Gorilla Girls: Guerilla Warefare

 

Who can ignore someone dressed in a giant gorilla costume? Let alone four women broadcasting powerful feminist artwork challenging the public to think differently, making everyone more aware of creatively presented facts that are far too troubling to ignore. These fiesty women are educated and powerful with the sole goal of empowering women, educating society and making CHANGE.

The genius, modernized graphics in sync with pop culture and buried with intelligent political references range from all different angles. A few examples of work I found not discussed in class I've added below:

Such a UNIQUE approach, I've never seen an artist mimic and attack the government in such a creative way. The usage of the scale represents everything the Guerilla Girls work towards. By shedding light on ignored issues, often making hefty political statements and using logos that immediately capture attention and promise reaction.

 

"Bitches, Bimbos and Ballbreakers" ...what more could you ask for?

By shedding light on the stereotypes of females they're empowering us with knowledge to fight back and break the mold. I absolutely love not only the alliteration and word choice but the graphics: bright bubblegum pink with juxtaposed spinning terms all too often used to brand women in society: "girl next door", "stage mom", "catholic school girl", "gold digger"...  If I saw this in a store I wouldn't be able to walk away.

 

Here we have an example of the Guerilla Girls using statistics, a method they often incorporate into their work which is absolutely brilliant because no one can disprove the numbers. It's not just opinion or exaggerated hyperbole as I'm sure those threatned by the art activists would say; by presenting the facts the audience can't argue. In fact, more respect should be given, for these women TRULY care- they do their homework, they're passionate and they fight for what they believe in, hoping to make a change in society.

Abstract Xerox: Look Right Through Me & This Is What You'll See

For this abstract project, the sole point was to decontextualize xeroxed body parts. The process itself was nearly 10x as entertaining as the actual finished piece. Going in, I really had no precise visions, just like the flip book I had ideas wandering through my mind and wanted to allow myself the freedom of free thought.

The most intimidating part of the project was finding a location to xerox my body. With limited options, I decided to use the library. Early morning, I made my venture, thankful to see a fairly empty environment. The only scanners available were at the front of the library so I was forced to confront my ego's pride and paranoia and jump right in- starting first with my hands, then, in between checks to see if anyone was looking, attempted scans of my chest and face.

Miraculously, not even ten minutes in, the nicest woman, Meril, who I later discovered was the library director, acted as my abstract art guardian angel. (I intend on surprising her with much deserved thank you flowers!) As I took just a moment to describe the project to her, she immediately became intrigued and invested in helping the cause, offering to bring me to the back room location where I could not only use the scanner for free, but in PRIVACY.

Here was a woman who knew full well what I needed to do and without question, only genuine desire to help, aided in a process that would have been near impossible otherwise. Left in a room alone, with the occasional one or two faculty coming through, I embarked on my creative escapades, remaining sneaky throughout so as not to get caught mid strip.

Surprisingly, it became difficult to stir new ideas of body parts and positions to copy- even lifting myself onto the copier to scan my behind took strategy to avoid the possible nightmare of breaking the glass and/ or being seen.

After being so exposed to nudity in class and seeing how embedded it is in the art world, I pushed myself outside of the box, beyond my comfort zone, to include my own private parts. The inclusion of my breast, nipple in clear view specifically,  was something that although it appears small, represents a deep vulnerability and bravery- openly revealed to the rest of the world.

As I scanned different parts of my body, I couldn't help but recognize the distinct clarity of freckles, hairs and shapes that are normally overlooked or easily hidden. In a way, once again, it was a reflection of vulnerability as I saw different parts of myself, in their natural state flawed.

Putting the entire piece together, I decided to build upon a wooden crate from Home Depot left over from our grid project. Bound by instinct to make compositions symmetrical, I started out, inspired by PansLabryinth, putting ears on hands as eyes, hair flowing freely from the top, but then I just broke free from the shell and started setting limbs extending out of the box, groping curves and flowing freely with a growing theme of carnal freedom and sexuality. The parts pasted include lips, fingers, hands, arms, breasts, my bottom and hair. I think the image strongly reflects free movement and femininity. The piece is so decontextualized it at first appears entirely chaotic and random but it only takes a second longer to recognize and decode the images.

This entire process was incredibly unique and rewarding and most of all, a push in a new, bold direction to feed my more adventurous self. Art truly is all about self reflection and the power of it's therapy and poetic nature ceases to amaze me. I feel so much more in touch with myself, comfortable and curious, after spending so much time on these projects and studying different movements and periods in class. It's often difficult to make time, but just like writing, art is a passion well deserving of attention, that will only enrich every one's sense of worth and connection to life, at least my own, that I'm sure of.

Tom Geoghegan & Live Art

"Rubbish" & "Strange Fruit"

Decontexualizing, placing himself in bizarre locations in situations and positions that can't help but stir controversial questioning reactions. The city, the park, these areas themselves become Geoghegan's gallery when he inhabits the space with his out of context work.

