My Etsy Shop

Who's watching who?

Manifesto Exhibition 

16th March

Grace and Clark Fyfe Building

Danielle Henderson

I am really excited about Leah Capaldi's new piece: Prop.



I think it really ties in with certain ideas that I have been looking at. Within my practise I have been trying to separate the performer with the performance - which is inherently linked, particularly the female body as discussed by Amelia Jones in 'Body Art'. I am interested in the notion that the body becomes another prop, and whether the performer is always an object/prop when it comes to performance art.

LOVE Hester Scheurwater

LOVE Hester Scheurwater

'My Daily Uploads'
September 15th, 2010
Image sourced at www.hesterscheurwater.com

why YOU should love Hester Scheurwater... 

Having been repeatedly banned from Facebook and Youtube, Scheurwater provokes notions of censorship by challenging the relationship between privacy and public realms and how these aspects are governed online. Facebook is her domain for broadcasting and this reflects wholly on her work. Navigating Facebook becomes an exploration into the power struggles in the digital domain and what is deemed appropriate in a seemingly lawless territory, as well as critiquing how users abide by social media codes. 

The use of explicit pornographic and fetishistic overtones shares a relationship with discourse revolving the hyper-sexualisation of society. Scheurwater embodies the change in social attitude towards pornography and female representation, her indulgent exhibitionist self-portraiture display fetish coding such as: bondage,[1] voyeurism,[2]seduction, temptation, leather and PVC clothing, sheer and ripped tights or stockings, high heels, in order to reveal the voyeuristic nature of the act of looking.  Scholar Louise J. Kaplan suggests that, “…the roles women are required to play in our society are in themselves a form of perversion.”[3] Scheurwater is just one example of a culture of,“Indoctrinated, obsessed and fascinated by this view of the “sensual seductive” woman as a sex object.”[4] By obsessively taking image after image of her body, Scheurwater complies to the impact of the media portraying images of the ideal woman coinciding with the constant need to observe her body and to become hyper-sexualised. This bombardment of perfection has led the artist to scrutinise her own image every day.

Using the conventions of traditional self-portraiture (by reflecting on the inner and outer self.)The use of the mirror is a significant aspect of her work; the symbolic associations of vanity, beauty, observation, visibility and reflection, performance, mimesis, serve to reinforce the act of looking and viewer as voyeur. The idea of voyeurism is conflated in these works by the acknowledgement of the artist as a spectator of her own body, “...the artist looks at herself from both sides of the mirror." Scheurwater herself becomes a viewer of her own sexualised, commoditised image and therefore is knowingly in control of this representation. The gaze within the photograph begins with the artist, empowerment here, takes the form of being in control of the construction and creation of her image.

As Scheurwater points out, "There is no erotic fake layer between me and my photos, I do not mirror sex for better and more romantic than it is."[5]  The haptic sensations evoked with the reading of her work lends the viewer to sympathise and realise the poignant impact of pornography on female representation and identity. 

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[1] Partially obscuring her body with tights and the use of tight, restrictive clothing emulates that of bondage ties.

[2] Despite Scheurwater’s staged photography, one gets a sense of observing a private moment in the artist’s bedroom, emphasised with the use of perspective and camera angles

[3] Female Perversions, Louise J Kaplan, p 45

[4]Hester Scheurwater, Artist Statement, www.hesterscheurwater.com 

[5]Hester Scheurwater, Jan 20^th 2011, Interview Hester Dutch newspaper Volkskrant Magazine Scheurwater, Wim de Jong, translated from Dutch

LOVE: Shaun O'Donnell

LOVE: Shaun O'Donnell

My personal favourite from the GSA Degree Show 2010 was of course the wonderous paintings of Shaun O'Donnell, I managed to snag a postcard from his exhibition last year:

He didn't disappoint in his latest exhibiton:

Reversed echoes in the new, new world.

Shaun O’Donnell

141 Gallery / SWG3

100 Eastvale Place, Glasgow, G3 8QG

 

why YOU should love Shaun O'Donnell

 

Gone are the geometric patterns and the horizon of endless squares in eternity. In place are now new realms taking on a carnival spirit envolping a self- perpetuating  fantasy scene - taking the viewer on an Escher-esque journey of the human psyche. Again, the organic (and definitly more obviously phallic) shapes, impasto brushstrokes and bold use of colour feature heavily in his work - highlighting carnal insights and creating fleshy characters to ponder over in their strange land.

