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FEMINISMUNFOLDING:NegotiatingIn/VisibilityofMexicanFeministAestheticPracticeswithinContemporaryExhibitionsErinL.McCutcheon/PhDCandidate,HistoryofArt&LatinAmericanStudiesTulaneUniversity
Specialty:ContemporaryLatinAmericanArt,ContemporaryFeministArtPractices,
and20thCenturyFeministTheory
samedi,28septembre2013/edgardvidal
RecentgesturesinfeministandLatinAmericanexhibitionsdonotsufficientlyaccountfortheuniquepositionofLatinAmericanartistsengagingwithfeministaestheticpractices.LookingtothespacegivenMexicanartistsinthreerecentblockbusterexhibitions,Idemonstratethattheresultingcuratorialconstructionsactivatearthistoricalmythologiesthatworktofurthersolidifyexclusionfromtheinternationalartworld.Inexaminingtheeffectsthesein/visibilitieshaveoncollectiveknowledgeofLatinAmericanfeministarthistories,Iultimatelysuggestpossibilitiesforchangerootedincriticalandconceptualcartographiesthatspeakbothfromandtofeminismsfolds,activatingintergenerationalnetworksvitaltomaintainingfeminismsunfoldinghistoricalandcontemporaryrelevance.
NegotiatingIn/VisibilityofMexicanFeministAestheticPracticeswithinContemporaryExhibitions
Theyear1975willremainamajorhistoricalmomentofwhatisnowknownassecondwavefeminismthroughouttheworld.Thisactivity,thoughlocalizedbycountry,wasfeltacrosstheglobeaswomenfomentedpolitically,economicallyandsociallymotivatedmovementstoencouragechange.TheUnitedNationssupportedthisriseinfeministactivitywhenitnamed1975asthefirstInternationalWomansYearanddeclaredthecenterofitsactivitiestobesituatedwithinMexicoCity.Somescholarsassertthat,Mexico75isseenasthebeginningofglobaldialogongenderequality(FORSYTH,2005:p.720).
The1970salsomarkedaglobalmergingofsecondwavefeministactionandartisticpractice,adefiningpointoffeminismandart,andthebeginningsofaninternationalfeministartproject.ThisconnectionbetweenfeminismandtheartsismostnotablydocumentedinNorthAmericaandWesternEuropehowever,artistsaroundtheworldengagedwiththesenewdialoguesaswell.LatinAmerica,andMexicoinparticular,hadanextensivefeministartisticnetworkthathasyettobefullyacknowledged.HistoricallywithinMexico,womenartistswhoidentifiedasfeministsexpressedadoubleexclusionfromboththeartworldandthefeministmovement.Theseartiststeeteredbetweenanactivelocalfeministmovementthatdismissedtheirartasbourgeois,andanartworldthatrejectedtheirfeministpoliticsasirrelevantaproblemthatremainspresenttothisday.
Recently,interestinbothsecondwaveinternationalfeministartpracticesandmoregeneralcontemporaryartpracticesacrossLatinAmericahaveseenamajorresurgenceintheexhibitioncircuit.Theseeventsmarkimportantmomentsofglobaldialoguesinfieldsthatshareastartlinglackofcriticalengagement.Thesetrendsalsoreflectagrowingneedtodefinepositionalitythroughframinginterventionsoftherecentpastincontrasttocontemporaryproblematicsatthedawnofthe21stcentury.
Thesecurrenttrendsinfeminist,contemporaryandLatinAmericanexhibitionsandarthistoricalscholarshipdonotaccountfortheuniquepositionofthesewomenartistsworkinginMexico.Whydoesnotonlytheinternationalartworld,butalsotheinternationalfeministartsmovement,continuetomarginalizetheseartistichistories?Tointerrogatethisproblematic,IlooktothreeimportantrecentexhibitionsthathighlightMexicanfeministaestheticpracticeintheirpresentation:Laeradeladiscrepancia:arteyculturavisualenMexico,19681997,ArteVida:ActionsbyArtistsoftheAmericas,19602000andWACK!Art&theFeministRevolution.Itismy
assertionthateveninitsvisibilitywithintheseblockbustershows,theresultingcuratorialconstructionsofMexicanfeministaestheticpracticesfurthersolidifytheirexclusionfromtheinternationalartworld.
