Nona C. Flores
"Miles to Go"
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| (Photos by Patrick Fraser) |
Throughout history, women have been demeaned, abused, tortured and killed because of our sex. Justification stems from the Biblical story of Adam and Eve, specifically their fall from God’s grace through the serpent’s temptation to eat of Eden’s forbidden tree. A tradition in Christian art from the 11th to the 17th centuries represented the serpent with a feminine face and torso, often mirroring Eve’s, to emphasize woman’s culpability in the Fall.
My boxes present two differing views of women. The first, a book box of Milton’s Paradise Lost, contains a traditional stitched sampler of the Fall of Man, captioned by a famous quote from Milton’s poem. Opposite, a dead tree represents historical consequences of this misogynistic worldview.
The second book box shows some of the gains women have made. The living tree of women supporting one another before a wall of notable women (repeated on the covers) presents a hopeful view of where we are headed.