Unexptect Transitions: from wearing girdles to burning bras
Deborah Caiola

There is a generation of American women, often neglected in the archives of feminist history, who made their personal and professional choices before the Women's Rights Movement championed the cause of equality in the home and workplace. Many of these women who came of age during this time of social and political change found themselves in an unfamiliar world. Unexpected Transitions: from Wearing Girdles to Burning Bras tells the stories of eleven different American women born between 1933 and 1943, the silent generation.

I first became interested in stories from these women because of my mother. I have watched her struggle with the limiting social scripts imposed on her generation. These expectations shaped her choices and kept her from easily achieving the goals that women of my generation take for granted. My mother and several other women who influenced me as I was coming of age are featured here. I was amazed by the similarities of their stories and of the work they have done to become who they are today.

Sharon Ravitch, a writer, academic researcher and close friend, is my partner in the creation of Unexpected Transitions. I am a visual portraitist and Sharon is a narrative portraitist. Together we chose to create a multidimensional account of these women in painting and in text. We sought their stories: about the choices they encountered, the expectations they felt, and the consequences they faced if they went against the patriarchal constructs of society. We selected women within a ten year age span. First we chose the demographic backgrounds for the women we wanted and then cast the project like a film, finding dynamic women with rich histories and experiences both powerful and ordinary. The women were then interviewed extensively in individual and group sessions. The subsequent portrait both values and valorizes them, and charts their personal, professional and political trajectories. We listened to their words and began to understand the complexity of life experiences influenced by the cultural expectations of the time.

The paintings themselves are visual renditions of the women's stories. I have incorporated symbols that are universal, cultural, mythological, as well as visual themes from my own experiences inspired by the interviews. I chose to weave environments in and out of the portraits. This reflects the personal impact, for these women, of social circumstance and expectations. In listening to and retelling these stories, I recognize my feelings, my thoughts, and my own character as an essential ingredient in interpreting their narratives. In addition to symbols and the layout of the environmental landscape; colors, facial expressions, and body language also help express the presence and character of each woman. The small paintings are deeper explorations of the icons in the large works and further honor the individuality of their subjects.

As a painter I am perpetually in the studio working out ideas on my own. Unexpected Transitions enabled me to collaborate in new ways with many different people. Writer and academic, Dr. Sharon Ravitch was my brilliant partner in shaping the project and interviewing the participants. A book based on the venture is in the works and will be completed next year. Designer and artist Jorge Cousineau arranged the sound and took on the technical challenges of the project.

I want to acknowledge my family and friends and thank them for their advice, support and for making this experience possible. And of course, I would like to thank the eleven women who opened up their homes and so generously shared their lives with me. I hope I have done justice to the complexities of their experiences, their spirits, and the admirable paths they have taken. Their challenges and choices have opened doors for all the following generations of women.