About
"A woman must have ... a room of her own if she is to (make art)"
- Virginia Woolf
In honor of two "girl geniuses," betrayed by society and abandoned by history.​
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I am a girl genius. A female polymath -- "Lady Da Vinci; Ms. Michelangelo; Aristotelia" -- whatever male comparison suffices for you. I write poetry, essays, short stories. I make digital illustrations, mixed-media pieces, traditional paintings. I burn with the desire for creation, and whatever medium is closest molds itself to my fiery touch.
As Virginia Woolf, the quintessential girl genius and one of the greatest thinkers of all time, observed in her feminist manifesto, A Room of One's Own: female artists tend to implode and self-destruct, having no outlet for their genius. Oh, Virginia -- you were far too clever for us, predicting your own tragic fate in a self-fulfilling prophecy. Virginia imploded. But I am a woman of the 21st century, and I refuse to implode. I will explode outwards, with the heat and brilliance of a thousand bursting stars. Stand witness to my supernova!
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Anyways, enough about me. I named this blog after Hypatia of Alexandria and Artemisia Gentileschi: a Greek and an Italian, two intellectual giants, a philosopher and a painter. Both were horrifically mistreated by their respective societies. Hypatia was torn to pieces by the mindless mob -- a female Socrates. Artemisia was raped and victim-blamed -- her fury fossilized in her iconic painting Judith Slaying Holofernes.
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Hypatia and Artemisia, this blog is dedicated to you. May you burn ever bright in the fathomless night skies of our collective human memory. As Don McLean sang -- "This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you."