THE PROTAGONIST

I went to a workshop last night at The School of Life called 'How To Realise Your Potential'. It was run by a man whose vocation is writing for The Sunday Times and whose hobby is to sew his own clothes. When speaking of the latter he said: "I'm all for women breaking through the glass ceiling if they want to, but why is no one urging men to break into haberdashery shops!?" Perhaps the lesson in this statement is that if we seek to fulfill our potential we can go beyond society's expectations for our gender, race, class, sexuality etc. His point in telling us about his venture into craft was to emphasize the importance of taking pleasure in every step of whatever process with which we are engaged. He also quoted Friedrich Nietzsche on this point: "Not every end is a goal. The end of a melody is not a goal." He urged us to celebrate little victories along the way.

 

 

 

Went to see the Susan Hiller show at Tate Britain today and found it really inspiring. The above piece was probably my favourite in the show and possibly the most overtly feminist and autobiographical in the exhibition. She took pictures of her belly ever day over the course of her pregnancy, the form abstracted to look like the moon. She also wrote a diary of her emotional experiences and each lunar month of photos was accompanied by a short statement. The above statement reads:

She speaks (as a woman) about everything, although they wish her to speak about only women's things. They like her to speak about everything but only if she does not 'speak as a woman', only if she will agree in advance to play the artist's role as neutral (neuter) observer.
She does not speak (as a woman) about anything, although they want her to. There is nothing she can speak of 'as a woman'. As a woman, she cannot speak.

This piece and indeed her work as a whole strikes an elegant balance between speaking 'as a woman' and speaking as 'the artist' or 'neutral observer'. This piece is also, however not truly indicative of her oeuvre. Most of her artwork does not deal overtly with the representation of women or gender identity. The fact that feminism is only hinted at in her work does not suggest to me that she is avoiding the label, but rather in my opinion it is 'feminist' of her not to make these concerns the central guiding force behind her work. At the same time, this is what separates her from many women artists of her generation who whole-heartedly take up the label of 'feminist artist' and have made their identities as women the focus of all that they produce. To clarify, she investigates her interests as anyone might do regardless of their identity, but her identity is still present in the work and makes itself known in a 'natural' (for lack of a better word) way, it isn't forced. I read feminism into her concern for the marginal, for the lost and nearly forgotten and into her persistent attempts to illuminate and explain the mysterious and the unconscious.

On the evening of April 12th at Nottingham Contemporary John Kilduff (a.k.a. Mr. Let's Paint) and I will be bringing you The Do It All Dating Game - a live interactive performance / web TV show in which people will compete for a date by taking the ultimate multi-tasking challenge. We asked John's cousin Paulette to write the theme song for the show and she has produced this jingle for your listening pleasure:

 

More Info to follow.

I've been so busy with exercising, cooking and painting that I forgot all about International Women's Day yesterday... which is very unfortunate since I was part of this fantastic screening of performance & video works by female artists in celebration of its100th anniversary:

8th March 2011

SLET 080311 – Flocking of birds

To mark 100 years since the first International Women’s Day, and in honour of female courage, determination and achievement Performans klub Fiskulturnik presents, a celebratory slice of present-day performance & video by a diverse, digital sisterhood.

Slet 080311 is conceived as an international digital festival of works by female artists who use their own body as an expressive tool or are exploring a concept of the body / identity through image and movement. Featuring eclectic footage – from live & performance art, through circus and dance, to photography and video - Slet 080311 is a versatile collection of works created by both emerging and established contemporary artists.

The footage will be webcast on-line at fiskultura.com and simultaneously screened, at a number of cities in Europe on the 8th of March 2011 - the 100th International Women’s day. Conceptualising each artist as a cell, equally essential in the construction of this collective digital body, the participants connect into a creative mass that celebrates and commemorates the history of female suffrage, feminist movements and universal themes around female identity. All in all– a true flocking of ‘birds’! 

