Playlist for Exhibition/Song Inspiration

I am compiling a playlist to be played on loop throughout the exhibition.

The songs come from artists who I listen to, who I have written to or am planning on writing to. Furthermore, the songs are also associated with certain people I know.

The songs have been chosen specifically for the lyrics because they link to the issues I explore in my project  such as ‘inequality promises that it’s here to stay’, ‘it’s hard out here for a bitch’ (Lily Allen- Hard Out Here), ‘give me a human drama not all human sexuality is the same’, ‘trying to find the words to explain my sexuality- it’s liquid, it’s living’, ‘this love can go wherever it wants’ (Planningtorock- Human Drama). The lyrics  explore body image, sexuality and what it means to be a woman.

Kathleen Hanna- ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ (Nirvana Cover)

Sleater-Kinney- ‘Jumpers

Tegan and Sara- ‘Monday Monday Monday’

Tegan and Sara- ‘Back in Your Head’

Ani Di Franco- ‘In or Out’

Planningtorock- ‘All Love is Legal’

Planningtorock- ‘Human Drama’

The Cranberries ‘Dreaming My Dreams’

The Eurythmics- ‘Sweet Dreams’

Lily Allen’ ‘Hard Out Here’

Lily Allen ‘Fuck You’

The 1975- ‘Loving Someone’

Kate Nash- ‘Mouthwash’

Women of the World Festival, London: 10/3/17

I went to the Women of the World Festival in London. There were lots of different talks which were very interesting including ones on ‘Women and Brexit’, ‘Domestic Abuse: Everyone’s Problem’, ‘Badass Feminists From History’ and ‘A Conversation with India Martin and Mary Portas’.

The people who ran the talks and were on the panels were politicians, writers and journalists. The speakers who particularly inspired me I added to my list of 100 people to write to.

‘Badass Feminists From History’ Talk: Inspired me to think about the women from history who have influenced the way women are today and the opportunities which have been opened to us as a result of them. I am considering writing some of the letters to women from history.

• The defining characteristic of the women spoken about was courage.
• There is a lot of pressure for women to be fearless. This is not realistic.

Particular women who were mentioned within the talk who inspired me were Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon  (gay activists). The speaker (Kira Cochrane) spoke about how they were visible activists and that love powers activism.

‘A Conversation with India Martin and Mary Portas’ Talk:

They discussed how the workplace is predominantly made by men- for men and their experiences in this. Both Portas and Martin spoke about work and being female. Portas stated that ’emotion is good because that’s when change happens’ and that she was particularly inspired by the Mary Oliver quote ‘Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?’.

Additionally, there was also a market which had different stalls from activists and projects. I was particularly inspired by the Feminist Library who had an array of books, zines, badges, photos and a newsletter. They also had a large banner with their name on it. I have been really inspired by them and am going to emulate their layout within my final piece.

Whitechapel Gallery Visit: 22/2/17

I visited the Guerrilla Girls exhibition ‘Is It Even Worse In Europe?’at the Whitechapel Gallery in London.

I find the Guerrilla Girls as artists very interesting because they are an anonymous art group. Furthermore, as my work involves sending letters it is beneficial to see other ways  artists have presented them in a gallery space.

The letters are displayed both on the wall and through books/catalogues which people could sit down and read.

Influences: Carrie Brownstein

Book influence: ‘Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl’ by Carrie Brownstein

This book was recommended to me by my studio tutor. Brownstein talks about growing up and navigating her place in the world. I particularly liked the part at the beginning of the novel where she talks about seeking forms of validation from people in her life.

Brownstone talks about validation by writing to famous people- (I resonated with this because it is so similar to what I am doing in my work) ‘I was simultaneously trying to forge connections with people who had a pulse- just not people I knew or who lived anywhere near me’ p.15

She talks about making connections with people who live far away from her (Similar to what I have done- sending them to places like India and America to put your mark on the world).

She was inspired by reading magazines and seeing PO BOX addresses ‘I started writing letters to them. But the plan bombed. I wasn’t getting letters back, not even a stamped signature on an 8 by 10. The venture soon became less about competing with my peers and more about my own sense of invisibility and need for validation’ p.15

‘It’s true, I wanted help, but being acknowledged sufficed. A response, any response, implied that I existed, that I was not a weirdo, that I’d be ok. I could have gone to a school counselor or even talked to my parents, but I needed someone on TV or in the movies to reach out to me, not because they were famous but because they were so far away, it was like being seen from outer space. Suddenly I didn’t feel small ; I was bigger than the house I was living in, larger than my town. Thanks to them, I somehow belonged in the world’ p. 16

Artist Influence: Emma Hedditch

I looked at Frieze article: https://frieze.com/article/emma-hedditch (accessed: 26/01/2017)

‘Distribution, social movements and political activism are not just the content of Emma Hedditch’s art, but also its form’

• The form in which Hedditch conveys her interests is a very important part of her practice
•  For her, social and political structures are not a material to manipulate, but things to have a dialogue with, to be influenced by
• She is more of a facilitator than an author
•  Her projects don’t follow one another chronologically – they overlap, disappear, conflate and drift off; their positioning oscillates between the accessible and the subversive. Writing may occur in a free pamphlet, interventionist texts in magazines or straightforward articles on women-only support groups, community TV or pregnancy as subjective experience.

