A Film About Artists Who Are Mothers
Pamela Tanner Boll
Watch the Trailer>>
Pamela Tanner Boll is an artist, writer, filmmaker, activist and mother of three sons. She directed Who Does She Think She Is?, a film about five women who are mothers as well as artists. She also co-executive produced the Academy Award winning film, Born into Brothels: The Kids of Calcutta’s Red Light District. She is currently producing the film projects: Global Moms: Life on the Edge; True Stories of Doctors Without Borders; 9/12; From Chaos to Community; Kashmir; and In a Dream.
We asked her to tell us about her inspirations, obstacles, and advice to other women artists who want have children.
SWAN: What inspired you to make a film about women artists who are also mothers?
BOLL: I was inspired to make this film, in part, because I am a mother as well as a painter and a writer. Six years ago, my three sons were entering their teens and were separating from me. I was sad to no longer be the sun, the moon, the stars in their worlds. Out of this sadness, I began to question my choices. I felt that I had nurtured each of my son’s interests and talents and began to wonder if I had done the same for myself.While I painted steadily and had shows, most were local. My writing was published in small journals that few people read. At this same time, I attended a film that a good friend had made, The Day My God Died. I was stunned at its power and felt that I wanted to ensure that my work had this kind of impact. Then I heard about Maye Torres, who was a full-time artist, living in the desert outside Taos and supporting her three sons on very little income. How did she do this? All of these converged to propel me to begin making this film.
SWAN: How did you choose the artists featured in the film? Did you know them before? How did you connect with them?
BOLL I chose the artists because I loved their work. Each inspired me. In each case, I heard about the woman through friends, or through seeing her work at a gallery. I connected to each by calling them and telling them that I was making a film about the struggle between being a mother and an artist—between selflessness and selfishness. They were dying to explore these subjects with me.
I wanted to shine a light on women working at the edges of the “art world.” So, I was interested in women who did not necessarily live on either coast—NYC or LA. I wanted to show that art is everywhere and also that it is created by all kinds of women—black, brown, white, poor, rich and everything in between. Each woman had to have an audience for her work as well as to command payment for it.
SWAN: What was the biggest challenge you faced in making the film?
BOLL I had so many challenges. One of the biggest is that I had never made a film and my initial efforts were met with skepticism by friends and family.
Then, after a year of filming, I showed the rough cut to a group of newly minted film director and producer friends, who told me that while there was “something” there, I needed to re-edit. To start over. I had to fire my editor. She had been on the project for a year and a half, and we had become friends. This was hard. It was also very hard to find a new editor.
I spent 8 months restructuring the film and had four NYC editors turn down the project. They said, “there was no story”, “mothers and art is not interesting”, there was not a conflict…and on and on. I found Nancy C. Kennedy who immediately saw the potential. I thought we would whip it into shape in six months or so. It took another year and more shooting of experts, to add historical and cultural context to the women’s stories.
SWAN: Was it harder to find investors for the film because it was about women artists?
BOLL: Finding investors was very difficult. Many women who are donors to women’s issues felt that this project was not “edgy” enough. I had support from women, but funding was difficult.
SWAN: Did anything about the experiences or opinions of the women artists in the film surprise you?
BOLL The biggest surprise in interviewing these women is that no matter what level of success each had obtained, she still felt she was “not doing enough” either as a mother or in her art. I came to realize that, for women, this is just part of the job.
SWAN: Your film celebrates the joys and significant challenges of being an artist and a mother. After having worked on the film, what strikes you as the biggest challenge facing artist moms?
BOLL: The biggest challenge for artist moms is the persistent perception in their fields that being a “mother” means they are not as serious in their art making. Angela Williams, for example, does not really let people know that she has two teenage daughters when she goes on audition. Maye Torres tells the story of a museum Director who came to see her work who said she would NEVER be taken seriously because she was a woman and a mother.
SWAN: Do you think that younger women artists, who are currently teenagers and young adults, will have an easier time if they decide to have children than women of the generations we saw in the film?