 

His paintings and sculpture are just a spectacle to be indulged in, they are so dynamic and enticing, it's easy to get lost circling the vast and heavily constructed worlds of colour. Searching the depths, you can't help but be unnerved by the unnatural coporeal elements, underlining a more sinister, darker mood to the work. 

New Year's Resolution:

• Write more lists Have more goals.

Originally created by He Said "Tee Shed"  (as far as I can trace)

I am an artist - can I take your order?

HATE: Natacha Merritt

Natacha Merrit, 'Ask me Anything,' Feb 2000

Polaroid
Digital Diaries (2001)

why YOU should hate Natacha Merritt...



One should really question the integrity and creditability of Taschen, having published Digital Girly's (Merritt's psuedonym) daily photos in Digital Dairies (2001). The only comment they have of Merrit's work is her use of the digital camera as a point of interest to denote the mark of technology in the participation of exploring identity.

I'm sure they also though highly of her assets to the medium of photography.

It is obvious that the photographer in question has no formal arts background, her work is akin to that of any number of girls posing and posting pictures on Facebook. Her unsuccessful attempts to de-construct the feminine archetypes is laughable, Merrit’s ‘celebration’ of female sexuality and the naturalness of sexual desire is easily criticised when we consider the preparation required to make the images: her models require release forms to be signed beforehand, the intimate use of the camera requires precise framing and the use of specifically chosen seductive lighting heightens the sensual atmosphere; with both Merrit and her model knowing that they will be viewed and an image will be created, genuine enjoyment or exploration of female sexuality is anticipated and becomes artificially created - under this guise they become no less directed or staged than pornography.

Praised as a ‘contemporary counterpart’[1] to Anaïs Nin[2] by capturing erotic desires and uninhibited sexuality in her self-portraits published online, Merritt explicitly exposes her sexuality and body as a commodity. One could argue that Merritt is in the forefront in the war on a sexually-charged, exaggerated hypersexuality but Merritt indulges in this explicit, exhibitionism - she's an attention whore.

And this is where my attention wanes.

I'm bored Merritt - you don't shock me, and sadly, you don't turn me on either.




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[1] Maxim Jakubowski, The eyes of the beholder, The Guardian, 6 May 2000

[2] Anais Nin is considered the founder of female pornography, writing explicit stories and diaries about female-specific sexual desires and awakenings.

[3] Wim de Jong, Hester Scheurwater, January 20th 2011, Volkskrant Magazine, translated from Dutch,

Linsey Bell

Meg Cowell

Image sourced from: The Muff March

Reminiscent of 'The Slut Walk' a few months back.

The Muff March is an attempt to readdress the growing numbers of female genital plastic surgery such as: hymen reconstruction, vaginal tightening and labiaplasty - which have tripled over the course of the last few years. Criticism has been directed at the fact that women are free to make their own choices, as consenting adults and that the health concerns assosiated with these types of surgeries are more worring than the influence of pornography in our culture.

Quoted from the above article:

"...Dr Petra Boynton, sex researcher and educator, commented: "The focus of the Muff March on porn is, I think, limiting. While porn has undoubtedly had an impact on how we view our bodies I don't think it is accurate to simply see it as the main factor driving women to have cosmetic genital surgery or remove their pubic hair. In fact I'd say the mainstream media has a far greater role to play here but is not held accountable."

I just wanted to point out that mainstream media and pornography go hand in hand - the pornography indutry is not afforded the same promotional benefits as any other business. In order to populate the mainstream, they target the media in order to promote their wares. (For example, Hugh Hefner labelled 'the granddaddy of porn,' in articles in the Guardian or highest paid adult film star Jenna Jameson featuring on Opera  and discussing how empowered she feels as a woman by making porn, Cosmopolitan headlines reading "101 ways to please him in the bedroom" - watch porn with him etc.) The PR companies promote 'porn-friendly' stories that make it into the newspaper and it normalises the attitude towards it - the rise in pole-dancing exercise classes or vajazzling are just two of many examples.

I think it's important that woman are speaking up and I don't think they are condemning women who do choose to have plastic surgery on their genitals. I think they are just trying to inflitrate the media and send out (actually empowering) positive body image messages. 

It's OK to be embarrassed about your body, but it's more empowering to not be defined by those insecurities.

