Hannah Altman and Michelle Montana are embarking on a new photography project that will use sculpture and photography to depict women throughout several stages of womanhood.
The two Point Park students held a fundraiser to get the project off the ground at the Market Street Grocery wine bar Feb. 21.
“We decided that GoFundMe [accounts] are impersonal, and I’m not a fan,” Altman, a junior photography major, said in an interview at the fundraising event. “We thought we could get people together here and talk about art, interact with each other and it’s all for a good cause.”
The event was pushed through a Facebook event page, which invited 440 people, with a suggested donation of $10. The two also said word-of-mouth played a part in making the fundraising event known.
“I told more people than I even invited on Facebook, but there we had about 500 people invited,” Montana, a senior photography major who also works at the bar, said in an interview at the event.
The project, titled “Framework of Woman,” will include sculptures molded by Montana. Their work will depict women in archetypal stages of life such as menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. The sculptures will be accompanied by photos of the same subjects.
“We’re taking these subjects and bringing them into the real world by making sculptures whose compositions mock the composition of the photographs,” Altman said. “We want them to be rusting and decaying, because we’re questioning the root of the feminine identity and if that is lasting or decaying.”
The two students are in the early stages of making this project a reality and have not yet set a deadline for the finished project. Once it is finished, they plan to hold an art show to display the final product. Where the show will be held depends on their total donation success. Montana said she is just now beginning to experiment with sculpting and different materials to use for the project.
“It’s all going to be a learning process,” Montana said. “Hannah’s taking the most direction in the photography, and I’m hoping to take the most direction in the sculpture work, so we’re the dynamic duo.”
The fundraiser was held to get the project up and running. Montana said that the goal for the night was to raise at least $500. Donations could be made directly to the photographers, or patrons could purchase some prints of Altman’s and Montana’s photographs from a booklet they provided. After the event, Montana said they surpassed their original donation goal.
Altman and Montana will use the money they earn to purchase materials and a space to present their final product. They will know more details once they get further into the project.
The bar was packed with people that night, many of which Point Park students and friends of Montana and Altman, including junior photography major Sean Eaton.
“I think it’ll be a really great project,” Eaton said.
Foo Conner, owner of Jekko Magazine, attended the fundraising event and expressed appreciation for the Pittsburgh art community.
“Pittsburgh has a really supportive community and Hannah really moves it forward,” Conner said.
Although it may seem distant, Altman and Montana are anticipating the finished project.
“I can’t wait to show it off; I’m really excited about it,” Altman said
“Even in the next couple of years after it’s over, it’ll be cool to see how it evolves, and how much we’ve learned,” Montana said.
