judith shimer

What's With the Fat vs. Thin War?

2012-02-09T10:51:00.009-05:00

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It sucks to be told your body isn't right. Sucks if you're fat, sucks if you're thin, sucks if it's the color of your skin, or the shape of your boobs, or your muscle mass, or whatever. And unlucky for us, everyone and God has an opinion on your body.

Let's just start with a collective: FUCK YOU.

On the other hand, the implication--and the terrible truth--is that although everyone hates getting shit about their body, for some reason no one seems to have a problem doling this shit on everyone else.

It started with the posters admonishing fat women for being whales.
Then we get the posters admonishing skinny women for being anorexic.
Then we get the well-meaning health people saying don't be fat OR thin!
Then we get the real-women-have-curves backlash with help from Adele,
And finally we get the all bodies are beautiful posters...
...And just as quickly we loop back to the beginning as thin people rush to criticize fat people's health choices, because it's dangerous to make women feel good about themselves, so we're doing them a service.

Let's get this straight. Once and for all.

YOU are only responsible for YOUR BODY.
YOU only have the right to judge YOUR BODY.
You do NOT have the right to judge ANYONE ELSE'S BODY.
You do NOT know why that fat person is fat.
You do NOT know why that skinny person is skinny.
You are not HELPING people or making them HEALTHIER by putting down their bodies.
It is not your BUSINESS to know why other people have certain body types.
It is ONLY your business to care for YOUR OWN BODY.

Now that we all understand these rules, we can all finally get along. Now that there are no awful offensive advertisements and Internet memes, we can stop hating ourselves. We can start judging our health by the performance, rather than the shape, of our bodies.

...Oh wait, I forgot no one gives a shit about making the world a better place for women.

I Love Happy-Go-Lucky

2012-02-05T08:12:00.004-05:00

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I was first introduced to Happy-Go-Lucky by a Target Women episode about chick flicks, which made me totally not inclined to go see it, because I fucking love Sarah Haskins and trust her.

Especially 'cause as I watched the awful preview, I thought, "Uh oh, there's a name for characters like Poppy: Manic Pixie Dream Girl." (If you've been on the Internet, you've probably heard this term already.) You know, Natalie Portman in Garden State. Sigh.

As a feminist I hate MPDGs because

1. they're infantilized women
2. they don't grow or learn or change or other human things like that
3. they exist solely as a muse for some bummed-out guy

...And thus, I was shocked and delighted when I was forced to watch Happy-Go-Lucky on a bus to New York and discovered Poppy isn't an MPDG! Thank god.

It's as if writer/director Mike Leigh took pity on all those shallow, idiotic MPDGs and decided to take one and make her a real person and give her her own film. She's still quirky and energetic, but

1. she's an adult: she's smart and has a demanding job that she's very good at
2. she has the dynamism of a real human: when it's time to be serious, she's serious
3. she pursues her own interests, hangs out with other women, and spends most of the movie single and happy

In fact, when she does meet a guy near the end, it's just kind of a bonus, and she spends the last frames of the movie not in his arms, but in a boat with her best girlfriend.

Which reminds me, her relationship with Zoe is one of the most beautiful things I've seen in a film. It's no surprise when her creepy driving instructor Scott assumes they're banging, and she totally lets him:

Poppy: "She's gorgeous. I love her."
Scott: "What do you mean, you love her?"
Poppy: "I mean, I love her, she loves me, we love each other. You got a problem with that, Scott?"
Scott: "No... Nothing to do with me."
Poppy: "Yeah, I don't think it is."

Yeah, you tell him, Poppy! WHY, WHY are there so few strong, affectionate relationships between women in contemporary film? Like, Thelma and Louise, and, I mean, I can't even think of any others right now.

(Also, the driving instructor plotline (the movie has several; it's episodic) did not go in the direction I thought it would.)

So, the movie passes the Bechdel test with flying colors and is cute and will give you all kinds of feelings, so, watch it.

When Did I Turn Feminist?

