Riva Lehrer
Encyclopedia
Riva Lehrer is a painter, writer, teacher, and speaker. Her early education took place at Condon School for Handicapped Children, which was one of the first schools in the United States
to offer a standardized education to disabled children. In 1980, she moved to Chicago
, where she has lived and exhibited ever since. Her work focuses on people's physical identity as well as political themes, especially in regards to disability. Lehrer
was born with Spina bifida
and has undergone numerous surgeries throughout her life. After moving to Chicago, she encountered the works of other artists, joined a disabled artist group, and began one of her best known series the Circle Stories. Currently Lehrer is the Curator for Cultural Programs at Access Living of Chicago and an auxiliary professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her interest in anatomy originally led her to consider a career in medicine but due to the lack of accommodations she soon felt this goal was unrealistic. Instead she decided on an art career where she had more control over things like her schedule, but where she could still “prove her interests in biology and medicine”. Her works on a whole are meant to reject the idea of pity and inspire a new way of thinking about the beauty of disabilities. The complexity of her works represents the complexity of the lives of her disabled subjects. They are not tragic images of suffering but rather images of life and living. She uses realism and detail to draw the subjects the way they are; no exaggerations and no cover-ups. She simply shows the body as it is and allows the beauty to speak for itself.
. This type of art is where “Improbable and fantastical elements are combined with realistic elements, deeply embedding the two opposite and contradictory forces” . Lehrer, like may artists before her, uses this style of art to comment on social inequalities and prejudices she sees. Lehrer also uses this style to express a particular mood sometimes of pain and darkness and other times of healing or release. Every portrait is unique in its message and in its tone, but each work together to tell a story about disabilities and disability culture as a whole while honoring the “community of disabled innovators who provide support and context for the work of redefinition of disability in the 21st century" .
The Family series breaks the stereotype or myth that disabled people are loners and shows that that people, disabled or not, form links, connections, and relationships with others. Lehrer explains “The Family drawings are an ongoing document of my own community of belonging. Some are blood relations, others are people who I consider part of my survival. They are a testament to the power that human beings have to transform each others lives”.
The Totems and Familars series is about people's objects of power (totems) and animal alter ego(familiars). These images show the subject's, both disabled and non-disabled, internal source of strength and how this strength can relate to their external character.
AIR Gallery
Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art (Ridgefield, CT),
Arnot Museum
Chicago Cultural Center
DeCordova Museum (Lincoln, MA).
Elmhurst Museum
Frye Art Museum (Seattle, WA),
Herron Gallery at Indiana University
Lafayette Museum of Art
Mary Leigh Bloch Museum
Mobile Museum of Art
Muskegon Museum of Art (MI),
National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington, D.C.),
Printworks Gallery (Chicago)
Susan Cummis Gallery
United Nations (NY),
University of Notre Dame
2001 · Carol J. Gill Award for Disability Culture, The Progress Center, Chicago
1999 · Chicago Artist's Assistance Program Grant, Chicago Department of Cultural Affair
1999 · Special Assistance Grant, Illinois Arts Council
1998 · Honorable Mention, Portrait Show, Elmhurst Art Museum
1996-97 · Arts Midwest/NEA Regional Visual Arts Fellowship Award
1993-95 · Presidential Merit Scholarship, The School of the Art Institute, Chicago
1994 · Scholarship, Anderson Ranch, Snowmass CO
1993 · First Prize, Schoharie National Small Works Show
1992 · Honorable Mention, Schoharie National Small Works Show
"The disabled body is intensely beautiful— memorable, unexpected, and lived in with great self-awareness. These are not bodies that are taken for granted or left unexplored. This beauty has often stayed unseen despite the constant, invasive public stare. Disability is complex; it demands images that combine hard facts with unexpected gifts." .
"My thesis is that the body is the template of all experience, and there are ways to think about that ... [ that ] lead to a state of empathy" .
"One of the things I love about disability is that if one has a profound disability you can't go about almost anything the way other people do (shaking head). You have to re-imagine everything. And when I'm around people who are capable of that, it just knocks me out." .
"Disability and art are natural partners. In order to have a good life with a disability, you have to learn to re-invent your world almost hour by hour. You discover ways to re-imagine everything, and how not to take the average answers to everyday questions. There is a great deal of creativity in disability if you decide that "reality" is just a raw material for you to mold. So many times, these re-inventions have been the keys to open new doors for everyone." ("Dis this film series," 2007).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to offer a standardized education to disabled children. In 1980, she moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, where she has lived and exhibited ever since. Her work focuses on people's physical identity as well as political themes, especially in regards to disability. Lehrer
Lehrer
- Surname :Potentially recorded in various spellings including: Lehr, Lehrer, Lehrian and Lehrmann.The Lehrer surname can be either Germanic or Hebrew, and it also has several possible origins. The first two possible origins are:- Teacher :...
was born with Spina bifida
Spina bifida
Spina bifida is a developmental congenital disorder caused by the incomplete closing of the embryonic neural tube. Some vertebrae overlying the spinal cord are not fully formed and remain unfused and open. If the opening is large enough, this allows a portion of the spinal cord to protrude through...
and has undergone numerous surgeries throughout her life. After moving to Chicago, she encountered the works of other artists, joined a disabled artist group, and began one of her best known series the Circle Stories. Currently Lehrer is the Curator for Cultural Programs at Access Living of Chicago and an auxiliary professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her interest in anatomy originally led her to consider a career in medicine but due to the lack of accommodations she soon felt this goal was unrealistic. Instead she decided on an art career where she had more control over things like her schedule, but where she could still “prove her interests in biology and medicine”. Her works on a whole are meant to reject the idea of pity and inspire a new way of thinking about the beauty of disabilities. The complexity of her works represents the complexity of the lives of her disabled subjects. They are not tragic images of suffering but rather images of life and living. She uses realism and detail to draw the subjects the way they are; no exaggerations and no cover-ups. She simply shows the body as it is and allows the beauty to speak for itself.
