SHAPING THE WAVE: LGTBIQ + FEMINISM

Tracers

Last Friday, February 14th, I attended the panel “ LGBTIQ + Feminism,” as a part of TRACERS TAKES ON FEMINISM at Three Walls. Tracers hosted an all-day forum in which panel discussions considered feminism’s relationship with/to the LGBTIQ community, Motherhood, and Race. The first panel, moderated by Latham Zearfoss, consisted of Jillian Soto, Daviel Shy, Frederick Moffet, Malic Amalya, Silvia Malagrino, Amina Ross, and NIC Kay.

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SHAPING THE WAVE: LGTBIQ + FEMINISM

Last Friday, February 14th, I attended the panel “ LGBTIQ + Feminism,” as a part of TRACERS TAKES ON FEMINISM at Three Walls. Tracers hosted an all-day forum in which …

Daniel Scott Parker MFA Poetry Daniel Scott Parker, danielsparker@gmail.com
600 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60605

A Moment With Ivan Gaskell

On DAY TWO: I spent the morning at Music & Visual Culture: Assessing the State of the Field and the afternoon swamped in writing for the blog. Thankfully, I had just enough time to catch the Q&A portion of Objects, Objectives, Objections: The Goals and Limits of the New Materialisms in Art History.  

I am so glad I made it.  The room was packed. Everyone in the audience had eyes locked on the panelists; the papers must have been thrilling. I caught the end of Michael Schreyach‘s excellent paper, titled New Materialism’s Renunciation of Meaning.  As best I could tell, Schreyach’s essay critiques the methods used to locate meaning and to generate value. What bad luck to have missed the entire paper! (I have since bought the recording). As Schreyach finished, moderator Ben Tilghman opened the room to questions. The audience had many.

And one question struck right to the heart of the matter:

Q: Does any interest you may have in a thing as an artwork necessarily exhaust your interest in it?

The panel needed to hear it asked once more…

Q: Does any interest you may have in a thing as an artwork necessarily exhaust your interest in it?

Ivan Gaskell (Photo by Justin Ides, Courtesy Ivan Gaskell)

Ivan Gaskell (Photo by Justin Ides, Courtesy Ivan Gaskell)

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A Moment With Ivan Gaskell

On DAY TWO: I spent the morning at Music & Visual Culture: Assessing the State of the Field and the afternoon swamped in writing for the blog. Thankfully, I had just enough …

BA Art History '13 Meg Santisi, megsantisi@gmail.com
600 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60605

The M Words: Thoughts on Motherhood and Masculinity in CAA’s feminism

During the Feminist Art Project’s series of panels themed “The M Word: Motherhood and Representation,” panelists discussed issues of maternity, the maternal body, and motherhood in art and for practicing artists. Amidst the radical reclamation of arts and family life, lactative performance art, images of the devouring Mother popularized by Disney, etc., Miriam Schaer presented her work on the stigma of women without children. While this might seem inconsistent with the theme, Schaer mentions that these seemingly contrasting states of motherhood/childlessness are illusory distractions from the larger issues at hand including how women’s bodies understood/evaluated, issues of external validation, procreation, and what it means to be a child as well as a mother.

The Feminist Art Project used the complicated issue of maternity to problematize how those who are parents, those who are not, and those in between can unite under a common but diverse feminist agenda. It revisits the crucial and continual question of how to challenge oppression in the face of a multitude of diverse and different realities. After all, arbitrary and reductive understandings of “womanhood” and “feminism” have only ever been exclusions and harmful to a vision of social justice.

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The M Words: Thoughts on Motherhood and Masculinity in CAA’s feminism

During the Feminist Art Project’s series of panels themed “The M Word: Motherhood and Representation,” panelists discussed issues of maternity, the maternal body, and motherhood in art and for practicing …

Interdisciplinary Arts and Media First Year MFA Julynn Wilderson, wilderpedia@gmail.com
600 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60605

Favorite gifs/jpgs from Exaptation and the Digital Now

The panel presentation conference format can be a little dry, even when the subject is super fascinating. (A suggestion.) But I have to say, one of the most fun panels I’ve been to this conference was Exaptation and the Digital Now, sponsored by the New Media Caucus and taking place yesterday afternoon. It was chaired by Alex Myers and Daniel Rourke, with papers presented by Zara Dinnen and Rob Gallagher, as well as Myers and Rourke.

