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27 October 2019

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A work I wanted to see for a long time is 'Broken

A work I wanted to see for a long time is 'Broken Circle/Spiral Hill', the only land art outside the US by Robert Smithson (1938-1973). Thank you, Anne Reenders from Land Art Contemporary, who made it possible to visit the work during our FMI study trip. And Martin Borchert for being such a fantastic host.

‘Broken Circle/Spiral Hill’ was created in 1971, especially for the now-legendary exhibition 'Sonsbeek buiten de Perken' by Wim Beeren. The work is located in a former sand quarry near Emmen. Smithson found the designed and planned landscape of the Netherlands fascinating and was interested in landscapes where prehistoric times could still be experienced. Fifty years later, the work is still relevant, reflecting on the urgent problems of our time.

Hugely inspiring; go visit if you can.

@brokencirclespiralhill #BrokenCircle #SpiralHil #landartcontemporary #Emmen #Drenthe #landart #RobertSmithson #Sonsbeek #Sonsbeekbuitendeperken #WimBeeren #NancyHolt #arthistory #artmustgrow

During the first year’s study trip of the @Frank

During the first year’s study trip of the @Frank.Mohr.Institute, students and tutors visited @Into_Nature_Drenthe, the nomadic biennial in the North of The Netherlands, and the area of Bargerveen and Emmen. Additionally, we’ve met with artists @MauriceMeeuwisse, @Awoiska_vanderMolen and @_JohannesBuettner and curator @JudithSpijksma. Thank you all so much!

1) Maurice Meewisse made a network of wooden paths; while constructing it, he uncovered ancient traces in the landscape.

2 &3) Awoiska van der Molen photographed the nature of Bargerveen, then bringing the images back to the existing natural environment. Connecting seasons, horizons and reflections.

4) Johannes Büttner presents a series of sculptures about free energy in a landscape that is charged with energy. Speaking directly to the history of the area.

5) HeHe created a futuristic train running over a wooden track as part of their ongoing research into train travel (2003-present), referring to the transport of extracted peat in the area.

6) Judith Spijksma talking about the work of Roger Hiorns.

#FrankMohrInstitute #IntoNature #NewEnergy #artbiennial #biennial #Drenthe #contemporaryart #installationart #sitespecificart #sculpture #photography #artmustgrow

Came across this photo again of Sarah Lucas and Tr

Came across this photo again of Sarah Lucas and Tracey Emin in front of The Shop on Bethnal Green Road in London in 1993– marking an inaugural point in both artists' careers. A throwback to a paper I wrote for an art history course, so hereby a shortened version of the text.

‘The Shop’ acted as a performance, studio and social venue at once, becoming a hotspot for the London art scene. They sold T-shirts with hand-painted slogans on them ('I'm so fucky' and 'Have you wanked over me yet?' e.g.), decorated keyrings and mugs, a David Hockney' altarpiece', and an ashtray with a photo of Damien Hirst's face glued on the bottom. But also more artwork-like items as Lucas' photo mobiles and figures made from stuffed stockings. As a publicity card, they sent out a photo of themselves standing in The Shop's door, holding big melons, with the caption BIG MELONS on the back.

"This energy was all about rudeness. There was a kind of sneering to it, a punk-like self-contempt, combined with world-contempt." (Collings, 2002). Furthermore, this project was interesting at the time because money had so little meaning in The Shop, whereas the art market was booming.

The Shop closed with Tracey Emin's 30th birthday party (with the announcements 'Fuckin' Fantastic at 30' and 'Just About Old Enough to Do Whatever She Wants’) six months later, on 3 July. "We wanted to go out with a bang, like rock stars," Emin states.

1) Initially, Lucas and Emin were cycling around London looking for a studio space. Emin recalls (in an interview in Frieze): "I said something like: 'It'd be good to have a shop.' We both said, together, 'a shop shop' and we knew exactly what we meant." Photograph Carl Freedman, © the artists and Carl Freedman.

2) 'Complete arsehole' – which had the text backwards, so if you saw yourself in the mirror, it could be read. Photograph Carl Freedman/Tracey Emin, all rights reserved, DACS 2013.

3) © Tracey Emin and DACS/Artimage.

4) A group of seven works from The Shop. © Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas and Phillips.

#sarahlucas #traceyemin #theshop #contemporaryart #YBA #arthistory #performanceart #artscene #artstudio #bethnalgreenroad #artmustgrow

Writing this post in light of Moira Roth’s recen

Writing this post in light of Moira Roth’s recent death. Roth (1933-2021) was a feminist art historian and author. She wrote extensively on contemporary art, e.g. editing ‘The Amazing Decade: Women and Performance Art in America 1970-1980, A Source Book.’ (1983). A one-of-a-kind publication that I used significantly for my Field Review about women performance artists in that same decade and geographical area. Her collection of essays ‘Difference/Indifference: Musings on Postmodernism, Marcel Duchamp and John Cage’ (1998) is a seminal work, exploring the construction of masculinity and conflicting identities. Artforum writes in their obituary: ‘Despite her many achievements, she remained always a curious explorer of the world around her.’

