SAU senior overcomes eating disorders; turns focus to art
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By Deirdre Cox Baker | Wednesday, May 07, 2008 |
(Larry Fisher/QUAD-CITY TIMES) St. Ambrose senior Katie Seiz has a show at the Catich Gallery that focuses on society's fixation with women having "perfect bodies." Buy this Photo
A decade-long battle to overcome an eating disorder has led to a young Quad-City woman’s triumphant art exhibit that examines the modern image of the female body in a mass-market culture.
Katie Seiz, 24, is a senior art major at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, and “Battle of the Glamazons: A Contemporary Female Odyssey” is the title of her senior show at the Catich Gallery in the on-campus Galvin Fine Arts Center.
“Glamazons” — by Seiz’s definition — are gladiator goddesses who engage in epic confrontations against the beauty industry and cultural pressures that put a focus on unhealthy body images.
Seiz knows all about body image. The 2002 graduate of Rock Island High School was hospitalized 10 years ago with anorexia nervosa. That and bulimia are two common eating disorders. The Eating Disorders Clinic at the University of Iowa became a surrogate home for her and her parents, Janet and George Seiz.
She calls eating disorders “complex monsters” because they present a mix of psychological and physical challenges. The daughter of an art historian, the young woman used art therapy as a coping mechanism during her recovery.
“Replacing bad behaviors with new, better behaviors is difficult,” she said. Seiz now exercises regularly, has become knowledgeable about sound nutritional practices and keeps a personal journal.
She uses an off-beat sense of humor to explain, artistically, her view of world. It is complicated because she is very interested in fashion, beauty and style and has been since she was a child.
Seiz knows better than most, though, that fashion ideals can be “crazy and unrealistic,” while the repercussions for young women may lead to serious health concerns or even death.
Rage against the image
“ ‘Battle of the Glamazons’ reaches out to any member of the female population who has read through a fashion magazine and found herself wanting to rip it up, douse it in gasoline and set it ablaze,” Seiz wrote in an artist’s note that is part of her exhibit.
“This body of work, quirky and lighthearted, is a form of despair avoidance in dealing with these issues that have personally impacted my life and the lives of many others,” she added.
Seiz had finished her freshman year at Rock Island High School when she and her parents realized that months of mental health consultation were not enough to treat her eating disorder.
A decision was voluntarily made to enter the University of Iowa’s specialized health clinic. She spent a month in the hospital and another three months as an outpatient.
“That was a very supportive environment,” said her mother, Janet Seiz, who is now an assistant professor of art at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. “My husband and I would drive from the Quad-Cities to Iowa City and stay the night at the Ronald McDonald House. All these humane systems were in place, with ways to work out the issues. We were never left standing alone, wondering what to do.”
For her part, Katie Seiz found a way to heal while also gaining empathy for women who cannot. “I was in the hospital once, nine years ago,” she slowly explained. “But many women, they have to return. They are in the hospital numerous times.
“Body image issues don’t go away. These are day-to-day issues, and you can never forget them,” she said.
Family to attend reception
Seiz’s parents, her older brother, godparents, friends, former teachers and baby sitters are all invited to the artist’s reception, set for 5-7 p.m. tonight. They will see a self-assured young woman who has come to terms with her personal health monster and found a life path forward.
“It’s busy, colorful, wild,” Seiz said of the mixed-media display. There are weapons built of mascara tubes and cannons of lipstick. The Glamazon warriors are in the image of Greek goddesses.
The Greeks were obsessed with beauty and bodies, so Seiz chose to pair them with glamorous fashion and Amazons, women who were known to be fierce and warrior-like.
A collection of mirrors forms two sides of the exhibit to bring further attention to body image, she said, describing mirrors themselves as “evil and sacred at the same time.”
A central display — called “way over the top” by the artist — includes a Vegas showgirl staring down a runway with numerous sexy-looking legs sticking out the top of her head. Lipstick cannons are aimed at her.
“I’m very grateful to have a thoughtful, liberating display like this one,” said Heather Lovewell, the curator of the Catich Gallery.
Seiz’s mother will get a thorough look at the exhibit tonight. She’s been told about its various components but has yet to see the entire presentation.
“She makes healing visible, I think,” Janet Seiz said by telephone from her North Carolina home. “It’s healing for Katie, but I know she hopes it also brings awareness and support to others equally troubled by these issues.”
Seiz is beginning to enjoy her success after months and months of effort. “I worked so hard on this. It’s very personal,” she said.
Deirdre Cox Baker can be contacted at (563) 383-2492 or dbaker@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.
If You Go
Who: Katie Seiz, artist and senior art major at St. Ambrose University, Davenport.
What: “Battle of the Glamazons: A Contemporary Female Odyssey” is a mixed-media art show and the “humorous embodiment of the frustration borne of body image pressures and this culture’s beauty ideals,” the artist wrote in an introduction.
Where: Catich Gallery in the Galvin Fine Arts Center on the St. Ambrose campus.
When: Open 1-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday; artist’s reception is 5-7 p.m. today
Helpenstell Foundation helps
fund eating disorders study
A $50,000 grant from the Amy Helpenstell Foundation will further the efforts of the Eating Disorders Consortium, a Quad-City area effort to educate the community and help those who have the disorders.
The grant goes to the Robert Young Center for Community Mental Health, based in Rock Island.
Amy Helpenstell, who was a top student at Rock Island High School and Augustana College, died in 2003 of complications from anorexia nervosa. She made arrangements in her will to provide assets for a charitable foundation to benefit a 60-mile radius around the Quad-Cities.
In March, the consortium announced the results of a groundbreaking community survey that showed Quad-City residents have a basic understanding of eating disorders.
The funds will be used to poll area doctors who treat the disorders and to compile a list of best practices, said Susan Skora, the president and CEO of the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend, the administrative arm of the Helpenstell Foundation. National experts also will be invited to offer advanced educational techniques, and a community symposium is being considered.
“We are looking for ways to have an impact,” Skora said.
— Deirdre Cox Baker
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