Every Word We Utter

Their Movement, Our Monument

Be Part of the Circle

Printable Version

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Every Word We Utter bronze study

"Every Word We Utter" is a Monument to the Women's Suffrage Movement.  The monument commemorates the largest nonviolent revolution in our nation’s history — the movement for women’s right to vote. Dedicated to Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the monument will mark the 100th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment, the women's right to vote. 

DeDecker elected to depict multiple figures in the monument as a reminder that it took a whole group of women to accomplish this right. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton are shown collaborating on the 19th amendment. Ida B Wells and Alice Paul are shown paying homage to the women before them; standing on the shoulders of giants(Sojourner Truth, Harriet Stanton Blatch, Anthony and Stanton, etc).  Signatures of the group of women it took surround the monument. The immensity and scale needed to equal the magnitude of the movement. Bold and Beautiful just like those women who fought for our rights. 

“Every word we utter, every act we perform … are wafted into enumerable other circles …” Elizabeth Cady Stanton reflecting on the life of Lucretia Mott.

"When we see them (historic female figures), we're reminded. It's important that we see these women, every day. Seeing them every day will help us to remember their goals and remember their aspirations. Sending a message to every woman that they do have a voice and they can use their voice. I hope the monument inspires young women...,  little girls." - Jane DeDecker 

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Jane with the clay busts of the women being commemorated in the monument

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​Help build the Monument and Commemorate the Women's Movement and the Right to Vote..., 100 years on August 18, 2020. Be part of the circle, contribute to NSG Fellow Jane DeDecker's Every Word We Utter

DeDecker Studio is currently working on placing the 20-ft tall monument in Washington, DC. Once fully funded, this important bronze sculpture will be placed in a location of national prominence to inspire future generations. Track the progress of HR 473 (sponsor Congressman Joe Neguse) in the US Congress:  

The 5-ft tall bronze and granite maquette will be placed as a limited edition in other appropriate spaces across the nation. Proceeds from these national sales of the maquette will help make the monument possible. Please contact the National Sculptors' Guild if your public art program has a site for this important piece.

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Every Word We Utter 5ft version in clay

Sojourner Truth's portrait taking shape

Every Word We Utter study in bronze

Every Word We Utter study in bronze

Every Word We Utter 5ft version in clay

DESCRIPTION AND SYMBOLISM OF THE MONUMENT:
Anthony and Stanton writing the Nineteenth Amendment is the nucleus,  the beginning of the women’s movement. To the side of the authors stands the elder Sojourner Truth, a beacon for the movement. The young Harriet Stanton Blatch represents the future. From them rises the next generation of the movement, the “daughters” who ratified the nineteenth amendment, represented by Ida B. Wells and Alice Paul. Standing on the shoulders of giants, these women were elevated by what came before. From this height, the ratification flag cascades to the innumerable circles that ripple outwards.

Sojourner Truth, an African-American abolitionist and women’s right activist, was among the first voices of the women’s movement.  She propelled the movement in its early days because she was willing to speak at time when few women did so.  I have depicted her standing on a pulpit to illustrate how she willingly projected her voice against injustices. Her gaze is to the future – to the horizon – looking to a place where women – together – will turn the world “right side up again.”  In my composition, I have sculpted her in her early 50’s, around the time she would have delivered her seminal speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?” Within the composition, she is a guardian of the belief that women should have the right to vote.

I used the same iconic photograph of the coauthors of the Declaration of Sentiments as inspiration for Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, but I depicted them at their age at the time of the writing of the Sentiments. The two women are physically connected in the sculpture, forming a unified force that truly speaks of the oneness of their purpose. Their words, speeches and wisdom launched a worldwide, peaceful revolution. Even today, these two women offer us the courage and the tools to be the stewards of human rights.

At a joint appearance for Hilary Clinton’s campaign, Michelle Obama echoed Stanton’s words: “With every action we take, with every word we utter, we think about the millions of children who are watching us, who hang onto our every word, looking at us to show them who they can and should be.” Just so, Harriet Stanton Blatch hangs on the words of her mother. She has a look of intensity. She feels it. Blatch is nestled between her mother’s hand that holds a pen and foot that breaks the conformities of the base. She holds onto a bonnet, a symbol of the suffragist she will become. Blatch literally grew up during the suffragist movement, and when it was her time, she absorbed the sentiments of her mother’s words: “We’ve got to bring to the President, individually, day by day, week in and week out, the idea that great numbers of women want to be free, will be free.”

Alice Paul and Ida B. Wells are at the peak of the coalescence, one in their mission. Although these two women would not have marched side by side, their juxtaposition at the height of the sculpture, symbolizes their shared vision of equal rights. Neither one of these women would take no for an answer. In the photos of the suffragist women marching, they are wearing elaborate hats, an announcement of their presence in the movement. I have depicted Alice Paul and Ida B. Wells wearing such hats. Both women also hold a flag.

The portrait of Alice Paul is inspired by the photo of her draping the ratification flag with its 36th star over the balcony of the suffrage headquarters in Washington D.C. I chose to depict Paul and this celebratory moment to capture the monumental triumph of the nineteenth amendment, an accumulation of the efforts of thousands of American women. She appears youthful and weightless in this monument, and yet she was militant in her efforts. She dedicated her life to the movement and after the vote continued until her death the work for the equal rights amendment.

Ida B. Wells began her career as an activist at a young age. She fervently rallied against the practice of lynching even with the threat of being lynched herself.  Wells was known for using the pen and her voice to battle sexism, racism, and violence. In this sculpture Wells stands proudly with a flag of the United States, representing the hope for justice and the rights of every human being. The open gesture of her hand outstretched to the other women around her in this monument reinforces the invitation to join the cause.

Contributions to the monument may be made here. A 501(c)(3) status is pending. Proceeds from the sales of the maquettes make the monument possible. Please contact the National Sculptors' Guild to place the 5ft maquette in your public art program. #BePartOfTheCircle

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​Jane has begun work on the monument, below are studio images of the armature and early stages of adding clay, the 5ft maquette is used for reference as she sculpts the enlargement.

This post is an update to a previous one; see the original from 2018 here