Discussion Three
April 9th, 2006
1st hour:
Answer these 3 questions on a piece of paper for discussion:
1. What is your greatest love/passion in life?
2. What is your greatest hate/what despises you?
3. List two things about yourself that you really like.
Various Answers (Anonymous):
1. The ability to connect with others | Creativity | See the finished product | Travel | The experience of seeing something for the first time | Conversation (real & imagined ie. Cindy Sherman) | What I am involved in ie. everything current | Art & conversation; the dynamic between people | Things that are ugly & beautiful; discovering what’s different between the two | Discovering truth (& what it makes it the same) | Experiencing & learning from new things & improving the self | Community (the power of the group/collective) & fostering that; the democratic ideal of mobs empowering themselves): a key to individual empowerment | choice | seeing things in a positive light | people who take the first step |
2. Pain, disrespect, violence, hate, victimization, and voyeuristic intrusion | disempowerment (discrimination or intentional humiliation even for entertainment) | a large scale debate getting derailed due to interpersonal issues | the whole world; thus letting go & separating society from the individual (or not be around it; take part in it)| politics | ignorance | hate racism (within and outside of support groups) | false advertisement (even of a country ie. America) | racial tensions | prejudice | objectification | assumptions | exclusion | pigeon holing | scapegoat | PRIVILEGE |
3. One of a kind | Seeker of the self, society and interconnection | Determined | Loving | Patient | Humor | Positive spin on things | Passionate; really take things on to the fullest | loyal & 100% | Ability to change | Quickly adapts to skills | Ability to see multiple perspectives | Self-control | Negotiator | Defuser | Explore new things | Risk and open | Ability to love individual people easily (& continue despite disappointment)| Understanding emotion & using that to help others | Cheerful | Read others’ needs | Form connections | Empathy | Curiosity (vital to creativity & change & question) | Cool blend (mixed race)| Love is strong | Strong lover | Presence (height) | Confidence |
Conclusion of warm-up: Important to sit down and reflect; to appreciate oneself; to empower oneself and love oneself. To focus on the positive; Good to share
New topic(s):
1. Feminism: What’s next, what else, what identity? Titles…Wanting to identify as artist and not “feminist artist.â€
2. Being political but not politicized (resist being pigeon holed; being fearful)
3. Where are the guerrilla girls now? Do we need the “guerrilla girls†at all times and how to continue this and establish it as a continuum? Group in Brooklyn (Brain Storming: new project doing a survey on women artists and gave hand outs about the representation of women in Chelsea).
Tagging artwork as feminist; resisting a mold & labels; fearing the tag; wanting individuality (self-discovery); being a spokesperson; historically feminism is a straight white women’s movement that does not always relate to contemporary “feminists†which are all very “fragmented and multiple.â€
Question: What is wrong with the term feminism? One answer: Sick and tired of already being the other and feminism is another “other.†The word feminism “is a headache.†Hating assumption and classification of “feminist.†Response: You cannot let other people take that away from you, so then to hate “feminism†and isolate self from a supportive community (where is that community)? Just as what happened to the words “liberal,†“political,†or “progressive,†it has been made an ugly term.
Discussion: White conservative men have villianized the word feminism and allowed for fracturing to happen; Inclusive | Power | Exclusive; Why should we let anyone take that away from us? We need to start re-claiming these terms or make something new up (recycle). If you don’t start re-claiming you will have nothing. We cannot be angry all the time; But we need to be empowered, connected, supported, and create new labels. To call it a problem is not being whiney – it’s a fucking fact. “My work is not wanted in a fucking gallery.†The reason we still need a movement is because its not equal, not fixed, not solved or resolved. It is not inclusive. We need to include one another and embody, empower, inspire, and support one another. You are still a women artist. You need to make that a point of empowerment. Women give up as artists because of a lack of inclusion, competing for 10 %, and not being recognized. Women need to commit! Financially as well… Its dangerous not to have groups like _gaia. Need to be resourceful… We need to open up our own gallery…
The struggle is important to withstand. Again, the struggle is vital to withstand. It is not sacrificial, it’s a lifestyle, and it IS the art in itself.
Question: Who will not buy our art?
2nd Hour:
Countering models and creating new models. That is healthy. Just because you are the women in the room, you are still a person who can create alternatives to the rooms.
Discussion: misconception that one must adhere to the art system in order to feel that you are checking off the checklist. Hesitation to say one is an artist; even though one is an artist (beyond doing the work and showing in galleries). Women are not supported and embellished to be artists. Most male artists have patrons and supporters; entitlement. Must feel unafraid and not hesitate to look for or accept support. (Getting something in return). The term “art world.†There are many art worlds (so fuck it)…
Question: Why can’t we call ourselves what we want to? Because the more we give up terms, the more we allow that to be taken, and thus give them up. This is also about intimidation.
“The smiling and nodding has allowed the propagation of systems to continue to exist.â€
Question: When we advertise our show.
Resources:
Teen Girl Squad
Brain Stormers
Artists formerly Known as Women
Women and Refrigerators
Women Made Gallery (a model we may adopt; all women owned and shown space)
— doesn’t speak of political angles (love/hate weight of the name)
Franklin Furnace
Guerrilla Girls
Missing Pixel (workshop @ Hunter) – lack of women in the design/technology industry
— non-profit political work (ITP alumnae) who work mostly on grant basis.
Dyke Action Machine
Dyke T.V.
Bluestockings Book Store
Interesting new titles:
Women | Maid Gallery