BOLL: I don’t know if it will be easier for this next generation to make art and have a family. Hopefully, the young men being raised today will understand that their future wives add value to the family by continuing to paint, sculpt and sing. The other huge issue, though, is that artists often make so little money for their work. And we have so few grants available in this country for artists.
SWAN: What advice would you give to women who want to be artists and have children?
BOLL: I advise young women who want to make art and to have children to choose their spouse or partner very carefully. Also, I advise that this work be treated as a business, as a profession from the beginning. Janis Wunderlich started submitting to juried shows as a college undergraduate. She continues to hold more shows than the other women. She knows this is what her profession takes.
SWAN: In the film, we learn that while the majority of art students are female, women artists are extremely underrepresented in museums and galleries. What are some ways that artists and arts supporters can help change the landscape for women artists?
BOLL: Artists can change the landscape by getting their work out to galleries and to museum curators. Keep sending work out even if it is rejected. Find a mentor. Find an Angel investor. And art supporters can lobby their local museums and galleries to show more women.
We can also BUY art by women. I bought a painting by Polly Thayer – a Boston based artist who was in her early one hundreds three years ago. The Gallery owner told me that her paintings had not appreciated as had others from that era (all men!), even though she was recognized by the “art world” as an extraordinary painter. He said that “women artists just don’t appreciate,” and I’d be better off buying someone else.
SWAN: Can you tell us about a woman who has inspired you to do the work you are doing?
BOLL: So many women have inspired me. In 2000 or so, I attended a Conference with 2000 women where Maya Angelou was the keynote speaker. She walked slowly through the crowds to the podium. Tall. Regal. She took the microphone and in a deep, almost gutteral voice began to sing. She sang one of her poems. She sang even though she was a little off key. She was AMAZING.
Dr. Lorraine Monroe, an Educator in New York City, took a failing public school and turned it around so that it became one of the top performers. I “shadowed” her for a day. She had such self-confidence, KNEW she was doing the right thing. She was quiet with each child she met in the halls as we walked the schools. She KNEW every one of those children. She knew them and knew their stories. An amazing woman.
Geralyn White Dreyfous, with whom I partnered to produce Born Into Brothels also has inspired me. She had never made a movie. But, she read an article about sex trafficking in the New York Times. She tracked down the author. Within a few months, she had put together a very small crew to go to Nepal and to India to interview these young girls sold into slavery. She is an amazing woman. She has since gone on to produce some brilliant documentaries.
My second grade Teacher, Miss Mary Norman, back in Parkersburg, West Virginia—everything she did was inspiring and fun. She taught us math by taking us down to the institutional kitchen at McKinnley School so we could make oatmeal cookies. We learned fractions by constructing a scarecrow out of wood that we measured and sawed as well as nailed together. If any of us found a book we liked, she asked us to read out loud to the class. At recess, she did not disappear to smoke with the other teachers – instead, she supervised foot races or kickball. She was amazing.
SWAN: Did your mother or any other female relative play a role in your decision to become an artist or filmmaker? Is any family member especially supportive of your work?
BOLL: My family is supportive of my work. My three boys went from being very skeptical – “Mom, you can’t even turn on the camera! How are you going to make a movie??!” to being my biggest fans. My oldest, Ian, worked with our cameraman on three shoots. He met Camille Musser and helped at her arts program. He told me that the trip to St. Vincent’s Island was one of the best trips – that he loved really getting to know the people who lived there.
He also told me, just last year, that watching me make this film was one of the most inspiring things he had ever seen. He said it gave him the courage to do something creative in his own life. He is now 21 and has already sold a film that he made last year. He is also a Fine Arts major in college. My other two sons tell their professors and friends about the film.
SWAN: Are there any thoughts you would like to share with women artists around the world?
BOLL: KEEP doing your work, no matter what the response. We need the voices of women. We need their wisdom.
Watch the Trailer -To see the trailer and press kit for Who Does She Think She Is? Please click here>>
See the Film – To find out if there are screenings in your area, check the blog at: wdstsi.wordpress.com
Host a Screening – For information about booking the film, please contact:
info@whodoesshethinksheis.net