Review: Smash the Patriarchy - A Feminist Art Fest
"Smash the Patriarchy - A Feminist Art Festival" organized by UCSA Feminist Committee Page at ACU, Utrecht, was a day-long festival including a small art exhibition, spoken word and music, and a panel discussion about feminism and activism through the medium of art. While the focus on art as a medium for activism was never questioned or interrogated on a deeper level, the event created an important safe space. This is the beginning to any collective social action or shared knowledge.
Some questions asked during the panel discussion include: How to define oneself as a feminist while the term often receives aggressive responses and backlash? How can feminist art reach new people, beyond the 'already persuaded'?
The panelists responded by pointing out that the backlash against the term 'feminism' demonstrates it's significance: aggressive responses to the pointing out of inequality is patriarchy in action. It belittles and renders the claim irrelevant, generating self-doubt and feelings of powerlessness.
To the second question, the panelists seemed in less familiar territory as they focused more on outreach strategies. In particular, they seemed to be referring to communities with little exposure to art. Their suggestion was to bring feminist artworks such as the ones hung on the walls in the festival, to lesser known places in out-of-center locations.
While the panelists seemed knowledgeable in feminist theory, the combination of feminist theory, artistic practice, and social context, was not well conceptualized. Feminism is context dependent and as such, if it's used for educational purposes, it needs to be tailored to each, particular group or audience. I would dare say that there is no such thing as a 'feminist artwork' but rather that it becomes 'feminist' in context. It cannot, therefore, simply be uprooted from one environment and placed in another while still assuming the same 'feminist' quality. One of the areas in which this has most effect is with nudity, a subject that most of the art in the festival seemed to be dealing with and which has been the focus of much 'feminist' art of the past.
The exhibited artworks attempted to deal with sexualization and objectification of the nude, female body and its connection to the patriarchal idea that women's value lays in their appearance and attractiveness to men. A video work in the back room by Talisa Kiyiya, "The Objectified Woman," featured a naked woman rolling around in a pile of raw meat. Another artwork by Lucie Ponard photographed breasts with artificially glued nipples. Such works, while seemingly simplistic and explicit in their intended meanings, are extremely complex. They attempt to deal with certain, sexist values projected on the female body through demonstrating both the female body and those same values, whether in relation, in opposition, or in irony. Still, both are present and re-enacted. To perceive such works as feminist, one must already be aware, rather than experience an attempted critique for the first time.
Out of a context of awareness of such specific critiques, the artworks would function counter to their intended meanings. They might even be seen or understood as pornographic; a pleasurable display of the female body for the male gaze. To understand the artworks not only is a familiarity with the critique required (whether one agrees or not does not matter), but also a familiarity with art and a basic knowledge of how art communicates. One must learn to relate to art as symbolic, as a representation. Without a familiarity with the way that art communicates, the symbolic value will be missed, and the displayed is seen and understood at face value.
