Feminist Art Show, Wynne Greenwood, and Dezaraye steals Mannism

Feminist Art Show, Wynne Greenwood, and Dezaraye steals Mannism January 18, 2008

Filed under: Hot Situation - California, Hot Situation - Queer women's travel., Hot Situation - San Francisco — admin @ 10:51 am

New Langton curated a Feminist art show last night with a mix of photography, installation, video and then finished the night with the band TITS. I was, in fact, surprised to see so much nudity. Are we feminists still obsessed with displaying bodies in all these varied ways, from running around the forests topless to putting our vagina’s in a box called a video screen. This must be proof that our glorified nude body parts are still living strong as inconograhic symbols of feminism. Or are they? I didn’t know this but, “The subject of feminist art has recently obtained a “faddish” status in the art world. Small Things End, Great Things Endure proposes that – far from mere trend – feminist art practice is gathering momentum. As a form of politics and as a body of thought, feminism has been characterized by an uneven development: its messages have spread in slow and unruly ways, frequently hindered by lines of class and geography, by periods of backlash and denial, and by moments of revivalism quickly co-opted by the marketplace (rrriot girl to bad girl to spice girl).” A myriad of artists showed, and honestly the art scene is not my expertise, but Wynne Greenwood is! Not really-but I love her work. She had an exhibit there, I heard she was there,and I missed her! She is one of my star crushes and going to her Tracy and the Plastics shows has given me inspiration during times of banality.

She created a cardboard cut out of a ‘person’ and installed two different video screens inside the cardboard cut out-including her vagina as well as her top half with an ‘animated’ stomach drawing. I asked out loud, “Is that really Wynne’s vagina?” when I realized she was the person on the other video screen. This was not a gloried view of the vagina at all. Maybe Wynne was making a comment on the commodification of women’s bodies. There was an audio commentary as well but I couldn’t hear it-hence I can’t give you any further interpretation. But where are we going will all our nude parts? When done well, especially during my formative years, I have been inspired by artistic and political representations of women’s bodies(particularly with queer connotations.) This time was only a little different. I enjoyed it and felt community amongst the crowd, even if I feel like I have see those nude forest photos before. It showed me that I still need this kind of work in my life, other women must feel similarly. New Langton says, “Today, artists are again insisting that feminism is unfinished business.” That is hot. Except Dezaraye feels differently. She is ready to ’steal mannism.’ Along with my celebrated women, she noticed all these gay or queer boys in all this feminist art and she got worried. From her blog on myspace,”it’s so feminist it’s a gay guy. so this evening after racing home and having epiphany after epiphany at a friends house and then on Muni (cause I got stoned on my cleanse and it was REALLY GOOD thought provoking high) i changed my clothes to go to a feminist art show. apparently 70’s feminism is dead and we were going to witness the feminism that has taken its place which by the looks of it is effeminate gay boys and coked out 80’s gussied up breast-less lesbians. no offense. seriously. this is pure observation of the crowd at one San Francisco art show,,, but… . . . i’m sure a grain of truth was hidden within a stroked strap-on or the hormone inflated mammary glands of a man in transition.maybe it is a simple case of my femininity not being represented. i’m not the girliest of girls but i love my breasts and i love my blood and tonight i found myself touching my belly and then my neck for reassurance. at one point Meredith suggested i take my keeper out right in the middle of the room and empty my blood on the ground as a piece of spontaneous art. i thought it was very selfish of her, why not make it interactive art? i suggested i fling the blood far and wide and allow everyone to share in feminism.is that feminism to me? the fact that i bleed? i think so. it’s not dressing like a woman, it’s not even acting like a woman, it’s not having your breasts removed or having them implanted. i suppose being a feminist to me is the fact that i AM a woman and i have choices and am empowered to make those choices or hand them off to someone else. my feminism is nothing i create or strive for, it is one thing i feel is rather innate.ahhhh bollocks. it’s all just scenester San Francisco shite and ultimately i just may be offensive and old fashioned and it has brought a great question for me to think about, what makes a man? since they don’t have such concrete things like child birth and menstruation to experience,,, what makes a man a man? A hard on? Their balls? Blue balls? More body hair in general?see, this is why i find gender so incredibly frustrating. why do we feel its necessary to shove who we are down everyone’s throat? why is acceptance from the mainstream so important? i thought the point was to get as far away from the mainstream as possible?and when did feminism become co-opting male behavior for women???if the reincarnation of what it means to be a feminist translates into the narrow definitions of effeminate boys and manly girls then i guess i’m not a feminist. i am a woman whose mind is just as capable as a mans, whose thoughts, insights and ethics are just as potent and powerful as any males. i am a woman who can hold her own but would still like to be bent over. *wink*”

Oh, Dezaraye, I love to be bent over too! I love Dezaraye. She is kind of like ‘Kit’ from the show the L Word for my circle of San Francisco friends. I think that the fact that she got so riled up about gender is proof we still need to dissect it. Be careful who you are calling a ‘manly girl,’ because Shaevoyuer is a gender fluid andgro type queer kid who tomboys around and loves to dress up like a high femme girl for any occasion. In that way, I some what relate to those girly queer boys. Oh Dezaraye, everyone can have their cake and eat it too.

2 Comments for this post

dezaraye Says: February 6th, 2008 at 2:33 pm

I can love you too! *smile*

You know, I have been thinking ALOT about this because what upsets me more than anything is how riled up I get. Why am I so upset by this? Why should I even care? I believe it comes down to me being ungrateful for the very blessed position I am in when it comes to gender and sexuality. I am a straight female. I have no question about it, nothing needs reconciliation or defending, it simply is. I don’t think I am being very compassionate to the journey and struggles of others because I am finding it difficult to identify. Plus, there is a part of me that thinks that we, as americans, have FAR too much time on our hands when we are setting ourselves on fire and filming it. Or maybe I’m just burnt. *shrugs* I really liked the gorilla suit and the wire weaved words. I also liked the photography of the late 70’s early 80’s women. They reminded me of my Aunt’s in all their lackadasical glammed out mindlessness.

Floroskop Says: March 19th, 2008 at 2:50 am

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I think this try.