Part of why I found this panel enjoyable in addition to interesting (I’m scared to think about that Venn diagram re: arts academia) was the playful use of still images and animated gifs. And a definition of what on earth “exaptation” actually means to those of us who are not biologists!

*Please note: the rest of this post includes animated gifs, and is not recommended for readers prone to epileptic seizures.*

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Favorite gifs/jpgs from Exaptation and the Digital Now

The panel presentation conference format can be a little dry, even when the subject is super fascinating. (A suggestion.) But I have to say, one of the most fun panels …

MFA Candidate, Interdisciplinary Arts & Media Sid Branca, sid@sidbranca.com
600 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60605

OPEN ACCESS OR BUST: A LIGHTNING POST

Ambassadors

 

For Day 2 of my CAA experience, I’m working at the Columbia College Graduate Admissions booth at the book fair. I’m stoked and totally prepared for questions like, “Are the kids in grad school cool?” “Do you learn a lot?” “Does grad school prepare you for the real world?” “Will you be rich, famous, or both after you finish?” But for the first hour, only two folks come by. “Can I have this pen?” a woman asks. The second is a tweed-vested middle-age dude with a goatee who walks up and is all, “let me fire this one at you.” (Okay.) “Is Columbia College Chicago related to Columbia University?” I look at him for a second. “I know two guys named Mike,” I tell him. “Do you think they’re related?” Well, I wish I’d actually thought of that, but I haven’t had my third cup of coffee yet. And also I have to say, they are pretty cool pens.

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OPEN ACCESS OR BUST: A LIGHTNING POST

  For Day 2 of my CAA experience, I’m working at the Columbia College Graduate Admissions booth at the book fair. I’m stoked and totally prepared for questions like, “Are …

Daniel Scott Parker MFA Poetry Daniel Scott Parker, danielsparker@gmail.com
600 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60605

The future is so bright, we gotta design better shades for everyone

What is the role of artists, creative thinkers and innovators in navigating the rapidly approaching and sometimes dismal looking future? I chatted with Mat Rappaport who is co-chairing the panel “Designing a Better Future: A Participatory Platform for Exchange.”

Co-chair Mat Rappaport. Image Courtesy of Columbia College Chicago.

Co-chair Mat Rappaport. Image Courtesy of Columbia College Chicago.

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The future is so bright, we gotta design better shades for everyone

What is the role of artists, creative thinkers and innovators in navigating the rapidly approaching and sometimes dismal looking future? I chatted with Mat Rappaport who is co-chairing the panel “Designing …

Interdisciplinary Arts and Media First Year MFA Julynn Wilderson, wilderpedia@gmail.com
600 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60605

Diana Nawi: On Regionalism in Art

Image Credit: Art21

Image Credit: Art21

Moving to Chicago from Tampa, FL in 2010 had a lot to do with my arts education and everything to do with place- looking forward to present day, this idea of place has been a valuable part of my arts education. The architectural landscape and feel of Chicago was significant in many ways. It was charming. It was steep in a particular type of cultural integrity and commitment to that. It had something to say in a language descriptive of ambitious and hustler.

What I didn’t imagine even more specific to all of these things would be becoming a part of an artistic community who’s way of thinking and modes of artistic production would translate outside of this place as a Chicago way of making a way.

I spoke with Diana Nawi on regionalism in art- after her presentation at CAA earlier this week- which for her also began as a way of thinking about contemporary art, place and site while living here in Chicago.

La Keisha Leek: Who is Diana Nawi?

Diana Nawi: I am many things, but most officially, I am an Associate Curator at the Pérez Art Museum Miami.