As part of ongoing research for my dissertation I would really appreciate if you could please take a moment to complete the following short survey based on internet usage: Internet Usage Survey

Please note, it is completely anonymous and no personal details will be publicised. The survey only has 10 questions and will be quick to complete but the findings will have a direct impact upon my dissertation, so please answer honestly.  

Thank you for your participation, feel free to pass the survey on to others!

Image found here.
I found this image of Hester Scheurwater's studio and I just thought it was really interesting in that her studio reflects entirely upon her work, it is clear from this shot that Scheurwater obsessively documents/collects images - something she avidly does with her 'Daily iPhone' images.

In The Mood For Love

(2000)

Kar Wai Wong

Visited GOMA and was really intrigued by their current exhibition upstairs, downstairs featured a contemporary survey of sculpture featuring Karla Black and Andrew Miller amongst others, however, the video art upstairs blew me away.

Exhibition: Videonale.13 (Festival for Contemporary Video Art 2011)


Reynolds Reynolds
Six Easy Pieces

Image still from:
Six Easy Pieces
Length: 10min
Format: 16:9

(Originally exhibited in Germany, 2010 using 3 channels of HD video transferred from 16 mm and photo stills)

Six Easy Pieces is the last part of the Secrets Trilogy; a three-part cycle exploring the imperceptible conditions that frame life. According to Reynolds Reynolds website, the work is based on the book, “Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of physics explained by its most brilliant teacher” by Richard P. Feynman
The imagery was very fluid, almost like watching dancers, which was interesting because scientific and medical imagery were quite prominent. The filming itself is fascinating, the models actually look like they're vibrating and I'm wondering if it is because each frame is made up of thousands of images? Possibly, I just can't work it out yet. Use of sound was also very significant, it was the heart beat of the piece.

Following excerpt taken from the Videonale's website

Time is the elusive entity that quietly percolates through our fingers. We have to impose a rhythmic order upon our existence – the sound of a clock, music with its beats and pauses, the ticking of machinery – since only this order allows us to sense the pulse of time as it flows. Reynold Reynolds uses “Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher”, a book by renowned physicist Richard P. Feynman as the scientific foundation for his artistic exploration of the issue of time. The artist juxtaposes imagery of scientific inquiry various measuring instruments and chemical equipment with organic matter, fish, flowers or with a human body, whose life span will inevitably come to an end, despite all of humankind’s scientific achievements. The video is inundated with traditional symbols of memento mori: mirrors that hint at the transitory nature of beauty; books that stand for the vanity of knowledge or a roulette wheel that reminds us of  the unpredictable nature of life and death.
Reynolds, a former physicist himself, mixes together imagery of transformation and decay to stimulate the viewer's contemplation of the issue of time and to show that artists and scientists often prove to be accomplices in the process of making sense of the world.

OC

Interview:

► 1. Your video has been chosen among over 1700 festival entries to participate in Videonale 13. How central the video medium to your overall artistic production? Is it complimentary to other media you use or do you work exclusively with video?

I work with 16mm film and transfer it into digital stills that exist in the computer and shoot digital stills with a stop motion technique.

► 2. Is there a particular theme, concept or problem your art addresses the most?

Time and Space and the depiction of Time and Space.

► 3. What artists do you relate to or find significant for your own art-making?

Eadweard Muybridge, Marcel Duchamp, André Breton, and Stanley Kubrick for the dead artists.
The living ones: Robert Frank, Pierre Huyghe, David Lynch, and Miloš Forman.

► 4. Do you think the video medium can address social or political issues better than other art media?

It is the best medium for propaganda.

► 5. Art can be seen as a mirror that registers and reflects life or as a tool that transforms it. Which of the two positions is close to your own art-making philosophy?

As a mirror of the maker and viewer. Art can also register dead things; machines, corpses, not just life.

► 6. How do you understand success in an art-making career?

Making work that ages well.

► 7.What is the most difficult and the most rewarding thing about making art / being an artist?

The way people look at you when you say you're an Artist.

► 8.What are your upcoming projects?

A 1930's Berlin Film.

► 9. What do you do when you don't make art?

See art shows, watch movies, fill out forms.

Maurizo Anzeri



Being human in an inhuman age...
http://www.bard.edu/hannaharendtcenter/conference2010/

TEDxUIUC - Sherry Turkle - Alone Together

(2011)

"Fifteen years ago we were trying to work out how to keep computers busy...now they keep us busy."