by Andrew Arnett

The Resnick Gallery in Brooklyn is currently hosting Alice Hendrickson’s art exhibition entitled “Kurds: The Struggle,” running November 3-December 5, 2014.

Even though Kurds are prominently featured in the media these days, their struggles have been ongoing for decades, stretching over the past century.

Alice has spent much time over the years living amongst the Kurds in Turkey, and she shares her intimate knowledge of their way of life through 34 woodcuts and 17 watercolors.

Alice was born in Frederick Maryland in 1949. She studied at the University of New Mexico, Corcoran School of Art, finishing her studies with an MFA from Utah State University.

She has travelled the world to gain inspiration for her art work. We spoke with Alice about art, travel, Kurds and the Islamic Sate.

Ferhat and Mt. Arafat

9 x 22"

23 x 55cm

Rives

ARNETT: How and when did you become involved in art?

HENDRICKSON: I began drawing and painting as a child and never stopped. I was able to go with my family to the museums in Washington D.C. and wander the National Gallery. My summers as a teenager were spent working as a city park instructor. I chose to work in the black parks because the children had more liveliness, however, the parks were not the same as in my white neighborhood. We had pavilions and shade trees, plenty of equipment. The black park had no pavilions or trees, little equipment, splintering see-saws, and shaky swings. This disparity was accepted by the family as the way it was, denying that this was the result of racism. The impact of the denied racism led to my later choices.

ARNETT: Who are your artistic influences?

HENDRICKSON: The technique of woodcutting I could develop for myself, but I learned much from looking at the German Expressionists Heckel, Kirchner and also the exuberant Japanese Munakata. Awed by the watercolors of Turner and Nolde, I strove to achieve their luminosity and freedom of stroke.

Goya and Rembrandt are for me the greatest masters of art portraying the depth of human experiences. Hopefully, my woodcuts can be seen as an expression of the common bond of life all groups share. Desire for home, family, jobs and enjoyment is universal.

ARNETT: You obviously travel a lot. Your landscapes are all based in exotic locals such as Vietnam, Ecuador, Tanzania, and Cappadocia.

HENDRICKSON: My husband Glen Lawrence is a professor of biochemistry, therefore, we have had the privilege of four sabbatical leave years. These were spent in foreign countries; Tanzania, Philippines, Turkey and Malaysia, then traveling in South East Asia while there.

I am not much of a tourist, preferring to live and gain understanding while in a country. My involvement with Kurds arose naturally with no prior political agenda. It has become important for me to present the work as a witness to lives of Kurds.