Through my research on Emma Redditch I also came across: Madeleine Benstorff in this article: http://www.madeleinebernstorff.de/seiten/vamp_tx.html (accessed: 26/01/2016)

Benstorff, 2010

This piece is an accumulation of hidden camera photos and search photos taken of radicalised Suffragettes by the police. I have chosen to put it on this blog post because I like the way it displays the documents.

FACES: http://www.faces-l.net/en/content/faces-storyhtml.html

I also came across FACES through my research on Hedditch. FACES is a mailing list that was set up for women to have contacts and share information about their work. It has turned into a big archive of work.

Influences: Her Noise

Research compiled from: http://hernoise.org

Recommended for me to look at by my studio tutor Lina (this is one of her past projects). Looks at  ‘an  ambition to investigate music and sound histories in relation to gender and to create a lasting resource in this area through building up an archive’.

I like this because it is a different media completely to what I am currently using and would be interesting in presenting the manifesto through different forms such as sound and video.

I also watched this documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts3Q9bWhNNw which was very interesting in listening to the artists talk about their work and artistic practice.

Viva Feedback

I received positive feedback for my presentation which I was delighted about and has given me the inspiration to move my work forward.

Influences I was recommended to look at:

Rachael House: http://rachaelhouse.com/banners.php

I am inspired by her badges (they are similar to mine) and I like her textile banners she has made. The banners are similar to my quilt I have been working on.

Kathleen Hanna: http://www.kathleenhanna.com/

I like Hanna’s use of a blog on her website. I feel like hers is something I would like to aspire towards. She has lots of posts which are about many topical issues.

Emma Hedditch: https://frieze.com/article/emma-hedditch

I looked at this interview in Frieze about Redditch’s work (more thoughts on separate post).

Her Noise:  http://hernoise.org

Recommended to me by my tutor, Lina, this is part of one of her past projects.

Looks at  ‘an  ambition to investigate music and sound histories in relation to gender and to create a lasting resource in this area through building up an archive’.

I like this because it is a different media completely to what I am currently using and could be interesting in presenting the manifesto through different forms.

I also watched this documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts3Q9bWhNNw

 

Spring Term: Documentary

BBC, Transgender Kids: Who Knows Best? (aired: 12/1/2017) http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b088kxbw/transgender-kids-who-knows-best

I watched this programme and I found the ideas on gender and perception of it very interesting.

I kept notes from the documentary and opinions which are conveyed:

Some believe that it was away from ‘traditional’ childhood/ parenting- I believe that this is a good thing. Is there such thing as a ‘traditional’ childhood/parenting anymore? The world is not the same place that it used to be, thus the ideas on ‘tradition’ need to change

• There is a relationship between who you are and what you are

Others believe that there are different causes and symptoms for gender dysphoria. There has been research into Gender dysphoria being linked to either autism, anxiety and depression (one can get obsessed/ fixated with something- in this case gender)

The idea of it being a ‘phase’: the documentary explores that there are lots of different ways of ‘being’ a gender (i.e.- a tomboy etc) thus, the child may not actually be transgender but does not identify with a stereotypical ‘norm’ of their gender

• ‘blue body, pink brain’- the brain is not actually gendered. However, does a gendered world make you have a gendered brain?
• Trans actually reinforces gender stereotypes- one does not identify with one stereotype but does another.

Artist Influence: Felix Gonzalez-Torres

Gonzalez-Torres was recommended to me by my studio tutor because there are overlapping themes within our work. Since researching him I have felt quite connected to his work because he is a gay artist and explores ideas surrounding this.

His pieces which particularly resonated with me were “Untitled” (Portrait of Ross in L.A.), 1991 and “Untitled” (Perfect Lovers), 1991.

“Untitled” (Portrait of Ross), 1991 inspires me because the meaning of the piece is not apparent at first. The idea of taking something away from the piece is something which I find very interesting because the piece becomes dispersed and taken by different people to different places like my badges. The piece also creates an interesting relationship between the artist and the audience and whether they feel like they can actually take part of it.

Above: “Untitled” (Portrait of Ross), 1991

Article in Frieze Magazine

Issue number: 183 November.December 2016

I found this article particularly interesting because it deals with the issue of Gender Performativity

‘Teenage Dreams’ by Rosanna Mclaughin p. 139

Looks at artworks by Amalia Ulman and Holly White

‘the normative route to adulthood-choosing a career and a partner, buying a home and filling it with kids-has become unaffordable’ p.138: society is changing due to money but people are also different now. There are other ways to live your life as a woman not just the ‘normative’ route

‘the idea of the girl as model consumer’

‘”Young girl” as an identity sold to us all, irrespective of age or gender: a way to keep us dependent, naive and ultimately, shopping’- giving us a formulated ‘ideal’ of the way we should be

‘mass-produced tropes of girliness [..] they have a bulimic relationship to consumption’

‘It is an irony that some of us get better at being teenage as we get older- when we’ve spent long enough staring at screens and shop shelves to have learned the lines and perfected the look‘- this can be compared to Lacan’s Mirror Stage- we look to the media for image representation and mimic it ourselves. The words in bold also link to Judith Butler’s idea of Gender Performativity

Women are sexualised. Amalia Ulman states ‘Being a girl is not a natural thing’ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/photography/what-to-see/is-this-the-first-instagram-masterpiece/ [accessed: 16/11/16]- to fit in women act a certain way/ make themselves into something else