She’s a woman, she’s a feminist, she’s an artist. And she believes in changes. And truth.
falling out all over - brenda oelbaum
Q: Do you consider yourself a feminist artist? And what’s your opinion about all-female exhibitions or other activities focused on the so called “female art”: something advantegeous (a further possibility to show artistical achievements, for women) or counterproductive ( sending the subtle message that those same women can affirm themselves as artists only inside this kind of “protected area”) ?
I most definitely consider myself a feminist artist.
I think very highly of “all female” exhibitions and other activities that focus on the work of women artists. The playing field is by no means equal and in a time when ” feminist ” and “feminism” is still considered a negative term, I think there is most definitely a need for those kinds of exhibitions and activities to continue. I find it horrifying the amount of first wave feminists and even the young women artists today who refuse to be involved in such shows or call themselves feminists, because they feel that they are being marginalized by that terminology…that is bull shit and shows their lack of understanding and the history that was made in the early 60′s and 70′s by the women that came before them. We are erasing our herstory ourselves in many cases. I heard just recently about an artist who was invited to receive the prestigious honor of a Women’s Caucus for Art Life Time Achievement Award who declined because she will not received an award that is not given to men as well. There’s no fool like an old fool.
I think the new wave of feminists as I see it are not so interested to sit at the table with their male counterparts but to build their own table. To reach further in their work then the self centered egotistical male-centric goals. Women today ( whether they will describe themselves as feminists or not ) are working on a global level, in an activist, service and goal oriented way. Stretching the early concepts of community projects to actually create global change and bring national attention to global issues that not only serve other women but the world as a whole. Issues of water rights, hunger, immigration, issues that are not merely self serving but universal in scope and power.
Calling yourself a feminist and showing in only women’s shows is by no means safe…we continue to be looked down upon…I think it takes a brave artist to call themselves a feminist today. I’m sorry that there are so few that would do that. I think if you born with a vagina you are a feminist, of course many others can join us…there is strength in numbers and there are indeed male feminists but lets get it straight…girl, women = feminist by birth right whether you accept it or not everything you experience in life from your first pink sleeper through your first menstrual cycle to the way you are treated on your death bed. Every experience in your life is informed by the fact that you are have a XX chromosomes. I think that you should grab on to that use that power, because we are indeed powerful.
Q: Your work “No shortage of diet books” deal with a very private, intimate, yet very common issue: the condition of obese people, nowadays. Sharing such a personal experience through your art it’s something that got you closer to people or just restricted your possible audience to the ones who can actually feel linked to it?
Actually the Title of the Piece is the “Venus of Willendorf Project” and the picture of my laying on my side looking at the viewer is entitled “Falling Out All Over” I am not sure how the IMOW came up with that name “No Shortage of Diet Books”.* You can read all about my process in a book entitled “Collecting and The Internet: The Pursuit of Old Passions through the use of New Technology” edited by Susan Koppelman and Alison Franks.
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http://www.libreriauniversitaria.it/books_collecting-ART50200.htm
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http://www.amazon.com/Collecting-Internet-Pursuit-Passions-Technologies/dp/0786438452
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http://www.amazon.com/Collecting-Internet-Pursuit-Passions-Technologies/product-reviews/0786438452
- http://www.susankoppelman.com/
As you state yourself in your question this experience is very common where you are wrong is that it does not only effect obese people. Perhaps it is more obvious in the obese, but I dare you to enter any public or private gathering of women where some one thin or fat is not talking about their “diet” ” food plan” or “exercise regime”…how they maintain their weight, what they ate that day…what they didn’t eat that day…perhaps it is more an issue of a capitalist society as opposed to a universal issue. But is it definitely a sign very common issue.
I think this work brings me very close to the public and my audience fat or thin…fit or not…as I said it is a preoccupation of world and it is spreading like wild fire more and more to include more men and even more cultures as places like India now find themselves with an ever growing so called ” Obesity Problem” because of the increase of the sedentary lifestyle of working at a computer.
