David Smith
May 21, 2022
Her Voice Carries - Promoting Women and their power to change
I feel it is best said to tell Who Sarah C. Rutherford is and what she is about by having Urban Nation explaining it.
Boston born Sarah C. Rutherford is a muralist, illustrator and activist who is known for introducing the project entitled ‘Her Voice Carries’, to the city of Rochester, New York, where she lives and works. A tribute to five local women who work to lift others’ voices, the project was awarded the Lillian Fairchild Memorial Award of the University of Rochester. Rutherford’s work has been featured as part of the opening of URBAN NATION Museum 2017.
Besides supporting women through her Rochester project, Rutherford’s paints murals throughout the state of New York, implementing naturalistic, spiritual and Native American elements into her work. Trying to bring people and communities together through art, she believes that murals work their way into the fabric of people’s daily lives and therefore should be accessible to all and never be owned by someone entirely. Besides working as a muralist and a freelance illustrator she teaches introduction to painting and advanced painting at the University of Rochester, introducing students to mural painting in the latter.
One of many murals Sarah made for "Her Voice Carries." A tribute to five women who have and are making an impact in Rochester. The murals are captivating and surreal. She encapsulates their essence and power in each mural. I highly suggest to look at all of them.
This and the next two murals are from a series Sarah made that honor women of the "First Nation." Here we see a mysticism of their aura. What are the women trying to say?
Here we have different animals spirits that offer protection to the peoples of the First Nation. Animal Spirits are important and deserve respect.
What I see here is Rochester dying. They ignore the animal spirits who have offered them protection. Instead they decided to "worship" technology. The First Nation teaches us that we must protect the earth and it does not belong to us. We are in a uneasy balance between nature and people. The ravage nature to to ravage ourselves.