Perez Art Museum. Image Courtesy of Diana Nawi

Perez Art Museum. Image Courtesy of Diana Nawi

LL: Tell me about your curatorial practice.

DN: My curatorial practice is varied and responds to my institution and my context. I gravitate towards work that has a strong engagement with history and socio-politcal issues, opening up a space to re-envision what’s possible in the world, but I also find a lot of interest in the intimacies of language and the handmade. Right now I am really enjoying working with mid-career artists on producing ambitious new works–it’s great to be able to allow an artist the space and resources to expand and challenge their practice, or bring something long-term to fruition.  

Perez Art Museum interior. Image Credit: Designboom

Perez Art Museum interior. Image Credit: Designboom

LL: What brings you to CAA?

DN: I presented a paper, “Strategic Regionalism: A Proposal,” in a session on Wednesday morning, “Regionalism in Art: New Perceptions of Here” organized by Claire E. Schneider and Xandra Eden.

LL: When did Regionalism enter the discourse for you and how has that continued to inform the ways in which you approach exhibition making and thinking about contemporary art?

DN: Regionalism is something I started thinking about here in Chicago when I was working at the MCA, looking at the movements and moments that were really tied to this place. But I especially became interested in regionalism while working on the Guggenheim’s Abu Dhabi Project, where fundamental questions of what constitutes the global/local/regional fields were being addressed and assessed through curatorial work and the idea of “the region” was being continually thought through.

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. Image Credit: The Guardian

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. Image Credit: The Guardian

More recently, my time in Miami has lead me to think that a notion of regionalism, not strictly as a geography, but as a lens of interests and affinities, could be very useful in developing a broad intellectual and curatorial platform.

LL: As a curator and writer whose work extends far beyond an institution, how important do feel the role of arts education to be?

DN: Arts education is so vital to the individual and to culture and society as a whole. It’s invaluable; it helps make us creative, thoughtful, engaged citizens.

LL: In what ways does CAA’s annual conference assist in this effort for emerging art historians, curators and artists?

DN: The conference is a great moment to come together as different practitioners and exchange ideas and scholarship. I really value the opportunity to see what my peers and colleagues all over the country are working on and what conversations are happening elsewhere.

LL: What exhibitions or programs going on during CAA are you looking forward to attending while in Chicago?

DN: I’m excited to see exhibitions at the MCA, the Art Institute, and the Renaissance Society. And, there are a lot of great sessions happening here at CAA which I look forward to checking out.

Diana Nawi: On Regionalism in Art

Moving to Chicago from Tampa, FL in 2010 had a lot to do with my arts education and everything to do with place- looking forward to present day, this idea …

BA Art History '14 La Keisha Leek, La.Leek@loop.colum.edu
600 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60605

Day One: Punk, Abstraction, Cake.

Day One, A quick recap:

onthefloorjpeg

Taking Mad Notes

Taking mad amounts of notes at each session…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a full day! For energy between sessions I opted for a $3.00 bag of pretzels (!) from the Hilton gift shop, made many trips to the third floor bathrooms for those complimentary hand-exfoliants, and took a brisk walk through Grant Park (cold).

The Hilton is packed full of us art types, as we carry our black tote bags between sessions, and scan the names on badges for friends and colleagues. It helped enormously to have game-planned in advance. Knowing a bit about the panelists, their papers, and artwork allowed me to bounce around more easily between sessions and even ask a few questions.

The sessions I spent the most time at: Visual Culture Caucus: On the Industrial Sublime and Articulating Abstraction. I also caught bits of Towards A Loser’s Art History: Artistic Failure in the Long Nineteenth Century and accidentally missed (dang!) On Sampled Time: Artist’s Videos and Popular Culture. I witnessed a fiery audience-to-panel argument at Sensitive Instruments (A Painting Discussion) and moved on to cocktails with my fellow bloggers and our Columbia College sponsors Amy Mooney and Duncan Mackenzie. At the end of all that I ate a giant slice of my birthday cake and fell fast asleep…

 Here’s (just a few) things from Day One:
@ Visual Culture Caucus: On The Industrial Sublime
Day One: Punk, Abstraction, Cake.

Day One, A quick recap:                 What a full day! For energy between sessions I opted for a $3.00 bag of pretzels (!) …

BA Art History '13 Meg Santisi, megsantisi@gmail.com
600 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60605

Artists’ Videos & Popular Culture, Popular Videos & Culture’s Artists

Today I attended the panel On Sampled Time: Artists’ Videos and Popular Culture, chaired by Margot M. K. Bouman and featuring papers by Sarah Smith, Isabella L. Wallace, Solveig Nelson, and Godfre Leung. Unfortunately due to illness and weather-related travel woes, the first two papers (Smith and Wallace’s) were presented in absentia and read by the panel chair. But while this meant a less lively Q&A discussion, all the talks were really quite interesting. There was some thorough analysis of a range or artistic works engaging with (sampling, appropriation, critique of) popular culture–especially popular cinema– in the context of video and projection-based art.

What I thought I’d do for this blog post is give an overview of what works were primarily discussed, and then contribute a few recent examples of something I think is equally important: this process operating in the reverse direction, i.e. pop culture’s engagement with and sampling of the “art world”.

lady gaga artpop koons shoot

Lady Gaga being photographed by Jeff Koons. (I’ve tried to find a source to credit on this photo to no avail, sorry.)

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Artists’ Videos & Popular Culture, Popular Videos & Culture’s Artists

Today I attended the panel On Sampled Time: Artists’ Videos and Popular Culture, chaired by Margot M. K. Bouman and featuring papers by Sarah Smith, Isabella L. Wallace, Solveig Nelson, and …

MFA Candidate, Interdisciplinary Arts & Media Sid Branca, sid@sidbranca.com
600 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60605

Look What I Had for Breakfast This Morning

I’ve never been a morning person. But, I love my job as CAA blogger, and it requires waking up REALLY early with a sense of humor along with a camera and pen in hand. I’ve come to embrace an early wake-up as a key to success. I didn’t eat breakfast before heading to the Chicago Hilton before my first session which was Contemporary Black Art and the Problem of Racial Fetishism.

Jillian Hernandez was the first presenter who addressed Racial Fetish as Racial Pleasure? Reading Race-Positive Counter Pornographies in Wangechi Mutu’s The Ark Collection. Mutu’s practice involves the collaging of the gorgeous and the grotesque, distorted beauty ideals and sexual fantasies.

Represented in presentation by Jillian Hernandez

This image was presented during a presentation by Jillian Hernandez

Mutu speaks about her work in an interview on her “You Call This Civilization” exhibition:

Either the super-traditional African woman with the big earrings or scarification…or this other woman which kind of is a pin-up, a very vile erotic sexualized pinup. These two objectifications are placed together and there’s this kind of dialogue going on between them … They’re very interesting to look at but ultimately I remove the most titillating parts. The central part of the shot is removed and what you have is this synergy between the two. And I think it’s a fantastic kind of harmony that happens and it makes people reflect on both things without replicating the objectification of either one of them.

Hernandez’s transdisciplinary scholarship synthesizes methods from anthropology, art history, and cultural studies, drawn from her experiences as a girls’ educator and curator of contemporary art. Her research investigates questions regarding processes of racialization, sexualities, embodiment, girlhood, and the politics of cultural production ranging from underground and mainstream hip hop to visual and performance art.

Objectification of black women’s bodies, what an intense morning discourse. My stomach loudly communicated that I needed to leave to go get some breakfast, but each presenter offered a rousing perspective that I didn’t want to miss. Tomorrow I think I’ll have breakfast before I get to the Hilton.

Look What I Had for Breakfast This Morning

I’ve never been a morning person. But, I love my job as CAA blogger, and it requires waking up REALLY early with a sense of humor along with a camera and pen in …

InterArts Janelle Dowell, janelle.dowell@loop.colum.edu
600 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60605