U povodu 100. obljetnice Međunarodnog dana žena, Performans klub Fiskulturnik proslavlja hrabrost, odlučnost i podvige ostvarene u proteklih sto godina borbe za ženska prava i rodnu jednakost projektom Slet 080311. Međunarodni je to digitalni festival autorica koje koriste svoje tijelo kao izražajni instrument ili pak istražuju tematiku ženskog tijela/identiteta. Raznovrsni radovi, od performansa preko cirkuskih vještina i suvremenog plesa do videa i fotografije, kako novih tako i etabliranih umjetnica, prenosit će se na internetu putem live streaminga na fiskultura.com te istovremeno prikazivati u gradovima Istre i Europe 8. ožujka 2011. Udružene u svojevrsno kolektivno sestrinstvo koje na stoti Međunarodni dan žena nezaustavljivo struji virtualnim teritorijem, sudionice će se dotaći kako povijesti feminističkih pokreta tako i univerzalnih tema ženske osobnosti.

Participating artists: Anna Furse featuring Marie-Gabrielle Rotie, Anne Bean in collaboration with Poshya Kakl, Vlasta Delimar, Efi Ben-David & Sinead O’Donnell (PAVES), Curious, Deepa Craig, Elena Skoko, Emma Hart, Emma Katherine Skeldon, Gina Czarnecki, Ivana Peranić, Ivana Nataša Turković, Julijana Kocanović Grubić, Kira O'Reilly, Lara Ritoša Roberts & PKF, Lisa Flynn, Lucy Cash, Lydia Maria Julien, Megumi Eda, Nataša Stanić/Erika Cuk & SDNA, Nela Milić, Nhandan Chirco, Nikolina Nikoleski, Olja Stipanović, Oriana Fox, Piglet & Butcher Boy, Polona Dolžan, Rebecca Feiner, Sanna Kuittinen, Silvia Pavone, Sonia Boyce & Ain Bailey, Sophie Kasser & Moveo, Stacy Makishi, Susanne Ohmann, Valentina Lacmanovic, Verónica Pérez Karleson, Virginia García Ramos and Zory Shahrokhi.

The event is conceived and curated by Lara Ritosa Roberts, produced by PERFORMANCE KLUB FISKULTURNIK with the financial support of the Istrian Department of Culture (ISTARSKA ŽUPANIJA – REGIONE ISTRIANA / UPRAVNI ODJEL ZA KULTURU – ASSESSORATO ALLA CULTURA) & Performance Klub Fiskulturnik members.

Slet 080311 osmislila je Lara Ritoša Roberts, koja je i kustosica projekta, a financijski su ga pomogli Istarska županija-Regione Istriana/Upravni odjel za kulturu-Assessorato alla cultura te članovi Performans kluba Fiskulturnik.

Slet 080311 screenings / Slet 080311 prikazuju:

Istria	Galerija Makina, Pula
	MMC Luka, Pula
	Kino Valli, Pula
	POU Rovinj
	POU Buzet
London	Women’s Art Library (MAKE)
	Charterhouse bar
	If Not Then What @ Chelsea College of Art & Design
Belgrade	Muzej Istorije Jugoslavije
Valencia	Arte&Facto, Centro Cultural

Streaming / On-line transmisija:

fiskultura.com, livestream.com/slet080311 & Facebook

 

Apparently at the Oscars when someone gets up to go to the toilet a very attractive person comes and takes their place for the duration of the pee break.

(This is a silly blog-post - I apologize in advance - it's also not suitable for those under 16. I thought it was funny at the time, but I am very tired and jetlagged, forgive me.)

Shortly after airing Let's Paint TV this morning, John Kilduff (a.k.a. Mr Let's Paint) and I were talking about this exhibition called Narratives of The Perverse at Jancar Gallery which he had recommended I see.

The highlight of the show for me was a video of a woman (the artist) removing her tampon and rubbing it all over her face and body. She seemed to be enjoying herself:

She certainly took to heart Germaine Greer's advice that women should taste their own menstrual blood.

But anyway, there was also another video by Micol Hebron which is a close up of a vagina with pearls going in and out. John was saying that you don't get many videos of men masturbating. But then he said, actually there was that Vito Acconci piece where he masturbates under the floor of the gallery. 'Did he do that all day? How did he do that?', John asked, 'I mean that was before viagra'. Then I thought about the fact that Seedbed had been re-performed at the Guggenheim by Marina Abramovic, and it tickled me to think of Acconci himself reenacting the work today, but this time with the help of some pharmaceuticals.