Itisnotthegoalofthisinvestigationtosuggestthattheseexhibitionswerefailures.Theyexistasambitiousandnecessaryundertakingsinfieldsofarthistorythathavehadlittleattentionpaidtothemintheexhibitioncircuit.Inordertoimprovecuratorialrepresentationsandbuildnewmethodologies,however,itisimperativethatweunpacktheproblematicsoftheseendeavors.Ratherthanallowingforidentitiesalwaysplural,performativeandrelationaltoemergethroughaconversationwiththeirpositionacrosstimeandspace,itseemsstaticdelineationsembeddedinthecuratorialselectionprocessactivatearthistoricalmythologiesthatfurtherreproduceexclusionarynarratives.
Rootedinmillennialanxieties,theseexhibitionsarerepresentativeofalargerobstacleincontemporaryarthistoricalmemorymaking,situatedinlimitinggenealogicalandgenerationalformatsthatreinforce,ratherthanreduce,exclusions.Inexaminingtheeffectsthesein/visibilitieshaveoncollectiveknowledgeofLatinAmericanfeministvisualhistories,Iultimatelysuggestpossibilitiesforchangerootedincriticalandconceptualcartographies[1]thatspeakbothfromandtofeminismsfolds[2],activatingintergenerationalnetworksvitaltomaintainingfeminismsunfoldinghistoricalandcontemporaryrelevance.
Feminism(s)&FeministAestheticPractices
ThereisnotonesingleapproachtoMexicanfeminism,feministaestheticpractices,orglobalfeministaesthetics.Thereexistsnooneabsolutepoliticsthattraversetimeandspace,oronefixedmeaningtobelocatedinaperiodorlocation.Whatexistsaremultiplefeminism(s),aswellasmultiplefeministapproachestoart,inconversationwithoneanotherlocally,transnationallyandcrossgenerationally.
Wemustavoidessentializingthecommonworldeventthatisthefeministprojectintoasingularmovementthatunitesallwomen,orfeminists,underacollectivebannerofstruggleandsharedhistory.Currently,thedominantmodeoftheorizingthehistoryoffeminismisstructuredaroundthewavemetaphor.Thesefeministwavesaregroupedalongtimeperiodsasfollows:FirstWave,late19thtoearly20thcenturySecondWave:1960tomid1980sThirdWave:1990stopresentday.Unfortunately,thisstaticallydefinedtimelineprovidesauniversalizedversionoffeministpoliticsacrosstime,ratherthananunderstandingofmultipletrajectories.MishaKavkanotes:
Feminismisnottheobjectofasingularhistorybut,rather,atermunderwhichpeoplehaveindifferenttimesandplacesinvestedinamoregeneralstruggleforsocialjusticeandinsodoinghaveparticipatedinandproducedmultiplehistories.(KAVKA,2001:p.xvii)
Inresistingthegenerationaldividesimposedbyfeministhistoryswavemetaphor,wecanbetterunderstandtheoverlappingaffinitiesanddivergencesexploredbyfeministpoliticsacrosstimeandspace.
