lllisnn Bechdel and Phrunr

BY FRAN MORAVCSIK

f you were among the crowds

swarming at this year’s Art

Hop, you might have ducked
into the pine street art works and
noticed some unfamiliar art by
some familiar names.

Certainly you know Verrnont’s
own Alison Bechdel and her

“Dykes to Watch Out For” comic
strip right here in 01 TM. Well, she
has taken a giant step outside
the small frames of her elegantly
detailed lesbian universe (and
I am not just talking about her
recently published autobiographi-
cal book, Fun Home: A Family
Tragicomic).

In addition, for those women
who found their way into our
community during the golden
years of womyn singer/song-
writers, the name of Phranc the
Folksinger brings up memories

 

r of some clever lyrics from a

cute butch with dark eyes and a
trademark flattop haircut. Unless
you were uncommonly smitten,
however, or have been in certain
comers of the Los Angeles scene
more recently, she is probably not
someone you have thought of in
years. And anyway, what does she
have to do with art?

Well, all of you who were, like
me, far behind the times on what
has been going on with these
lesbian icons, are much indebted

 
  
  
    
   

to Liza Cowan. Cowan opened
the pine street art works last
December, and is featuring these
two women m one of her first
major shows. In fact, we are dou-
bly indebted to her, as she was
the one who introduced Alison
and Phranc during a Michiga.n
Womyn’s Music Festival back in .
the mid-1980s. Thevfriendship has
been going strong over the years,
and when Liza suggested a joint
show, the two of them inspired
each other not only to present
their latest work, but even to cre-
ate pieces together.

So, if you dropped by at “Pa-
per Play: New work by Alison
Bechdel and Phranc,” what would
you see‘? I stopped in as they
were hanging the show, and the
first thing that caught my eye
was a life—size cardboard cutout,
drawn in Bechdel’s instantly rec-
ognizable style, and just as recog-
nizably a portrait of Phranc. This
flat figure was wearing a three-di-
mensional striped shirt, clean and
crisp and cheerful, made from
painted and sewn paper.

Phranc has been working in
cardboard and kraft paper art for
many years, making toys, adver-
tisements, shoes, and all kinds
of objects. (Do check out the
cardboard chocolates in the cor-
ner.) Only in the past nine months,
however, has she rolled out the
paper, painted it like fabric, cut

  Put on a Paper Pluv

out the pattern, and actually sewn
it together on her grandmother’s
old sewing machine, rather than
just using glue. The natural stiff-
ness of the kraft paper gives a
three—dimensional liveliness to
the clothing that no starch can
deliver, eternally fresh and new
and somehow humorous.

My personal favorites of
Phranc‘s paper creations are the
pairs of shoes, in which I enjoy
the hint of communication within
that couple. Even when the shoes
have a slightly used shape, they
have the characteristic freshness

‘ of the paper material, not a hint

of grime, mildew, and stinky feet.
You could put these on the table
Without a qualm.

Phranc has been showing her
paper art in galleries in Los Ange-
les and New York, but that is not
all that is going on in her life. She
still performs her music, has ap-
peared in several films, and raises
two kids with her partner. If you
would like to know more, you can
check out her blog at phrancth-
ecardboardcobbler.blogspot.com.

Now, what about Alison
Bechdel? Well, you can see the
original sketches for her strips
a.nd her book, and I hear they
are quite collectable these days,
but for the surprise, you need to
go into the next room. She has '
burst out of her meticulous little
squares, grabbed a large brush

OCTOBER 2006 l out in the mountains 21

Phranc (I) and Alison Bechdel

PHOTO: LIZA COWEN

and huge sheets of paper, and
filled them with freehand, life-
size figures. One after another,
these seem to engage in some
nightmare of a struggle or a
predicament of mythic propor-
tions, stepping well beyond the
careful objective reality of what

she has shown us previously. But -

like everything that Bechdel does,
these monumental drawings are

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Paper Play: New work by

Alison Bechdel and Phranc

pine street art works, 404 Pine
Street, Burlington, Tuesdays-
Saturdays,11-5 Through October

absolutely truthful. Her work is
so personal that it can sometimes
feel almost intrusive to look at

it. She is so naturally honest that
it is beyond courageous - it is
simply how she is. This is the way
artists are supposed to be, but
very few of them reach this level.
If you are a fan, you can also find
her on the web at dykestowa—
tchoutfor.com.

You have until October 31,’
2006 to catch the exhibit. What
you missed if you did not come
during the Art Hop was to see
the two friends together. They
agreed that from the first they
understood each other, appreci-
ated each other’s ideas, admired
each other’s work, and enjoyed
each other’s inventiveness and
imagination. Wouldn’t we all like
a friend like that? Step into the
pine street art works, next door
to Speeder and Earl's, and see
what Phranc and Alison Bechdel
came up with toget.her.V

on the Mountain Pride Media
board and was a winner at the
Gay Games this summer.

a Fran Moravcsik has served