Circle Stories
Riva Lehrer began the Circle Stories series in 1997 and continued expanding it until 2004. The title to this group of portraits comes from the methods of their creation, including multiple interviews and collaborations between Lehrer and the subjects, to create an accurate representation of their life. This collection shows the achievements and spirit of the subjects while paying homage to the original group of disabled artists that Lehrer joined. The subjects of these portraits are seen in a setting of their choice whether it is realistic or not. The professions and disabilities of these subjects vary greatly and are not all directly shown in some of the works. Many of these portraits fall under the category of Magic RealismMagic realism
Magic realism or magical realism is an aesthetic style or genre of fiction in which magical elements blend with the real world. The story explains these magical elements as real occurrences, presented in a straightforward manner that places the "real" and the "fantastic" in the same stream of...
. This type of art is where “Improbable and fantastical elements are combined with realistic elements, deeply embedding the two opposite and contradictory forces” . Lehrer, like may artists before her, uses this style of art to comment on social inequalities and prejudices she sees. Lehrer also uses this style to express a particular mood sometimes of pain and darkness and other times of healing or release. Every portrait is unique in its message and in its tone, but each work together to tell a story about disabilities and disability culture as a whole while honoring the “community of disabled innovators who provide support and context for the work of redefinition of disability in the 21st century" .
Other Series
Lehrer's If Body series stems from the fact that people tend to visualize what they are going to look like at an older age and how that image can change over time. The pieces themselves represent her personal ideals about her body and how those ideals have changed over time. “The self-portraits of If Body series chart this schism between the imaginary “normal” body I imagine I “should” have had, and my relationship to my subjective “actual” body” .The Family series breaks the stereotype or myth that disabled people are loners and shows that that people, disabled or not, form links, connections, and relationships with others. Lehrer explains “The Family drawings are an ongoing document of my own community of belonging. Some are blood relations, others are people who I consider part of my survival. They are a testament to the power that human beings have to transform each others lives”.
The Totems and Familars series is about people's objects of power (totems) and animal alter ego(familiars). These images show the subject's, both disabled and non-disabled, internal source of strength and how this strength can relate to their external character.
Exhibits
AIR Gallery
Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art (Ridgefield, CT),
Arnot Museum
Chicago Cultural Center
DeCordova Museum (Lincoln, MA).
Elmhurst Museum
Frye Art Museum (Seattle, WA),
Herron Gallery at Indiana University
Lafayette Museum of Art
Mary Leigh Bloch Museum
Mobile Museum of Art
Muskegon Museum of Art (MI),
National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington, D.C.),
Printworks Gallery (Chicago)
Susan Cummis Gallery
United Nations (NY),
University of Notre Dame
Awards, Achievements, and Recognitions
2007 · Wynn Newhouse Award, Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation2001 · Carol J. Gill Award for Disability Culture, The Progress Center, Chicago
1999 · Chicago Artist's Assistance Program Grant, Chicago Department of Cultural Affair
1999 · Special Assistance Grant, Illinois Arts Council
1998 · Honorable Mention, Portrait Show, Elmhurst Art Museum
1996-97 · Arts Midwest/NEA Regional Visual Arts Fellowship Award
1993-95 · Presidential Merit Scholarship, The School of the Art Institute, Chicago
1994 · Scholarship, Anderson Ranch, Snowmass CO
1993 · First Prize, Schoharie National Small Works Show
1992 · Honorable Mention, Schoharie National Small Works Show
Quotes
"Figurative art is a powerful tool for the exploration of how the shape of a person's body dictates the contours of the life. My work addresses this primarily though images of disability. Disability acts as a magnifying glass on how bodily impairment and other forms of stigma result in social isolation. The nature of the body continuously molds one's daily experience. As an artist, using portraiture allows me to provoke attitudes about acceptable and unacceptable bodies. It also lets me cultivate my own sense of beauty." ."The disabled body is intensely beautiful— memorable, unexpected, and lived in with great self-awareness. These are not bodies that are taken for granted or left unexplored. This beauty has often stayed unseen despite the constant, invasive public stare. Disability is complex; it demands images that combine hard facts with unexpected gifts." .
"My thesis is that the body is the template of all experience, and there are ways to think about that ... [ that ] lead to a state of empathy" .
"One of the things I love about disability is that if one has a profound disability you can't go about almost anything the way other people do (shaking head). You have to re-imagine everything. And when I'm around people who are capable of that, it just knocks me out." .
"Disability and art are natural partners. In order to have a good life with a disability, you have to learn to re-invent your world almost hour by hour. You discover ways to re-imagine everything, and how not to take the average answers to everyday questions. There is a great deal of creativity in disability if you decide that "reality" is just a raw material for you to mold. So many times, these re-inventions have been the keys to open new doors for everyone." ("Dis this film series," 2007).
External links
- Printworks http://www.printworkschicago.com/artists/lehrer/lehrer.htm
- RivaLehrer.com http://www.rivalehrer.com/
- New House Award http://wnewhouseawards.com/rivalehrer.htm