The artist I chose to focus on as inspiration for this project is Lorna Simpson. She came to light in the public in the 1980’s for her large scale photograph and text works that confronted and challenged the narrow, conventional views of gender, identity, and culture. In her work she tends to use the figure to examine the ways in which gender and culture shape the interactions and experiences of our lives in contemporary America.
Drawing on this previous work, in the 1990’s Simpson then began a series of large multi-panel photographs printed on felt that depicted sites of public yet unseen sexual encounters. Over the course of her career she has experimented in photography, drawing, film and video projects, and more. One piece that particularly stood out to me of hers was her project entitled Necklines. In this piece, she displays two circular and identical photographs of a black woman’s mouth, chin, neck, and collarbone. The photos are accompanied by white text saying, “ring, surround, lasso, noose, eye, areola, halo, cuffs, collar, loop.” and then underneath, “feel the ground sliding from under you.” All this text is highly suggestive of lynching, and the harsh words are offset by the seemingly serene, non-confrontational and elegant photos.
For my project, I wanted to display the issues women have faced throughout history and into the modern day. I feel as though the objectification and pure disrespect for women has remained a theme in society for as long as humans have been around, and although significant progress has been made it is still a huge issue in the world today. Most notably this issue has come to light in recent months by the running of Donald Trump for president. This man (and I am aware that obviously not everyone shares my opinions) is frankly unfit to hold any place of authority in our country, let alone the presidency. He has constantly proven to treat both women and minorities with ignorance and disrespect, making recurring statements filled with hate, misogyny, and racism. His claims reassure the idea that women are objects; meant for the sole purpose of men’s satisfaction. I included only a select few of the statements he has said over the years about women. I did this not in order make a personal attack on Donald Trump, but rather to use him as an example of the toxic beliefs of many people in the United States and around the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment