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I have chosen the features this week for their impact and the strong messages they contain. We keep asking for all art to be accompanied by a feminist message. This is not done to be demanding or difficult but in order for the work to be appreciated to the full – and of course, to enable others to think about the feminist issues.
I invite you to view these images first, and then see if your understanding changes or improves when you read the messages below each one
For me, the message adds a whole other dimension to the works. Some are very short, others detailed whilst others have poems with them to explain. However it has been done these images and messages pack a powerful punch.
Congratulations to you all.
Take Me For Who I Am by © Karen Clark
"Take me for who I am. Not for who you want me to be."
to walk in your shoes by © Alenka Co (image and writing)
"to show our support
we put on your head-scarf
and we tried to walk in your shoes for one day
for you had been abused, insulted,
spat upon for wearing a head-scarf
a head-scarf that showed devotion to your faith
and respect for your tradition
and we had a faith too
a faith that said you could do this
that this was a freedom you were entitled to
and to show our respect for your faith and tradition
but mostly to show our respect for you
we wore your headscarf that day
and that day we tried to walk in your shoes"
"After September 2001, hate was unleashed on innocents. Patriotism was used as an excuse for racism. This hate took many forms. It still does today."
Masking the truth by © TamLocke
"A mask is worn by victim and abuser alike. To the outside world all will appear as it should… but no one knows what goes on behind closed doors.
It is time to toss the mask aside and speak out against Domestic Violence in all its shapes and forms.
Its time to tell the ugly truth.
Shout it if you have to.
It needs to be heard."
The Combined Maze…Violet by © Janis Zroback
"In Agatha Christie’s Memoirs she mentioned that "The Combined Maze" was one of her favourite books…it is certainly one of mine…
It was written by May Sinclair, one of my favourite novelists of the early 20th century…
Sinclair was a popular British writer who wrote about two dozen novels, short stories and poetry. She was an active suffragist, and member of the Woman Writers’ Suffrage League.
She was also a significant critic, in the area of modernist poetry and prose; the literary term ‘stream of consciousness’ is attributed to her…wiki
In the book, a bittersweet tale, Violet, described by her own father as one who "was that way" was a young woman determined to get everything life offered, including her friends lovers…as a result in the common parlance of the day she "went to the bad" and became one with the night.."
"This tiny portrait is my imagined interpretation of Violet after she left Ranny and was lost to her friends"
Speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil… Do nothing? by © Berns
"What happens when we don’t speak up ? When we refuse to ‘see’ whats going on around us ? When we refuse to speak out ?"
Read My Lips by © Sybille Sterk
Just Don’t by © Sybille Sterk
Don’t call me a witch
Don’t name me Jezebel
Don’t see me as the icy queen.
Don’t adore me as a goddess
Don’t admire me as a princess
Don’t fall at my feet
Don’t crawl in front of me.
and right here in front of you
not one thing or the other
just me as I am and want to be.
I am Rosie Real
and not just a thing to blame
for your misfortune
or ill conceived ideas.
I am Rosie Real
just full of contradictions
I am just the way
I am supposed to be.
So,
Take Me Over… by © Christina Rodriguez
"Hiding behing a mask…my life story…."
Castration by © Dokmai
"One can die because of frustration.
This is a very personal piece. This is a self-portrait.
My right hand is clutching around my neck. The message is clear: I’m suffocating myself, symbolically of course. Many decisions we take every day bring us to a condition of frustration and we may be aware of this but we won’t do anything about this.
My left hand is stabbing my bosom and my heart. This has a double meaning: on one side this is a castration, the refusal of gender identification. Lately I feel more and more this identification as a burden. I see many women around me bound to their roles, because of their biological sex. The knife is also stabbing my heart, this is obviously strictly personal, but I think other people can relate to this symbolically.
The flowers are camellias, they’re are the symbol of the sudden end of blooming life. I feel my youth is coming to an end and that I have to decide now what kind of person I want to be.
The moon is a feminine symbol. It embraces me, protecting me in some way but also challenging me. It is not a full moon, because I still don’t feel completely aware of my womanhood. At first I wanted it to be waxing, because of the positive meaning, but than I thought that what I actually want is to explore the hidden side of the dark moon, what I want right now is a neutrality without definition, that’s why I cut my hair."
Self Portrait: Into the Light by © Jenifer DeBellis (image and poem)
"She takes it all in,
these fragments of a world
she must face head on.
She watches, and sees
through a scope
now unfogging and becoming
clear. Can she see past
the fear to step all the way
into the light? She might
be ready, but can’t I just
keep her safe a little longer?"
Self Portrait, Abstract Sculpture by © Christina Rodriguez
"A self portrait, my daughters and I…A very emotional piece for me depicting the stress I often feel as a struggling mom. Often feeling bounded, emotionless to all except my children…but despite it all my children are always with me, they are my inspiration for all I do…
The pink fleshy part at the bottom, representing my cesarean I had with both my children…very traumatic experience for me, each operation took almost a year to heal from…"
dress, 2011 by © Thelma Van Rensburg
"This work signifies the boxes that woman are placed in since time began. The barbie head, perfume bottle, measuring tape and dress patterning refers to the box used to do this."
Like A Broken Doll by © MotleyChloe
"older piece again, one of a series on vanity..."