2012-02-02T20:35:00.004-05:00

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When I was fifteen, I heard a pastor say this:

"Some churches have started making woman pastors. Now, men and women have unique roles, different, but equally important. Boy Scout troops also have roles: you've got the troop leader, and the Boy Scouts. Just because the Boy Scouts look up to and follow the troop leader, doesn't mean they aren't important too. But such it is with men and women. Men are leaders. Women need men to guide and protect them, just like a troop leader. That's why men become pastors, and women do not. A woman's role is to serve and obey her husband, to bear him children and care for them. Now, when a woman wants to be a pastor, it means she wants to be a leader. The Devil tempts us towards unnatural things, and God did not create woman to be a leader. That is why our church will not be making any woman pastors."

And I looked around the room and saw everyone, impressionable teenage boys and girls, nodding gravely, and I was like, "This. Is. Major. Bullshit." And when I walked out of church, I was a feminist.

I wanted to tell this story in the hopes that someday, somehow, that guy will stumble upon this blog, read this story, recognize his words, and be like, "Oh shit, I made that girl a feminist."

The end.

What About Porn?

2012-01-27T11:41:00.004-05:00

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Yeah, I watch porn sometimes. Probably like, every couple of weeks. It's a bit of an event. The thing is, I have to space it out because good porn is near fucking impossible to come by, and the effort of searching for it depresses the shit out of me, because of all the crap I have to wade through.

So what's the deal with feminists and porn?
Most feminists don't object to the concept of porn. But the reality of porn is another story. Porn, for some reason, is almost exclusively marketed towards men.

Now if you really think women don't like to masturbate, or all have low sex drives, or just care about marriage, you may have never met a woman. But it is truer than true that many women feel uncomfortable fulfilling their 100% natural urges because:

a. Social pressure tells us female satisfaction is unimportant and kinda weird, and
b. The crap we have to jerk off to is SO not made for us.

Did you know the MPAA threatened to give Boys Don't Cry an "X" rating because Chloe Sevigny's orgasm was too long? What the fuck is up with that? You're just looking at her face the whole time. I tell you, America can't handle it. (I'm sure it didn't help that a transman was providing her with that orgasm, because America definitely, definitely cannot handle transpeople.)

Speaking of which, for those of you who yearn for porn that doesn't include shaved sex-doll-like women getting facials from a bunch of paunchy guys on silk sheets under 3000 watt bulbs, check out BeautifulAgony.com. It's just people's faces while they get happy. All genders, colors, sizes, and sexual orientations included.

ETA: Someday, when I have more energy, I'll go over why mainstream porn is not just sucky, but also bad for society. Stay tuned.

Troll Policy

2012-01-13T17:57:00.004-05:00

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Important: I don't coddle trolls. If you seem well-meaning, I may engage with you for a little while. But I operate a zero-tolerance policy for the following things:

- Making light of, telling jokes about, or making excuses for rape/rapists
- Accusations that I or anyone else are crazy, hysterical, blowing things out of proportion, getting upset about nothing, etc.
- Personal attacks on me or anyone else writing here
- Being too much of a douche

If I find you committing any of these unacceptable crimes (and when the situation's hazy, I make the call, not you), your comments will be removed, you'll be banned, and after you're gone I'll repost your comments tearing them to shreds, and everyone will laugh at you.

You have been warned.

My Bottom Line on Abortion

2012-01-13T16:11:00.012-05:00

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Paraphrase of something a dude said to me today:

"Who cares about abortion? It wouldn't even be an issue if girls would stop being so stupid and learn to use birth control."

Well, if that isn't the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

1. It takes a man AND a woman to make a baby.
Hang on, why is it the woman's sole responsibility to use birth control? I mean, the cheapest, easiest method is the condom, which goes on the guy's junk.

2. All birth control has a fail rate.
Especially if some guy is keeping expired condoms in his wallet. That shit disintegrates if you give it a few rubs.

3. Um, rape.
Unfortunately, we live in this sick, horrific society where 33% of college men admit they'd rape if they knew they wouldn't get caught,* 25% think rape is fine if the guy paid for the meal,** and between 6% and 20% have actually committed rape but will only admit it if you don't use the R word.***

4. Every other totally valid reason for women to get an abortion.
The woman discovers, after getting pregnant, that having a baby would likely kill her. The woman discovers that the fetus is sick and, if born, would live a few torturous hours, then die. The woman knows she can't support a baby or raise a child and has no family to help her.

5. ...Plus any other reason, 'cause it's her fucking body.
I'm done here.

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* Malamuth, N.M. (1986). Predictors of Natural Sexual Aggression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 953-962.
** Muehlenhard, C.L., Friedman, D.E. & Thomas, C.M. (1985). Is Date Rape Justifiable? Psychology of Women Quarterly, 9, 297-310
***Koss M.P., Dinero, T.E., Seibel, C.A. Stranger and acquaintance rape: Are there differences in the victim's experience? Psychology of Women Quarterly. 1988:12:1-24. AND Malamuth N.M. Rape proclivity among males. J Soc Issues. 1981;37:138-157.

Why The "Little" Stuff is Big Stuff

2012-01-13T12:07:00.035-05:00

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In response to some guy blabbing on about the holiness of Ron Paul, my incredible friend Andrew Neutzling said this:

Unjust imperialist wars, censorship, and illegally killing and detaining citizens are NOT new trends in American history. Environmental protections, safety and health laws, civil rights legislation, and abortion rights are. Personally, I'm not willing to give up the progress of the 20th century for the mere chance of a new set of reforms.

Let me break down the awesomeness. First, know that there are multiple reasons why I don't support Ron Paul.

(Mostly, I think Libertarian politics are misguided. True, the Federal government doesn't help us out any when it's corrupt, but I don't think the solution is to reduce or eliminate the Federal government, but rather to expose and eradicate corruption so it can do its job better.)

All other things aside, the reason it's never even crossed my mind to support Ron Paul is that he's anti-choice, and as a radical pro-choice feminist, that is just never happening.

But Ron Paul says he's gonna end the wars. Is a woman's right to choose really that big of an issue when war is at stake?
Here's where Andrew hit the nail on the head:

WAR IS ALWAYS A PROBLEM.
And everyone swears they're going to fix it.
And I don't fucking believe any of them. Just because Ron Paul made it his pet issue doesn't mean any of us have any reason to believe he will actually be the godsend president who will end all wars.

Every time we elect someone, we take a risk, put our faith in that person and trust they'll live up to their promises. The good promises, we hope they keep. But when it comes to bad promises, like revoking Roe v. Wade, prosecuting abortion providers and letting states choose the penalty (see RP's website for details), I'm not going to take the risk that he'll follow through 'cause his other promises sound so fairytale awesome.

You're Not an Artist, You're a GIRL

2012-01-09T10:03:00.026-05:00

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"I can always tell if the artist is a girl."

This assertion was purportedly made by a professor I know at my school. I wasn't there; a friend who took a class with him last semester told me the story. It's believable, though, for two reasons:

1. I know this guy and he is One Of Those Guys.
2. Back in undergrad, people used to get into these serious debates about whether girl art looks universally girly.

Apparently it's something lots of people care about. Welcome to patriarchy.

Okay:

Q. Is this statement true?
A. Duh, no. You don't have a special sixth sense that tells you whether the person who crafted an inanimate object had exterior or interior genitalia. "But girls are the ones who make art with like knitted girly stuff, you know, like this, right?" Oh wait, that's Mike Kelley.

Q. But women are more likely than men to use knitting or quilting, right?
A. Except the original comment was made to a painter, about her paintings OF DISASTERS. You know, shards of steel, burnt cars, fire, stuff like that. Totally girly, I know, right!? Okay, being serious for a second, it makes total sense that some women will gravitate towards traditional feminine materials, because that's our history. But this is a fraction of women artists. From "Women are somewhat more likely to use yarn" to "I can always tell when art was made by a girl" is a stupid jump.

Q. By the way, it's totally okay to refer to grown women as "girls", right?
A. No. Imagine if the professor had said, "I can always tell if the artist is a boy." Grown women are women. Girls are children. If you want to keep women second-class citizens, it's useful to imply that grown women are children. (According to some of my undergrad professors, it was unacceptable to call women "girls" when they were in college in the '60s and '70s and feminism was really picking up speed. Apparently nobody cares anymore, because we're post-sexism or something. Ooh, maybe it's ironic, like rape jokes!)

Q. Besides it being a stupid false claim, and implies women are children, what's so unfeminist about it?
A. In case you need another reason: it's only necessary to point out that a GIRL made the work because by default, art is made by men.

Let's recap:

Nobody has the ability to magically know the gender of the artist. If the art is a quilt, you can make an educated guess (and still might be wrong), but otherwise, you're kidding yourself. If you claim to have this special power, you are definitely a stupid misogynist.

Fun fact: Women are grossly under-represented in the New York art scene. The most recent data I could find is from 2005 and 2006, when respectively 19% and 23% of solo shows in New York were of women artists, but a quick walk around Chelsea shows no noticeable change. That's an improvement of approximately NONE since the mid-'70s, when feminism supposedly fixed the sexism problem (so quit complaining already, say the misogynists). This is despite MORE women going to school to become artists. The educational institutions will take your money, but good luck having a career, ladies.

New Years Feminism 101

2011-12-31T11:37:00.006-05:00

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Since I have a real website for art now, and have written feminist tirades here before, I decided to convert this blog into a feminist tirade blog.

You know what puts a damper on my Internet-surfing experience? Stupid Yahoo articles. If I could make a seriously unscientific guess, approximately 100% of Yahoo articles are stupid, and some other large percent of them are sexist. I'm sure this is no surprise to anyone. But since this is New Years Feminism 101, I'll start with something easy.

Behold: Makeup Women Love but Men Hate.

1) Let's start with this sentence:

Glitter: 'Women need to be judicious with it,' says Cury. 'It's like any good seasoning. You shouldn't shake it all over. It can overwhelm the main course.' That being said, he's not opposed to a heavy sprinkle of cleavage glitter. Figures.

Here we go with the women-as-food thing. Can you think of a better analogy for the dehumanization of women than as meat for consumption? Meat that we expect to be perfectly seasoned, or else it becomes inedible and therefore worthless?

2) Why do so many of the male "experts" quoted in this piece work for Maxim? I don't give a shit what the staff at Maxim care about my face. Even when I was wearing lots of makeup and dating guys exclusively, I still didn't care. One of the experts is from the Good Men Project, which according to its website, is supposed to be an enlightened alternative to magazines like Maxim. This is a laughable claim I think I'll cover in another post. Suffice it to say that participating in this piece is already a big strike against them.

3) Why does the writer, Piper Weiss, assume all women who wear makeup are doing it to attract men? Maybe she does, since she wrote the article, but has she ever heard of lesbians? Now I do have my own radical opinions on why we wear makeup, but the compulsion for women to wear makeup is much more complicated than, "This is what guys want."

4) According to the title, as a woman, I must love these styles, and all men must hate them, which is just false. I find most of these styles unattractive. Conversely, and I think I can play man here for a second since I'm attracted to women, but sometimes bold eyeshadow is sexy. If a woman came up to me wearing bold eye shadow, and she was cool and into me and I found her attractive in other ways and we talked about Radiolab for awhile, there'd probably be doing-it. IN FACT, if a woman fit all those lovely qualities and had uneven foundation, there'd probably still be doing-it, because ultimately, some bit of makeup I don't like is not enough to put a damper on my sexy urges. I'm going to hazard a guess that plenty of guys feel the same way.

Of course the whole point of that is, SO WHAT if some people--male or female--find these makeup styles unattractive? Some find it attractive, namely the women wearing them. It's pretty much 2012. Why are we still ragging on women for what they do with their bodies, as if it's any of our business, or as if it makes those women bad people, or non-people, or failed meatloaf?

New Website

2011-10-20T21:51:00.001-04:00

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Just in case anyone follows this, please stop it and start looking here:

www.judithshimer.com

Thank you.

Listening Performance

2011-09-19T13:07:00.001-04:00

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Here's something that happened.

Pink Drawings

2011-05-11T21:32:00.000-04:00

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I've started doing these more and more.

Graduate School

2011-04-08T13:57:00.004-04:00

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Pleased to announce I'll be attending Brooklyn's Pratt Institute this fall to earn an MFA in Fine Art with a concentration in New Forms.

First Three Mouths

2011-03-19T19:16:00.004-04:00

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These are the first three mouths in the series. Four, five and six in progress, will be posted soon. Seven through 36 not started yet.

Currently these three are on display at the Beverly Cooperative Bank, subsequent to being part of a Montserrat Alumni show at Ursa Major, also in Beverly Mass.

Help Yourself

2011-03-19T19:04:00.005-04:00

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The following is a two-and-a-half week project. All original drawings were in my sketchbook; these are re-drawings.

I didn't feel good, so every day I drew how I felt that day, then thought of a reason why I like myself.

Recent Videos

2011-01-02T09:48:00.002-05:00

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Here are two recent videos: "Plain," a stop-action music video as The Sneaky Mister; and "Girls," another music video as The Sneaky Mister (NSFW).

Performance Videos

2011-01-02T09:45:00.002-05:00

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Hiya, here is a recent video performance called "Grow Up."

And here are three documented performances of "Collective Song" from 2009. Performance #2 is not represented.

Circuit Bodies

2011-01-02T09:42:00.001-05:00

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Here are some self-portraits.

Lino Prints

2011-01-02T09:39:00.002-05:00

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I recently got into linoleum prints. They're GREAT. I use easy Speedball linoleum, cuts just like butter.

AAAHHH

2010-09-25T12:55:00.004-04:00

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Painting of my mouth making an AAAHHH sound.

PRETTY

2010-09-11T17:14:00.007-04:00

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"You are a homely virgin. Also, I'm standing in your studio right now -- not impressed."

"Why are your eyes crossed?"
"Did you guys not have dental insurance when you were a kid?"
"Don't tease Judith. You know she's."
"Your mouth looks like it got hit by a truck."
"You have a huge chin."
"You should probably dye your hair. You look too pale."
"You have an Adam's apple, like a guy."
"I've never seen anyone with a nose like yours."
"It's weird when the messed-up half of your face is on the other side."
"Did you know you have a bald spot?"
"What's wrong with your legs?"
"When are you going to get braces?"
"You remind me of a parrot."
"You remind me of an ostrich."
"Stop smiling. You're scaring me."
"Smile!"
"This is the funniest thing I've seen in my life."
"lol elle a une craque dans le milieu des dents"

Makeup: Opinions of a Self-Identifying Radical Feminist

2010-06-14T20:28:00.006-04:00

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This is in response to the following statement by Rikki Beaupre because I'm not great at responding to things succinctly.

I see how women and men use makeup as parallel to how artists make art: it's important how you feel about your own art, but it's equally important to understand the context in which we make art. If you're an artist, this probably needs zero further explanation, but if you're not, the basic idea is that if you make a large neon screen print of Elvis, you better know your stuff about Andy Warhol; and if you make a painting showing a child dead of a shotgun wound, you better be ready to have people talk about war, and be ready to join that conversation.

In short: One's PERSONAL feelings about makeup are incomplete without considering the SOCIAL FORCE of makeup.

And what is the social force of makeup?

Let's start with a statement everyone should be able to agree on: Women are encouraged to wear makeup; men are discouraged from wearing makeup. This is supported by turning on the television, walking down Newbury Street, doing pretty much anything. Virtually ALL (if not literally all) cosmetics commercials are directed at women. Some men wear makeup, but not only are they in the minority, it's often considered a statement of rebellion, which I will address more thoroughly in a minute.

The reason why women are encouraged to wear makeup is because part of our purpose in society is to be looked at. Women are what radical feminists call the sex class--our primary function is to be sex objects (see: prostitution, disembodied boobs, strippers, the sad and terrifying prevalence of rape), and what feminism has been trying to do for at least the past century is NOT just allow us to do the same things that men do, but to eradicate the notion that we're also objects to be consumed by men. If we do all the same things that men do, but are still sex objects, feminism has not succeeded yet. (By the way, in case anyone hasn't been keeping tally, we have NOT yet achieved equality with men. Legally in the United States and some other countries, we are permitted to do everything that men do, as far as is biologically possible; but we are not SOCIALLY permitted to do the same things, and in many countries women are still legally inferior.)

The reason why men are discouraged from wearing makeup is homophobia (also, well, there's simply no need, because men are not a sex class and it matters much less what they look like. See: ratio of men's fashion to women's fashion. Some people consider face-shaving a comparable issue, but it's much less culturally horrifying when a man grows a beard than it is when a woman grows armpit hair). Homophobia is inextricably linked with sexism, because the threat of a gay man is the threat of a man who has debased himself to the level of a woman. Homophobia has its impact because women are considered a lower class. Homophobia will not die until feminism has succeeded; feminism will not succeed until we fully understand that gender is a social construct—yes, we have different plumbing, and different hormones, but nowhere in our genes does it say girls wear pink and boys wear blue, girls cook and boys drive trucks, men wear suits and women wear stockings and makeup. And I believe that a man wearing makeup is, whether or not he sees it this way, a feminist on some level, because he is challenging gender norms.

So what are the personal benefits of wearing makeup?

Well, I used to be a makeup addict. And here's how I felt about it: it made me feel artistic and creative, and it made me feel sexy. It didn't make me feel oppressed at the time.

But I'm serious about being an addict. Feminism for me has been like leaving the Matrix. Once I digested the social implications of makeup-wearing, I had to wean myself off with lip gloss, and the post-makeup world was grim for awhile. My self-esteem was just as bad as it was before, but I had no way of fixing it. Except now, I realized that makeup was masking my real problem, which was that society was compelling me to actually CARE what people thought about my face. Not having makeup wasn't the problem; living in a society that necessitates makeup is.

In conclusion, there's no such thing as the perfect feminist because we don't live in a feminist world; even I, a self-proclaimed radical feminist, do and say unfeminist things sometimes because they're unavoidable. Some of these things are by accident (like laughing at a sexist joke); some are on purpose, because I like to do them (like wearing pencil skirts); some of them are on purpose because I feel a social pressure to do them (like shaving my legs and wearing makeup to a job interview, which I did earlier this week, and it made me feel like shit).

I don't, won't, wouldn't ever ban anyone from the world of feminism because of what they put on their face. I don't have the authority to do so; I don't have the desire to do so; since I too do things that don't align with radical feminism, it would be hypocrisy to do so. My beef isn't whether someone likes accentuating her eyes, because it's our right as women to do what we feel like doing. My beef is a culture that makes women feel like we need makeup.

And my goal as a radical feminist is to navigate through a society that is determined to shove me into a niche; to make me feel bad about my body whenever I see an advertisement; to make me ashamed of my sexuality; to make me feel inferior, submissive, and powerless next to the men and women who conform to the social rules. My goal as a feminist ACTIVIST is to speak up about these feelings and experiences, and hopefully to lend someone a broader perspective on social norms which might not seem like a big deal on their own, but in the bigger picture have a huge impact on each and every one of us.

Commute

2009-05-15T17:41:00.004-04:00

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Last fall I drew a book called Commute. I dismantled a computer hard drive and made several hundred ink-and-brush drawings of its guts in under a minute each. I sorted, culled and ordered the sheaf of drawings and added a narrative.

It's now available for purchase on Lulu.com: $12 for the book, $6.25 for a download (seems kind of strange, but why not?).

Senior Exhibition Group #3 Video -- Ethan Berry

2009-05-15T15:58:00.003-04:00

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This is a video of my senior exhibition opening, filmed by Ethan Berry, director of Senior Fine Arts Seminar at Montserrat.

Fibonacci Thesis Show at Montserrat College of Art

More photos and videos to come...and this is Ethan's video of the first installment of Collective Song, a different performance of the same piece that's at the end of the above video.

Song Project at Montserrat Gallery

Look and Say

2009-04-23T21:10:00.004-04:00

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Look and Say, 2009
A collaboration with Forest Christenson

Process:

We began with the first three perfect squares: 1, 4 and 9.

We applied the look-and-say mathematical sequence to each number ten times.

We aligned the sequences in three rows.

We trimmed the longer sequences to create 73 three-integer columns.

The first row (9-sequence) signifies pitch and color, with each whole number representing a half step on the chromatic scale (with 0 representing C) and intervals of roughly 36 nanometers in wavelength.

The second row (4-sequence) signifies volume and intensity, with each whole number representing 1/10s of a decibel and 1/4 of the distance between a predetermined low and high color intensity.