Similarly, as a teacher, she would have the same attitude stating she didn’t know everything. It is a delight to read about Roth’s teachings in an inspiring and extensive interview by Sue Heinemann (2011) as part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program. This is an excellent source for art research anyway–the program started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.

📸
1. Portrait Moira Roth ©️ Lenore Chinn (an American artist best known for her American realist paintings and her queer activism).
2. Publication ‘The Amazing Decade.’

#MoiraRoth #RIP #feministart #feministarthistory #arthistory #herstory #theamazingdecade #performanceart #marcelduchamp #masculinity #artteacher #artprofessor #americanartoralhistoryprogram #archivesofamericanart #artmustgrow

Senga Nengudi's (1943, Chicago, U.S.A.) most well-

Senga Nengudi's (1943, Chicago, U.S.A.) most well-known work is probably the R.S.V.P. series, debuting in 1977 at Just Above Midtown, a ground-breaking Manhattan art space that foregrounded African American artists and artists of colour. The works consist of worn, dark-hued tights, partially tied into hanging sand-filled pockets and then stretched and fastened to the wall in various arrangements. Though standing alone as sculptural installations, they also serve as sites for performances – exploring the human body, especially of black women.

R.S.V.P. stemmed from Nengudi's reflections on the changes her body underwent during her first pregnancy and generally on the shared experience of womanhood. Ideally, people would engage physically with her tactile installations, just as Nengudi and her performers do. "This idea that people can brush up against sculpture, have a sensual experience with it, is really attractive to me."

In 2003, she returned to the R.S.V.P. series. Firstly, Nengudi experienced that the nature of the materials had changed, and secondly, she had become a different person. While recreating these works, she began to rethink how they related to her body: "I often say, the psyche as well as the body can, you know, stretch and come back into shape. But sometimes it doesn't." The original intent of the sculptures may have changed, but they have become a narrative of bodies in transformation.

📸 1) ‘R.S.V.P. Reverie “Scribe,”’ 2014. From the series ‘R.S.V.P.,’ 1976–.

2) Fellow artist Maren Hassinger became one of Nengudi's primary collaborators in the R.S.V.P. performances. 'Performance Piece—Nylon Mesh and Maren Hassinger,’ 1977. Photo by Harmon Outlaw, Pearl C. Wood Gallery, Los Angeles. Courtesy RedLine Gallery.

3) Hassinger moves through, pulling, stretching, and knotting the nylon – highlighting the muscular forces of the body. Performed during 'Radical Presence: Black Performance in Contemporary Art,' Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, 2015.

©️all photos Senga Nengudi.

#SengaNengudi #RSVP #MarenHassinger #sculpture #performanceart #installationart #contemporaryart #BLM #BlackArtsMovement #arthistory #ArtMustGrow

Working on my MA art history thesis on performance

Working on my MA art history thesis on performance documentation, I found the publication series Emergency INDEX.

Emergency INDEX (2011–2017) was an annual publication documenting performance art. It strived to be a “state of the field” publication that provided a yearly overview of the topics, techniques and challenges faced by performance artists while creating their work. INDEX published hundreds of documents of performances. Each publication contained three indexes: an index of terms, places and contributors.

Emergency INDEX was inspired by the early issues of the performance art magazine High Performance (1978-1997), in which artists were invited to submit reports on their performance artworks. According to this model, INDEX wanted to pursue a policy of radical inclusion; recorded works were not limited by genre, quality, popularity, politics or location. Instead, INDEX asked creators to describe the main challenges and tactics in their way of working. The goal was not to highlight the performance experience but to document achievements, innovations and developments in the field – building up performance theory from the ground up.

Access the publications through emergencyindex.com.

📸 1) Queerocracy & Carlos Motta, ‘A New Discovery: Queer Immigration In Perspective’, first performed on October 10, 2011. Columbus Circle, New York, NY. Performed once in 2011.

2) Qween Amor, ‘Maria Magdalena’, first performed on February 14, 2014. Union Square Subway Station, New York, NY. Performed over six months in 2014.

3) Anna Lublina, БАБУШКА | Bab(oo)shka, first performed on November 17, 2018. The Old American Can Factory, Brooklyn, NY. Performed twice in 2018.

4) Istanbul Queer Art Collective / Tuna Erdem, Seda Ergul & Onur Gokhan Gokcek, ‘Street Cleaning Event’. First performed on August 13, 2012. Sidewalk of Sanatkarlar Street, Cihangir, Istanbul. Performed once in 2012.

