• Works in the exhibition
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In 1975, Joan Brown competed for the first time in the all-women's Alcatraz Swim – a one-and-a-half mile race from Alcatraz Island to Aquatic Park in San Francisco. A frequent swimmer in the San Francisco Bay, Brown expected frigid water and strong currents. On the day of the swim, the waves were especially rough. Brown became disoriented and swam in circles for over an hour before she was rescued. Preoccupied by her brush with death, she decided to paint the experience in order to understand it and clear her mind. In After the Alcatraz Swim #1 (1975), Brown appears calm but contemplative. The painting behind her, however, reveals her interior emotional state: her thoughts are on the frightening swim and the transitory nature of life. The following year, Brown persevered and successfully finished the Alcatraz Swim.