IN PRAISE OF WOMEN

FOREWORD By Isabel Allende



What is it to be a woman? For an instant, close your eyes. Dream. You enter a vast white vault––the pages of this book––and as you walk slowly, as if in a trance, the way one moves in dreams, amazing feminine figures greet you. Some of them you may have seen before, but here they stand under a magic light. They are alive. One after another, in no apparent order and yet perfectly organized according to a subtle logic, these noble creatures of clay, wood, and stone reveal themselves to you in their timeless beauty and strength. Of each one you ask the same question: What is it to be a woman? And each one answers in her own powerful voice:
I am the goddess of fertility and the idol of temptation, mother and whore.
I am the womb where life begins and the breasts that nurture.
I am the arms that embrace you in love and hold you in death.
I am the eyes that see the soul and shed the tears of compassion.

I am the hands that plow, and weave, and rock the child.
I am the seer and the healer, but also the witch and the avenger. Beware my anger.
I am the virgin and the crone, desired and feared, sought and destroyed, always blamed.
I am woman, mysterious and eternal.
I turned the pages of this book with gratitude because it is not often that an homage like this comes from a man. In these confusing times, when women are redefining themselves and many men feel threatened by their unleashed power, this book comes as a rare gift from a man to all women and men. Jonathan Meader doesn't try to explain the feminine or decipher its contradictions: he simply stands in admiration of women. With great sensitivity, he has selected sculptures that transcend time and aesthetic rules, and matched them with poignant quotes and historical notes. Every image is an invitation to explore different aspects of an infinite subject. His own voice is nearly absent in these pages, and his discreet silence allows the beholder to dwell freely in the secret nature of each sculpture without judgment. As a woman I find this book deeply moving. Thank you, Jonathan, for your unique way of praising us.
Isabel Allende