Janice Williams Whiting’s art requires a second look.
“My works often involve the layering of unrelated elements such as the human figure and typographical map contour lines,” said Whiting in her artist statement. “My work is often figurative, informed by a deep passion for drawing, art history, and mystery.
“Layers of Change,” an exhibition of her works, is on display at CANDL Fine Art through Sept. 12 and an artist talk is scheduled for noon Aug. 22 at the gallery, 1128 Broad St.
Whiting uses various media and methods such canvas, wood, watercolor, acrylic, inks, varnish, porcelain and epoxy clay, some images she’s drawn and painted digitally, printed on canvas, painted with brushes, sculpted with wood and epoxy clay, all to get to the final image, the artist statement continued
Through those media, she explores the way society views women.
“All women in U.S. society are faced with a constant barrage of messages about beauty and sexuality, telling them that to be desirable they must emulate the characteristics of both innocence and overt sexuality. This contradictory approach to feminine value is best summarized in what is known as the ‘Virgin/Whore’ dichotomy. Every woman must repeatedly choose between being perceived as either a sexually benign creature of limited power, or a sexualized creature with power over both them and others.”
Most people in Augusta’s art community know Whiting or know of her. She taught at Augusta College for four decades, and many of the people making and teaching art in this town came up through her classes, according to a news release from CANDL Fine Art.
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