Feminism is a hot topic on the Ithaca College campus these days. You've probably heard that Top Girls, the first theatre arts show of the year which opens next week, deals with feminism, among other things. There's another "feminist movement" on campus nowadays, however, and that is Dawn Hunter's Spectacle Spectacular show at the Handwerker Gallery.

The artist, who spoke at the Handwerker Wednesday evening, described herself as a "feminist artist", whose show explores the relationship between popular culture (mostly Vogue magazine) and gendered identity. I went to see her speak, and discovered that behind all those fancy-schmancy descriptions of her work, there is a fascinating story, not to mention some compelling art.

Ms. Hunter, who holds an MFA from UC Davis and now teaches at the University of South Carolina, spoke about her past career and how her family history influenced her art, but focused mainly on the evolution of the Spectacle Spectacular show. The idea evolved out of a course she took in graduate school, in which she chose to research Vogue over a space of four years, 1987 to 1991. While Ms. Hunter originally expected the magazine to remain focused on the same issues over the course time, what she discovered was that the focus of articles shifted. In 1987, Ms. Hunter told us, articles about fitness focused on health and longevity. By the time 1991 rolled around, the articles were about sculpting a certain physique. If people couldn't sculpt the right one, Vogue advertisements subtly suggested they get plastic surgery.

Ms. Hunter had been fascinated by this information in graduate school, and she returned to the topic when researching for her current series of paintings. She was most interested in the change that happened in the magazine from 1983 to 1986. She discovered that in this time period, Vogue went from portraying older, successful women as powerful icons, and advertised products that "serviced the body", to courting a much younger audience featuring products that "create the body instead of servicing it, making the body a medium of culture." Ms. Hunter said the change happened because feminism "isn't necessarily that marketable."

Ms. Hunter explored the way the magazine's fashion and advertising layouts changed and how their focus shifted from older women to younger women. She also became interested in the way Vogue's covers evolved from featuring supermodels to featuring actresses, reflecting the fact that the magazine was becoming less about fashion and more driven by the movie industry. These ideas are explored in the Spectacle Spectacular exhibition, which draws from Vogue advertisements and fashion layouts and explores the relationship women have with each other as well as with the audience and the fashion and advertising industries. "There's an ambiguity to the work because there's a sexual aspect," Ms. Hunter explained. "It's feminist [work]," she said, "but I'm not telling you what to do with it. I'm not sending a clear message. I'm not telling you what to think or what's good or bad."

No matter what your opinion of the relationship between women, fashion, and advertising, I suggest you head over to the Handwerker and take a look at Dawn Hunter's exhibition. Her paintings are fascinating at first glance, and become even more interesting when one thinks about the motivation, influences, and research that lies behind them. I know I'll be heading over at least once more to spend some time with the art and try to figure it all out. Maybe I'll run into you there.