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| Wake, gouache on paper, 22 x 30", 2012 |
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| Untitled, oil on aluminum, approx. 14 x 18", 2013 (unfinished) |
Hello everyone! I thought I'd post two pieces that represent two different directions. The first is older, from last year, but I'm considering doing more with these black-veiled figures so I thought I'd get your input. I'm afraid that the only photo I have of the second one right now is not the best quality, but hopefully you get the idea. It is in progress: I'm planning to put patterns on the dresses, and eventually the girls at the chalkboard will be writing their names. Thanks everybody!
www.zoehawk.com
There's something pretty great about what we're doing here in how we can look at someone's work that we're probably familiar with and come back to it on our own terms instead of the present *insight now* exchange like, remember this little flashback?!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueHhDs47AAM&list=PL5932D9DA03567BCF
Zoe You're stuff always has this poignant sense of lighthearted time about it. don't think i ever picked up on if how you like to paint/draw/illustrate and how that overlaps the political themes and interpersonal themes was a coincidence or not when you started painting these- think it was before i got to UI?
it seems like half the time you're always cramming you're own revisioning season of a bygone high school tv show, so i guess these (like the bottom one) seem more like a fun adolescent storybook..
this is ridiculous btw lol..
( http://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/ )
but the simplified ones seem to hit me harder, or maybe in a very different way...almost like to two different interrelated bodies of work?
They seem clearer/direct and so the lightheartedness more sinister.
It's strange though, in the aesthetic of how these are painted your girls/women always seem like a victim, only strong within and in spite of, or heroic only within feminine groups...it's hard for me to imagine your women as more 'fully' strong if you catch what I mean? Like only finding refuge within some fatalistic world. Im just not sure if the aesthetic is trapping you a bit or not in making other kinds of contrast...hmm...
I love the specific focus of dynamic in developmental female relationships but in the end a part of me always feels left out of the conversation :(
It would be shifting a bit for you but I wondered what would happen if you started painting the problematic environments of boys/men...in relationship to girls/women too? I think you'll find this guy to be pretty interesting..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Farrell
he and now others are starting to talk about The general lack of sympathy, understanding and compassion for what men have also been going through like confusion over masculinity (general homophobia),
Desperate lack/need of male teachers in k-12, male disposability in relationships, workplace deaths, rise of male eating disorders, demonization of sexuality (i.e war on boys in academia), catastrophically high suicide rate (as much as 4x the rate of women) both in civilian and military life, literally zero male shelters, lack of care for veterans, homelessness, family court discrimination, men are as likely to be victims of domestic violence apparently yet it is an underreported crime,
no place to discuss these topics like the blindness in regards to the Glass Cellar, and Gender Gap when it comes to funding cancer research, etc..
it's a lot of info but thought it'd be a good opportunity to take the time to gather it
ANYWAY! -I think it's more interesting that they're not writing on the chalkboard, and the top one seems analytical/diagnostic
Hope you're good, and if you're wanting something different, could be a fresh twist yeah? now where's my beer....
Hi Tommy, thanks for writing this great response to my post! (Haha, I love Le Tigre, btw). Lots of interesting points made, lots to think about. I'm happy to hear that you are perceiving a hint of the sinister in the first one, although I wish it came through a little more in the second as that is what I always try to interject into these otherwise picturesque childrens-book-like scenarios.
DeleteAs to the idea of introducing male characters: I have toyed with the idea, although I've always held back, maybe because these paintings relate so intimately to my own experience of growing up female. HOWEVER, I do think the flipside consequences of a patriarchal system (i.e. how boys are negatively effected) is extremely interesting and important, which of course includes everything you've listed above. I see those things as unfortunate bi-products of misogyny, as opposed to blatant misandry (as the Men's Rights Activists like to claim). For example, a boy who is teased for being sensitive and emotional is so because those traits are associated with women, who are associated with weakness---it's not an attempt to keep boys oppressed, but rather to maintain traditional masculinity and keep them elevated in their place of dominance and privilege. I mention this not to downplay the pain that boys and men experience, but rather to address what I feel is the core social problem. I think it can all be traced back to a maintenance of a strict binary sex system. (An aside: regarding the high male suicide rate, I heard on NPR that women actually attempt suicide more often, but men are more successful because they choose more violent--and therefore more efficient--means, particularly guns. Just thought that was an interesting, but sad, statistic that can trace itself back to the way that boys and girls are socialized).
Anyway, I think all facets of gendered socialization are really fascinating, and actually someday you may see a painting addressing male issues. I've even thought about some co-ed paintings, but have yet to fully realize any of them. Until then, I hope you don't continue to feel left out of the conversation ;)
I think this is a really important discussion for me to be having, so thanks for bringing it up! I appreciate the feedback.
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