Synopses & Reviews
In a unique collaboration, The Breast Cancer Fund, the American Cancer Society, and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation invited artists and writers across the nation who had faced breast cancer to submit their work. The result is Art.Rage.Us., a riveting book of art, fiction, poetry, and prose, and a bold testimony to the courage of women who face the disease. At turns stirring, humorous, heartrending, introspective, stark, and defiant, the pieces in Art.Rage.Us. have the power to comfort, provoke, and transform. For each of the 75 artists, the impulse to transform her experience of breast cancer through creative expression was an integral part of the search for healing. Together their work forms a inspiring statement about the healing power of art.
Review
This stunning and stirring volume is the outgrowth of an exhibit at the San Francisco Main Library Gallery sponsored by the Breast Cancer Fund, the American Cancer Society (San Francisco Bay Area), and the San Francisco chapter of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The artwork and writings were culled from breast cancer survivors, "women who, inspired to create in the face of pain and adversity, present the art and outrage of breast cancer." The volume includes abstract works, collages, photographs, sculpture, and mixed-media pieces along with poetry, journal entries, and essays that illustrate the strength, fear, passion, anger, and renewal that comes with the breast cancer experience. These women have faced death and now embrace life. "What are your breasts filled with now, Mommy?" asked Heather Ann Gilchrists' eight-year-old daughter. "Saline, like salt water." "Oh, you mean like tears." "Yes, darling, my breasts are filled with tears." Such exceptional creativity cannot restore a lost breast; it will tug at your heart. Highly recommended for all fine-art and health collections.
Review
The voices contained within Art.Rage.Us. are brave and powerful and beautiful. Most importantly these creative renderings through story and imagery set a collective healing in motion that transcends personal pain. Terry Tempest Williams
About the Author
Terry Tempest Williams has written such acclaimed books as Refuge, which discusses her family's confrontation with the disease. She lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Jill Eikenberry is a Golden Globe Award-winning actress who successfully battled breast cancer in 1986. She coproduced and hosted Destined to Live, an NBC-TV documentary on breast cancer.