The way in which I have collected my material for my work the diet books themselves…has brought people from all different sectors into my life to be participants in the work. People who would never even think about art at all or it’s power to move and influence society. But they do see the politics of destroying books, they do see books that have caused them hardship…books that have made them sick, books that have made their self worth crumble. And for the most part they are happy to donate them to my project not because they have any interest in the arts but because they are interested in activism. They too are tired of the crap that is shoved down their throats day after day. They are tired of being told they are wrong they need to turn themselves inside out to be better, more lovable, more beautiful, fitter, healthier, smarter. I think what I say in my work and in my politics is cutting edge…perhaps the audience is not there yet…but that shock value goes really far. Great art pushes buttons, makes people think, gets people to ask questions, and look deeper into the subject whether it be in a topical way or in an art appreciative way.
* “No shortage of diet books” is how Brenda’s works are named on IMOW’s website, here:
http://imow.org/community/directory/user/index?id=18827
Q: It seems like the use of obese nude is becoming more commonplace in current art, but still, it is stigmatized: either to be repulsive or just symbolizing difference. Your works represents its human nature, instead. What’s your perception of works using obese nude as their figurative subject but not their ideological focus? I’m thinking of some Jenny Saville’s works or Fernando Botero’s, for example..
Well I think you are wrong when you say that Botero‘s work does not use “fat” in an ideological way…lol…and for a long time I really didn’t see him that way either…and I have to say I didn’t like his work at all…I felt that he had found a gimmick that was working for him…kind of like a graphic designer or illustrator…he had a “look” he became recognizable for those rounded bulbous figures…it was just a stylistic choice…but when he did his Abu Ghraib series…I really started to look at him more closely…and was able to see that he was using the image of “fat” to create a kind of value judgment of the characters portrayed in his work be they politicians or the wealthy of Colombia. I don’t particularly like the way “fat” is used in his work it kind of perpetrates the stereotypes of “fat”=”lazy” “fat”=”greedy”, “fat”= “bad”, “fat”=”ugly”, “fat”=”stupid”…blah blah blah. You ask we see more “fat” more and more in art …and yet it is still stigmatized… I think it is its use in this manner that perpetuates these concepts.
from "abu ghraib" series - fernando botero
I know less about Saville‘s intention in her use of fat…only what I can surmise from some of her quotes …in that it was about a power…a physical power that she was looking for in the female form dare I say “fat = feminist” “fat=woman” “fat=nature” “fat-abundance” “fat=power”?? I find her use of fat far more empowering and sensual, and fearless. Forcing her viewers to really look at what for many people is not very visually appealing, and invites them to experience it in a new and dynamic way, erotically, hypnotically, overpowering.
Q: Contemporary art is considered to be split into two different general directions: one more fomalistic, mostly in search of new esthetic results and one more ethics – related, as a form of denounce (eco – socio – cultural denounce). Where would you place your work, between two opposite poles? Do you think art is supposed to supply to clearly defined needs, in our current society?
As I stated in the answer to your first question I feel that the split in Contemporary art may not just be seen as Formalistic vs. Ethics Based…but really Men’s Work vs. Feminist Work…and I very strongly believe that I work in an Activist manner which I could classify as Ethics based and Feminist. I trust that my skill as an artist will make the work hold it’s own in a formalist arena…my use of classical imagery and further in the project paleolithic simplicity.
I love work that has more to offer then balance, color, form, theory…I most enjoy work with a back story…work that is in itself a historic document…it informs the viewer about a moment in time that may have passed or that may throughout history speak a universal truth…but because of it’s nature will always have some significance and some value as more then just a pretty picture, or something that only an elite educated audience can truly understand. I think that time of High art vs. Low art, Craft vs Art, Women vs. Men is over…but we are indeed unique in our vision and our purpose and we should join together to continue to empower each other and make art that has substance and relevance for centuries to come.
Make the difference.
You can see some of Brenda’s works here:
http://tinyurl.com/y9k67v6
or here:
http://tinyurl.com/ya5fsh4
Or check the projects she’s involved in, here:
National Women’s Caucus for Art
http://www.nationalwca.org/
Feminist Art Project
http://feministartproject.rutgers.edu
