16.11.20 Anybody, everybody, somebody, nobody?
I've been thinking further about Andrea's question, 'Whose body?' In our last tutorial, we talked about the fact that the video of me wearing my metal cage made her think of Frankenstein. She said that 'the story of Frankenstein was the ideal of man birthing man' and that I'm reversing that. Am I a female Dr Frankenstein, gathering parts and making connections between them to make my own monsters? She said that maybe that's the beginning of an answer to the question about gender in my work. Identifying as female, I bring a lifetime of being female to my work and I am 'birthing' parts of me.
I wrote a couple of reflections about Frankenstein and how that sad tale relates to my work for the last module as part of my research into Self and other. I think I need to revisit some of the articles I read then.
So, whose body am I making visible and why? I am clear that I use my body to observe, measure, copy, create, perform.... and that mine is the only body that has worn my Body cocoons... so far, because of the fear of contamination and the pandemic. Actually, I realise that Alyson wore one of them one day in the studio during the final crit for this last module. For some reason it was extremely cold in the studio, so she asked me if she could borrow one. I wore one too!
I wrote a couple of reflections about Frankenstein and how that sad tale relates to my work for the last module as part of my research into Self and other. I think I need to revisit some of the articles I read then.
So, whose body am I making visible and why? I am clear that I use my body to observe, measure, copy, create, perform.... and that mine is the only body that has worn my Body cocoons... so far, because of the fear of contamination and the pandemic. Actually, I realise that Alyson wore one of them one day in the studio during the final crit for this last module. For some reason it was extremely cold in the studio, so she asked me if she could borrow one. I wore one too!
Alyson wearing Body cocoon 2 in the studio, 7.9.20
It was interesting to me to see someone else wearing my work. Since I made the first Body cocoon, during the first lockdown, my partner, Dave, has been my photographer and videographer (and audience of one!) At various times throughout the development of this project I have tried to persuade him to wear one/all of my pieces. It's partly because I want to see how the pieces change when worn by someone other than me, and partly because I would quite like to be able to take photos sometimes. Needless to say, so far he's refused. (I can't think why!) So, Alyson is the only other person who's worn a Body cocoon!
I wonder how the pieces would change if they were worn by other people? Men as well as women and anyone else who prefers to identify with any other gender. Someone suggested, maybe when I did the informal crit for the rest of the year group, that I invite them to wear my Body cocoons, in a safe Covid -19 way. Maybe I should do that? I could set up a system so that the sculptures are quarantined between tryings on. I could invite them to take one away and video or photograph themselves wearing it in several different settings, maybe? Or I could book the photographic studio and invite 5 people to come there. I think both would be useful and interesting. I think I'll start with the invitation to take one away and see what happens. I can arrange the other idea when I've done the photography studio induction.
Could I invite others to wear them? Alice? BA students? Dance and choreography students, or not students? Who else could I involve? If we filmed this outside, we could all be in one space? Or we/I could film people separately and then edit the footage ( I'll need to learn a lot about video editing!) I was looking at Karni and Saul's videos made in isolation in collaboration with a group of dancers. Could I get some funding for this so I could pay people, I wonder? I must look at the Uni grants etc... Who else should I talk to? And what about a narrative? Fantasy? Dreamlike? Does it need a coherant narrative, or just the 'antinarrative' with the imagination and the setting providing enough? This larger idea needs a lot more thought and planning, but I could offer my Body cocoons to the MA students TODAY!...
Whose body am I making visible, and to what purpose? Anybody, everybody, somebody, nobody? Or just me? And where does absence come in to my work?
I wonder how the pieces would change if they were worn by other people? Men as well as women and anyone else who prefers to identify with any other gender. Someone suggested, maybe when I did the informal crit for the rest of the year group, that I invite them to wear my Body cocoons, in a safe Covid -19 way. Maybe I should do that? I could set up a system so that the sculptures are quarantined between tryings on. I could invite them to take one away and video or photograph themselves wearing it in several different settings, maybe? Or I could book the photographic studio and invite 5 people to come there. I think both would be useful and interesting. I think I'll start with the invitation to take one away and see what happens. I can arrange the other idea when I've done the photography studio induction.
Could I invite others to wear them? Alice? BA students? Dance and choreography students, or not students? Who else could I involve? If we filmed this outside, we could all be in one space? Or we/I could film people separately and then edit the footage ( I'll need to learn a lot about video editing!) I was looking at Karni and Saul's videos made in isolation in collaboration with a group of dancers. Could I get some funding for this so I could pay people, I wonder? I must look at the Uni grants etc... Who else should I talk to? And what about a narrative? Fantasy? Dreamlike? Does it need a coherant narrative, or just the 'antinarrative' with the imagination and the setting providing enough? This larger idea needs a lot more thought and planning, but I could offer my Body cocoons to the MA students TODAY!...
Whose body am I making visible, and to what purpose? Anybody, everybody, somebody, nobody? Or just me? And where does absence come in to my work?
