“Certain works in the exhibit delve more consciously into feminist imagery. They reaffirm the age-old perception of the femaleas a source of mystery and life, and reassert a sense of specifically female power. Such power is self-generated and potentiallyabundant; not the rare commodity for which we compete in society today. Archetypal images of ancient matriarchies in whichdivinity was embodied in the female are referred to in Betty Branch’s ritualistic female figures, Dragon’s Teeth. These powerfulunerotically sexual dieties cannot be mistaken for simple ‘fertility images,’ assigned to a minor role in a patriarchial religiousritual, as those fecund statuettes from the prehistoric worlds have been, such as Venus (so-called) of Willendorf. Branch’s ‘teethof the dragon’ reflect the authority and divinity of the mythic female so well known in the prehistoric world. The Mother Goddesswas originally considered the source of power, mystery and life. The spiritual presence of Branch’s sculptures revives feelingsassociated with the original, widespread, and highly sophisticated goddess cult.”Pat Mathews, Ph.D., Oberlin College, OhioVirginia Women Artists and the Female Experience in Art(Blacksburgh, VA: Virginia Tech, 1985), page 18Dragon’s Teeth, 1983, low-fired porcelain, terracotta, earthenware, dimensions variable, Collection of the artistOpposite: Small Goddess, 1990, bronze, 15” x 12” x 10”, Collection of the Strauss Family21
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