#EmergencyINDEX #Queerocracy #QweenAmor #AnnaLublina #IstanbulQueerArtCollective #performanceart #performanceartdocumentation #publication #performancearttheory #documentation #arthistory #artresearch #queeringarthistory #contemporaryart #ArtMustGrow @emergency_index

Decades ago, in Northampton, Massachusetts, Carrie

Decades ago, in Northampton, Massachusetts, Carrie Mae Weems photographed herself every day at the kitchen table. Through the intimate space of the kitchen, we follow the story of a woman having relationships with a lover, daughter and friends. While working on the series, Weems knew that it would be essential to her work. However, she did not realize that it would also take on historical significance and pave the way for a generation of women artists engaged in their own representation and conversations about race and relationships.

Carrie Mae Weems (1953, Portland, USA) explores many facets of contemporary life in her work and provides social commentary on the experiences of people of colour, especially black women, in America. She became known for this photographic project ‘The Kitchen Table Series’ (1990) – consisting of 20 carefully staged photos and 14 text panels. The series remains one of the most important works of art of the late 20th century.

Although the work is now over 30 years old, the images are still impactful, creating a deep sensitivity about women’s position. Weems: ‘I think that most work by black artists is considered to be about blackness. Unlike work that’s made by white artists, which is assumed to be universal at its core. I really sort of claimed the same space, and I think the work in many ways is universal at its core, but we can certainly also use it to talk about the position of black representation.’

📸 1) Untitled (Woman and daughter with makeup), Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

2) Untitled (Woman and daughter with children). Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

3) Untitled (Woman Playing Solitaire). Courtesy Art Institute of Chicago.

All photos © Carrie Mae Weems, from the ‘Kitchen Table Series’ (1990).

#CarrieMaeWeems #KitchenTableSeries #contemporaryart #photography #performanceart #claimingspace #representation #womananddaughter #motherhood #mothersday #arthistory #herstory #ArtMustGrow

Probably saw the work of Eva Koťátková (1982, P

Probably saw the work of Eva Koťátková (1982, Prague, Czech Republic) for the first time in Raster Gallery in Warsaw about ten years ago – and loved it instantly. With 'School under construction,' Koťátková investigates new possibilities and forms of education and its role in society. In general, school remains a rather isolated complex filled with blackboards, benches, (inner) rules and restrictions instead of fulfilling the role of being an open structure based on non-hierarchical dialogue. Why, asks Koťátková, should school be conceived only as a specific space where children are taught by adults, accepting and following their rules and communication patterns? While this structured community has a critical impact on the future functioning of children.

Working with a variety of different media and materials, Eva Koťátková examines how social structures of communities, family and institutions relate to individual experiences and the creative process. Her immersive environments are made up of a diversity of imagery, resembling enlarged curiosity cabinets.

📸 1) ‘School under construction.’ Hierarchical construction composed of tables, stoles and educational books. 2009.
2) ‘School under construction. Sit straight.’ Video still, series of 4 videos documenting children situated in strict educational positions.
3) ‘School under construction, House arrest no.4 construction for reading.’ 2010.
4) ‘School under construction: Lessons for the old.’ Drawing. 2011.

All images: Courtesy of Eva Koťátková.

#EvaKotatkova #schoolunderconstruction #school #education #educationalsystems #arteducation #installationart #sculpture #collage #contemporaryart #arthistory #womenartists #womanartist #herstory #ArtMustGrow

As part of my ongoing series ‘Fearless Women Art

As part of my ongoing series ‘Fearless Women Artists in Suits’: Chantal Akerman (1950 - 2015) - a Belgian film director, screenwriter, artist and film professor. When Akerman saw the movie ‘Pierrot le fou’ (1965) by Jean-Luc Godard at the age of 15, she immediately decided to become a filmmaker.

Akerman is often grouped within feminist and queer thinking. Still, she opposed labels related to her identity - seeing film as a ‘generative field of freedom from the boundaries of identity.’ Despite this position, she often worked with the setting of the kitchen (inherently seen as a gendered space), precisely to explore the intersection between femininity and domesticity. The kitchen provides an intimate space for connection and conversation and acts as a backdrop for the dramas of everyday life. Moreover, Akerman’s mother was central to her work; the maternal imagery can be found in all her films as a tribute and attempt to reconstruct the motherly image and voice.

Akerman was suffering from depression and allegedly died of suicide on October 5, 2015, in Paris.

📸 1) Chantal Akerman, at the 1982 Venice Film Festival, where she presented her romantic and choreographic masterwork ‘Toute une Nuit.’ Photo by Raymond Depardon / Magnum.

2) Delphine Seyrig as Jeanne Dielman. ‘Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles,’ 1975, film still © Criterion Collection.

#ChantalAkerman #Fearlesswomeninsuits #filmmaker #filmdirector #cinema #artist #screenwriter #JeanLucGodard #feminist #queer #lesbian #lesbianvisibilityweek #identity #maternal #thekitchen #mentalhealth #depression #arthistory #queeringarthistory #ArtMustGrow

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