Theallowanceofmultiplefeminismsandapproachestoartopensopportunitiesforarthistoricalresearchaswell.Whilesomeartistsworkingduringthe1970sinMexicoCitymaynothavedefinedthemselvesasfeminists,theirworkstillpointstoanengagementwithfeministaestheticpractices.NellyRichardstressesthispointwhenspeakingaboutworksbyChileanartistsworkingatthesametimeasthesewomen:
Eachmanagestosetupstrategiesofsignificantorganizationandculturalinterventioncapableofempoweringthefeminineasdissidence.Theseworksdonotassumearelationshipbetweenwomanandfemininitythatisguaranteedaprioribyanabsoluteessentialism.Insteadtheyempowerthefeminine(stilldisadvantagedamidothercodesofsocialandsexualidentity)asachangingsymbolinsearchoftherightstrategywithwhichtoplaceanalternativeandcounterdominantsubjectivityinanadvantageousposition.(RICHARD,1995:p.151)
GriseldaPollockaffirmsasimilarnotionbystating:
Tobefeministatallworkmustbeconceivedwithintheframeworkofastructural,economic,politicalandideologicalcritiqueofthepowerrelationsofsocietyandwithacommitmenttocollectiveactionfortheirradicaltransformationItisfeministwhenitsubvertsthenormalwaysinwhichweviewartandareusuallyseducedintoacomplicitywiththemeaningsofthedominantandoppressiveculture.(PARKER&POLLOCK,1987:p.93)
Itisproductivetoanunderstandingofthefeministprojecttoexaminetheseworksinrelationshiptolocalandglobalmovementsofwomenartistsconcernedwithafeministproject.Byplacingthemunderananalyticalfeministlens,wehighlighttheirattemptstochallengeanddisruptcommonperceptionsandtransformthewayinwhichweunderstandartandsociety.
1975ElAoInternacionaldelaMujer?
InMexicoin1975womenwere,withveryfewexceptions,invisibleasindependentartists.MnicaMayer,akeyfeministartistatthetime,relatedherexperienceattheprestigiousartschool,theEscuelaNacionaldeArtesPlsticasinMexicoCity,stating:
ItwastherethatIbegantorealizethatwomenwereinvisible:womenartistswerenotmentionedinhistoryofartclassesandnorwerewe,aswomenstudents,giventheslightestconsideration.Mostofthelecturerssawusaswomenfirstandartistssecond.(MAYER,2010:p.5)
Sheandotherartistswerevocalagitatorsforsimilarsocialcausesandartisticconcernsastheirfellowmalestudentshowever,thereexistedaprofoundinstitutionalandsocialdisconnectbetweenthetwo.Mayeralsostated:
Socialliferevolvedaroundcantinas,whichareourlocalpubs,fromwhichwewerebannedbyexplicitsignsthatstated:Nomeninuniforms,nochildren,nodogs,nowomen.(MAYER,2010:p.5)
Althoughlivingduringanageofglobalmergingoffeministactionandartisticpractice,Mexicanwomenfoundthemselves,quiteliterally,lastonthelistaswomenartists.
MayerhassaidofthecollectiveexperiencesofwomenartistsworkingduringthistimeinMexico,itseemsasthoughweweretryingtodefinewhatfeministartmightmean(MAYER,1999:p.50).Whilenotallwouldlabelthemselvesasfeminists,itwasduringthisperiodthatartistslikeMarisBustamante,MagaliLara,RoweenaMorales,PolaWeiss,inadditiontoMayerandmanyotherswereinterrogatingthenotionthatartwasinfactanimportantmechanismforperpetuatingpatriarchalideas(MAYER,2010:p.5).HowwouldtheseartistsnegotiatethisterritorytoformaconceptoffeminismsintersectionswithartinparticularaestheticinterventionsdistinctlyoutsideofaWesternunderstandingoffeminism,whichconcentratesmainlyonmovementsinEuropeandtheUnitedStates?HowwouldthesewomencometodefinewhatfeministaestheticslookedlikeinMexicoCityduringthesecondwave?
MayersworkactivistandartisticisintegraltothedevelopmentofthismovementwithinMexico.Mayerworkedthroughouthercareertocreateartandcurateexhibitionsthatspoketoacombinedfeministconsciousnessandvisuallanguage.Sheorganizednumerousfeministexhibitionssuchas,LoNormal(1978)andExposicincolectivadeartefeminista(1978),andworkedtobringfeministartistsfromtheUnitedSt