STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES

"People have told me that my career or my subject matter have suffered because I’m a woman, making comments like, “Men won’t buy dolls,” says Markovitz. "I don’t pay attention to that, but I do think women still need to be shown — separately and together."

ERIKA SCHULTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Work by Seattle artist Victoria Haven will be installed at SAM as part of "Elles."

Artist Victoria Haven works out of a bright studio near the Space Needle. I wanted Haven's portraits to resemble her work, which is modern, interesting and minimal. Haven, who has great energy, was open to trying a variety of different backgrounds and approaches.

ERIKA SCHULTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Victoria Haven's last solo exhibit "Hit the North" was exhibited at Greg Kucera Gallery.

ERIKA SCHULTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Victoria Haven has worked out of 11 different studio spaces across Seattle, which has influenced and even been incorporated in her work.

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Outtakes, opinions from Seattle female artists