I invite you to view these images first, and then see if your understanding changes or improves when you read the messages below each one
For me, the message adds a whole other dimension to the works. Some are very short, others detailed whilst others have poems with them to explain. However it has been done these images and messages pack a powerful punch.
Congratulations to you all.
Take Me For Who I Am by © Karen Clark
"Take me for who I am. Not for who you want me to be."
to walk in your shoes by © Alenka Co (image and writing)
"to show our support
we put on your head-scarf
and we tried to walk in your shoes for one day
for you had been abused, insulted,
spat upon for wearing a head-scarf
a head-scarf that showed devotion to your faith
and respect for your tradition
and we had a faith too
a faith that said you could do this
that this was a freedom you were entitled to
and to show our respect for your faith and tradition
but mostly to show our respect for you
we wore your headscarf that day
and that day we tried to walk in your shoes"
"After September 2001, hate was unleashed on innocents. Patriotism was used as an excuse for racism. This hate took many forms. It still does today."
Masking the truth by © TamLocke
"A mask is worn by victim and abuser alike. To the outside world all will appear as it should… but no one knows what goes on behind closed doors.
It is time to toss the mask aside and speak out against Domestic Violence in all its shapes and forms.
Its time to tell the ugly truth.
Shout it if you have to.
It needs to be heard."
The Combined Maze…Violet by © Janis Zroback
"In Agatha Christie’s Memoirs she mentioned that "The Combined Maze" was one of her favourite books…it is certainly one of mine…
It was written by May Sinclair, one of my favourite novelists of the early 20th century…
Sinclair was a popular British writer who wrote about two dozen novels, short stories and poetry. She was an active suffragist, and member of the Woman Writers’ Suffrage League.
She was also a significant critic, in the area of modernist poetry and prose; the literary term ‘stream of consciousness’ is attributed to her…wiki
In the book, a bittersweet tale, Violet, described by her own father as one who "was that way" was a young woman determined to get everything life offered, including her friends lovers…as a result in the common parlance of the day she "went to the bad" and became one with the night.."
"This tiny portrait is my imagined interpretation of Violet after she left Ranny and was lost to her friends"
Speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil… Do nothing? by © Berns
"What happens when we don’t speak up ? When we refuse to ‘see’ whats going on around us ? When we refuse to speak out ?"
Read My Lips by © Sybille Sterk
Just Don’t by © Sybille Sterk
Don’t put me in a cageDon’t cast me as a bitch
Don’t slide me in a drawer
Don’t label me
Don’t shut me in a box.
Don’t call me a witch
Don’t name me Jezebel
Don’t see me as the icy queen.
Don’t adore me as a goddess
Don’t admire me as a princess
Don’t fall at my feet
Don’t crawl in front of me.
Don’t put me in a cageI am Rosie Real
Don’t slide me in a drawer
Don’t label me
Don’t shut me in a box.
and right here in front of you
not one thing or the other
just me as I am and want to be.
I am Rosie Real
and not just a thing to blame
for your misfortune
or ill conceived ideas.
I am Rosie Real
just full of contradictions
I am just the way
I am supposed to be.
So,
Don’t put me in a cage
Don’t slide me in a drawer
Don’t label me
Don’t shut me in a box.
Don’t dare.
Take Me Over… by © Christina Rodriguez
"Hiding behing a mask…my life story…."
Castration by © Dokmai
"One can die because of frustration.
This is a very personal piece. This is a self-portrait.
My right hand is clutching around my neck. The message is clear: I’m suffocating myself, symbolically of course. Many decisions we take every day bring us to a condition of frustration and we may be aware of this but we won’t do anything about this.
My left hand is stabbing my bosom and my heart. This has a double meaning: on one side this is a castration, the refusal of gender identification. Lately I feel more and more this identification as a burden. I see many women around me bound to their roles, because of their biological sex. The knife is also stabbing my heart, this is obviously strictly personal, but I think other people can relate to this symbolically.
The flowers are camellias, they’re are the symbol of the sudden end of blooming life. I feel my youth is coming to an end and that I have to decide now what kind of person I want to be.
The moon is a feminine symbol. It embraces me, protecting me in some way but also challenging me. It is not a full moon, because I still don’t feel completely aware of my womanhood. At first I wanted it to be waxing, because of the positive meaning, but than I thought that what I actually want is to explore the hidden side of the dark moon, what I want right now is a neutrality without definition, that’s why I cut my hair."
Self Portrait: Into the Light by © Jenifer DeBellis (image and poem)
"She takes it all in,
these fragments of a world
she must face head on.
She watches, and sees
through a scope
now unfogging and becoming
clear. Can she see past
the fear to step all the way
into the light? She might
be ready, but can’t I just
keep her safe a little longer?"
Self Portrait, Abstract Sculpture by © Christina Rodriguez
"A self portrait, my daughters and I…A very emotional piece for me depicting the stress I often feel as a struggling mom. Often feeling bounded, emotionless to all except my children…but despite it all my children are always with me, they are my inspiration for all I do…
The pink fleshy part at the bottom, representing my cesarean I had with both my children…very traumatic experience for me, each operation took almost a year to heal from…"
dress, 2011 by © Thelma Van Rensburg
"This work signifies the boxes that woman are placed in since time began. The barbie head, perfume bottle, measuring tape and dress patterning refers to the box used to do this."
Like A Broken Doll by © MotleyChloe
"older piece again, one of a series on vanity..."
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