Activism
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What makes a heroine? Someone who enters difficult battles and emerges victorious. Someone who challenges society's thinking and creates a new and higher standard then ever before. Someone who inspires, provides hope, encouragement and support to many many people. A leader without fear. By this small definition and much more, Matuschka is without a doubt, a heroine. Her art/activism continues to redefine our perceptions of breast cancer. Becoming an international emblem for women with courage, she continues to provide truthful, intensely stunning portraits of herself for the world to see. Matuschka is a woman to admire, for her beauty, to thank for her fierce bravery, and most especially, to honor, for her many many outstanding achievements. Leigh Silverman |
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Awards for Activism:Rachael Carson Award 1994 Graphis Best Environmental Poster 1996 Gilda Radner Award HUMANITARIAN AWARD PROCLAMATION CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION CITATION (1993) CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION Joanne Rathgeb Memorial |
Commentary:Matuschka is an artist and activist who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1991. Throughout the nineties, she devoted her efforts and time to raising awareness about the disease through her articles, artwork and lectures. As an active member of WHAM, ONE in NINE and GREENPEACE, she participated in dozens of actions / rallies nationally, including the 1993 Breast Cancer Coalition Conference in Washington D.C., the Chlorine Free Environment Campaign launched by Greenpeace in 1994 and was a key note speaker at the first World Breast Cancer Conference held in Kingston Canada in 1997. Matuschka and her activistic work addressing the environment and pollutional links to cancer have been featured in numerous documentaries including the Canadian Film Exposure narrated by Olivia Newton John and released in 1998. The artists posters (sponsored by W.H.A.M., Greenpeace & The National Lymphedma Network) have been featured in numerous international publications, plastered in Urban areas, won several prestigious awards and in 1996 " Time for Prevention 'was added to the permanent collection of the Cooper Hewit Design Museum in NYC. Papers about Matuschka's contribution to the Breast Cancer Movement and interviews continue to be published in a wide range of academic journals internationally. A thorough account of her work with illustrations and feature interview was published by The International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education in their special issue entitled "Constructing Breast Cancer: Discourses and Practices'in 2004. Most recently, she appeared on the cover of MAMM Magazine as a featured story. (October 2008) Beauty Out of Damage Website |
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Artists are like politicians they try to speak to people. The difference is, artists tell the truth and politicians sometimes try. |
"Like Rachel Carson, you have used your passion, courage and boldness to force us to confront an uncomfortable reality. Thank you for the future. The Rachel Carson Institute |
"It wasn't just her damaged chest but her resilient dignity which was so powerful." Sandra Day O'Connor |
"On behalf the State of California , I am deeply moved and honored to welcome Matuschka. A person of sensitivity, ability and caring, she helps bring this dread disease into sharp focus to awaken our often unaware public." Milton Marks |
The things that will destroy us are: Politics without principal, Industry without integrity, Corporation without conscience, Science without humanity, Medicine with out logic. Matuschka |