"Strange Fruit" based of Billie Holiday's song

Instead of a black body, he's dressed completely in white, head to toe, hanging still from a tree in a desolate park. He remains in the pouring rain, an all day endeavour, not moving a muscle, showing the extreme dedication he has to his work. The depth of this symbolism only intensified for me after hearing the original lyrics to the sad, sad song. Geoghegan puts an entirely different spin on a very influential, historically painful time period that applies to everyone. You can tell he chooses what issues to cover wisely and stylizes them in his own unique way.

 Even as "Rubbish" when people pull, poke and kick at his limp body, he remains still. His personal connection to the work is quite inspiring considering his cluelessness to how many people will actually witness his excursions. Geoghegan defines Live Art, far from performance, solely for attacking the audience with a visual that promises a challenge almost as provoking to the mental state.

Live Art: Sheryl Oring's Inspiring Projects

Oring's: iwishtosay.org

LOVE the visually enticing home page setup of Oring's blog and  the overall theme of her works, set to engage the most random of society, stir their deepest thoughts and create feedback to issues by breaking big things down piece by piece, person by person. It's almost as if she tackles the invisible wall between head haunchos and the rest of society by providing outlets to respond to those in power who dictate much of our general well being and the entire state of the U.S. as a whole.

"The Birthday Project"

Such a simple yet ingenious idea! Oring set up a nomadic, portable birthday party for parks and flea parties, dressed in a 1960s party dress and convinced people to send birthday wishes for the president's 60th.
When viewed in class the letters were much more centered on the presidency itself and the turmoil of the county, projecting a more hateful than heartful vibe, nonetheless the idea itself creates this creative intimacy between passerbyers and the country's highest figure.

"Creative Fix" stemmed from 2008's "Birthday Project" as Oring was inspired to ask people what they would do to fix the country if they could do anything at all. In a series of one minute responses people were given the chance to voice their deepest concerns and passions.

People are introduced by name, occupation and location. Some of the videos are overwhelming with people unleashing everything, then again, that's what makes this so powerful and full circle, defines live art, when something isn't being done for performance but for the individual and the questioning of life itself.

Three of my favorites that really stood out from this project were:

"Ryan Alexiev- ban technology on Sundays, the idea: go out and engage with the world and real people"
"Jessica Ingram- encourage the country to slow down"
"Amy Mooney- one of the most immediate things we should do is honor our teachers"

One woman focused her change on the idea of more community dinners, more time with friends, family; an increase of focus on the rich quality of life not the quantity of materialistic goods.

I adore this overall genre of work because it forces people to take a step back and really think about the issues. Two years ago I did a project where I went out into the streets, stopped random students, homeless men, working women, and I asked everyone the same questions, the most important of all, and entire center of the project, "how would you define happiness?"

Such a broad, big picture idea, meant to stir up questioning and reflection, I was excited to find many people, no matter the age or place in life, focused on the same defining answers- the simple things and rich, loving relationships. A few examples of younger generations responded with feedback shallow in comparison to middle aged mothers with children and a greater depth of life experience, but all in all, this project reminds me of Oring's self indulging style of digging deeper and questioning every day life, re-focusing, examining and then responding, sharing words and thoughts that benefit strangers either in sync with your thoughts or completely separate, now with inspiration to think differently and see a new point of view.

Self reflection and awareness of the world we live in leads to much deeper appreciation and in return, far reaching happiness. It's all we can do to connect with others and remain open minded and curious about life like Oring and her subjects are.

The "Beat" Generation

Last class our focus on the "Beat Generation" and war's influence on art, music and literature was incredibly captivating. Seeing the chaos and crisis reflected in abstract expressionists' work like Polluck, Bacon, Dekooning and Rauschenberg moved me but even more so, hearing the spoken word of poets like Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and twisted yet genius, William Burroughs, entranced me.

Visuals and Audio have the universal power to reach into some one's soul, twist their heart, engage their mind and set them off on a trance into the unknown, exploring thoughts they never touched upon before, or sometimes, even more powerfully, putting words or visions to thoughts that have gone hidden and unsaid.

At a point in my life where I'm more aware of the rest of the world than I ever was, and consciously aware of my evolving self, my curiosity to discover more is rampant. As someone who has always felt a pull towards the creative arts, it's a passion of mine to analyze and dig deep. I could spend hours in a museum studying paintings, sketching them, looking for deeper meaning..which is exactly what abstract art supplies.

The pain reflected in this generation, although heavy and unsettling, is beautifully captured. Kerouac especially, clearly out of his mind and in another world, a bottle or two in, is ingenious. His talent is undeniable and his broken words and shambled persona further intensify the message he alludes. This is the collapse of the American dream. Exhausted, burnt out, abused..for some reason, the line "children crying in a land where they let the children cry" really jumped out, perhaps for the sole reason of his purposeful mention of children; the helpless, being left without aid.

Ginsberg was another absolute genius, words flowing from his mouth with such ease and directness, poignant, honest, captivating this upheaval of separation between society and artist and in place of the torn down walls, charging movements to make the private world public, exposing our naked selves.