The third row (1-sequence) signifies length in 1/10s of a second.

We used Audacity and Final Cut Express to generate a sine wave and color fill for all 73 three-integer columns.

The Alphabet -- Music Video

2009-04-18T13:43:00.002-04:00

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This is a recent video I filmed, along with Forest Christenson (violin), directed, and edited. It's for my band's upcoming EP Scarlet Starlet (due out May 1st). This is my second commercially-oriented directing project.

Installation #4

2009-04-01T16:02:00.003-04:00

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This is a video from the latest and final studio installation.

Untitled, 2009

From now on the studio space is devoted to preparing for the group exhibition the week of April 27th.

The End of 2008

2009-03-30T14:23:00.010-04:00

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A small selection of studio work from fall 2008.

Untitled, 2008
sliced-up serial cable, bedsheet

Untitled, 2008
digital photograph

Untitled, 2008
digital photograph

Untitled, 2008
sliced-up serial cable, fitted sheet elastic

Untitled, 2008
soundtrack to Disney's Anastasia, bureau handle

Word + Image

2009-03-25T19:43:00.003-04:00

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Citrasolv transfer and pen. Images from a nice selection of awful magazines. All words from Vogue.

Selections from Sketchbook Spring '09

2009-03-25T19:32:00.005-04:00

Images from Sculpture Across Currents '09

2009-03-25T19:11:00.004-04:00

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Allison Hornak, winner of both Juror's Pick and Best in Show, with her installation.

Installation view of my piece, Untitled Installation Imitating Musical Composition.

Hanging sculpture by Kristen Coppa.

Chelsea Rogoff with her piece Self Portrait as the Fountain of Youth.

The crowd.

Selections from Sketchbook Spring '09

2009-03-08T18:12:00.005-04:00

Installation #3

2009-02-25T15:48:00.005-05:00

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Untitled, 2009
found objects

Third studio installation. The lighting is great! It's just the overhead fluorescents. Neato.

Sculpture Across Currents '09

2009-02-25T13:33:00.008-05:00

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Untitled Installation Imitating Music Composition, 2009
bedsheets, thread, mirror, window, dry erase marker

This is the piece I have in the school's Sculpture Across Currents show, opening tonight, Wednesday 25 February at the 301 Gallery, Montserrat College of Art. It was juried by Caroline Bagenal, Chelsea Sams and Bart Uchida.

Installation #2

2009-02-01T15:39:00.001-05:00

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Untitled, 2009
found objects

Second studio installation for the semester. Below is a mirror with a drawing of a whale on it, thus (click to enlarge, as usual):

Installation #1

2009-01-20T13:46:00.001-05:00

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Untitled, 2009
charcoal, pastel, found objects

First installation of the semester. Location: my studio. References "Grey-Machine" by the band Pinback.

Dream #2

2008-06-09T00:48:00.000-04:00

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Last night, I dreamt it was the 1860s, and there was a girl about 17 years old who was a werewolf. She and her family of sisters lived on a medium-size island of about 200 inhabitants; it was rocky and barren, chronically overcast and the waves were treacherous.

I was reading about her in a book I found in a little dusty bookstore. There were tales of a teenage older brother convincing his pubescent little sister that her budding breasts were a sign she was evil and dying--so she threw herself off a cliff onto a rocky plain near the sea, and the werewolf-girl came and ate her heart.

Three of the werewolf-girl's sisters wanted to join her (in my dream, werewolves, like vampires, are immortal). She agreed (this scene took place, like pretty much everything else, on the gray crags by the sea), and walked a few yards away, and looked down at the ground. Pale fingers began poking up through the rocks, bit by bit, thirty of them, and then the girls emerged; looking back to where they once stood, their former, mortal bodies were slumped dead on the ground.

Dream #1

2008-05-23T17:34:00.000-04:00

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Last night I dreamt I was a month or two pregnant (and showing already), and was explaining to some friends that I was getting an abortion.

A gray-haired waspy woman overheard me, and pulled me aside afterward, asking in a motherly way, "Dear, does your husband know what you plan to do?"

"My husband? I'm not married," I said. "Marriage is an outdated social institution that encourages the oppression of women."

She stared at me for a moment, then walked away.