I feel like I'm in a time of my life where I'm unsure of a lot. The world is radically changing, responsibility of adulthood is knocking right at my door and I as muster the stamina that's under attack by a battle to regain health against a chronic disease that I don't want to define me, the days pass by all too quickly and I'm left gasping for whatever time I have left. I don't know what my future holds and that can be all too stressful for a perfectionist set on nothing but success with the ultimate goal of securing happiness as well. Basically, my mind is constant clusterfuck and although I believe everything in life is what you make of it, I do enjoy reveling in a moment of time where I don't have to be positive and can relate to the disheartened works of this beautifully tortured "beat generation".   It's scary to even say it out loud, to expose myself fully, give attention to my fears and weaknesses- but I'm human. We all are and it's this focus on unveiling oneself that unifies us all, reminding us we're not alone. The closest modern day example I can think of to relate to the Beat Generation's efforts is the book, turned movie, "Perks of Being a Wallflower". One of my absolute favorites that exposes the characters fully with intricate writing and development, making it a classic that everyone can't help but relate to, relish in and adore.

Surrealism: releasing one's imagination

Having originated in the late 1910's and 20's, surrealism became known as a new mode of "automatic" expression with the sole purpose of breaking past all inhibition and releasing one's subconscious thoughts.

Andre Breton, one of the first truly responsible for the movement's outbreak was a poet, critic and trained psychiatrist. The release of his 'Manifesto of Surrealism' in 1924 marked an international movement that spread far beyond art to politicians and intelluctuals.

The psychological connection however is most fascinating. Breton along with others, was highly influenced by Frued's methods of free association, drawing on the private world of the mind to share things typically restricted by society's limitations and norms.
Without dadism a decade earlier and the carefree disregard for tradition that it inspired, surrealism woudn't have the strong foundation that inspired it's radical leaps into the unknown.

I have so much respect for the artists who took the first radical steps in releasing work that they knew wouldn't make sense, that they knew in all likelihood, wouldn't be recieved as well as the typical "normal" landscape or traditional piece.

Dadism and Surrealism inspire an outlook that should be connected to all art work and further more, to all parts of life. Rather than worrying about people's judgements and reactions and editing our performance in accordance to trends of society. we should produce and perform what we're most passionate about, without fear of failing to live up to expectations and instead with the sole focus of using creative mediums as an outlet to free ourselves.

One of Doctor Suesse's infamous quotes rings a bell in this instance:

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who matter don't mind and those who mind don't matter"

Surrealism is all about letting go and seeing where your mind, or pen and paper take you, which I love because for years and years I've been a doodler and in times where I have no idea what I want to sketch or paint, I'll just start with a few strokes and let my mind go free. It's calming- I can fully see the connection to psychology and from this, the creation of art therapy.

Video Games & Violence- an empowered union?

The focus on violence in our culture is undeniable; splashed across television screens, movie theaters, detailed in books and of course, centralized as a theme in all popular video games. Everything is more realistic and bloody than ever. Our culture has become white washed to the graphics and all too real plot lines, however, the controversial theory that violent games are influencing society's members to plot and perform mass shootings such as Columbine and Newtown, remains flawed without signifigant evidence.

 I believe if you sit one young male down to play Call of Duty, Mortal Kombat, World of WarCraft, Grand Theft Auto, whatever, you name it, for two hours and you sit another boy down to play racing games for two hours, the first test subject will absolutely have fueled aggression. The sole purpose of the game is to hunt and kill and with flashing images across the screen of blood, guts and warefare, with fingers pressing buttons in a matter of life or death urgency, the blood gets pumping and the mind focuses solely on the task needing to be performed.
Imagine this boy, as many in our society, has been playing games like this since the age of eleven. If this is all he does, if he already has a mental condition, absentee parents, little to no friends and a displeasurable school experience, it's no wonder the bombardment of violence could shape and stir twisted fantasies.

For the rest of the population however, those who play these games in moderation, along with others and a life filled with other activities, clubs, relationships, well, they're able to separate illusion from reality, game rage from common aggression. In fact, video games can be used as an outlet to channel aggression safely- and as many studies have shown, those who play are more likely to have outstanding hand-eye coordination skills.

I believe video games are not to blame, the real issue with the weakest links and criminals of society is their already broken minds.  The banning of video games or weapons won't fix the mentally disabled; numb to feeling and understanding of right and wrong, it  won't stop them from finding some way to act out their rage.

I believe the media empowers people and gives the wrong idea by promising the idea of attention and fame, especially to the most violent. Mental health attention and involved families or friends is the real fix, not unrealistic bans.

Here are just a few stats to close it out:

65% of households play computer or video games.
The average game player is 35 and has been playing for 13 years.
94% of video games report their parents are present when they purchase their games.
Comp and video game companies employ more than 80,000 people in 31 states.
In 2006 the Ent. Software Industry's value added 3.8 billion dollars to U.S. Gross domestic product.
40% female, 60% male
63% of parents believe the games are a positive part of their children's lives