Further Live Research: Carolee Schneeman Exhibition

 As part of my research, I visited the Carolee Schneemann exhibition Body Politics, at the Barbican in London.  this exhibition was a retrospective of the life and work of Schneemann (1939-2019).

As the exhibition catalogue states Schneemann 'experimented with paint, found objects, her own body, text, performance, film and multimedia installations' (Carolee Schneemann, Body Politics)  I originally was drawn to her work through the performance, using her body and her feminist perspective.  As stated before many argue that a woman using her body is exhibitionist and worse, a pretty woman using her body in art is just a crowd pleaser.  However, this missed the point and the title of the exhibition body politics is exposing what is most important and that is that a woman's body is political.  Schneemann reclaimed her body and used it for art to expose 'the history of patriarchy and the abuse of power across global conflicts' (Carolee Schneemann, Body Politics)

Schneemann starts with the personal and then moves into the universal and in using her own and other bodies in 'kinetic theatre' Schneemann was using experimental techniques which 'explored desire, challenged the male gaze, and took her daily life and relationships as source material' (Carolee Schneemann, Body Politics)  The idea in Meat Joy of using meat and fish and moving together, men and women's bodies entwined in a carnal dance, in the resulting film of the performance, has a kind of beauty.  Below in Eye Body Schneemann used paint and her body to express herself as an 'active maker' not just a passive muse for male pleasure. 

the film 'Fuses' is most interesting as it was filmed over three years and recorded 30 seconds of footage at a time using a Bolex camera.  'The camera was positioned hanging from the ceiling, and atop the furniture, vantage points that share a consistent framing of the couple having sex.  Fuses is unapologetically erotic' (Carolee Schneemann, Body Politics). The film was then treated with acid, rain, lightning, baked, and exposed to the sun. The resulting footage is erotic, and moving and gives the viewer an insight into; 'a heterosexual woman invested in non-reproductive sex'  (Carolee Schneemann, Body Politics).  Again, there is a raw beauty to this footage that is sensory and moving, intimate and dynamic. This piece of work has always moved me and seeing it on the big screen allowed me to experience this in a deeper way as it could wash over me, and be inside me. 

Schneemann also created films from war zones, her own breast cancer, and her own life.  Schneemann is the work and as she stated to a friend 'I do not show my naked body!  I AM BEING MY BODY!' (Carolee Schneemann, Body Politics)

Website Research: Francesca Woodman & Carolee Schneemann

 As we are creating our own website, I will study two websites and compare and contrast these.  This website research will assist me in understanding how to create my own website so I will consider the overall design, colours, and typography, navigation, usability/user-friendliness, links and mobile view.

I will be looking at Francesca Woodman and Carolee Schneemann  as these are two artists I will be looking at in more depth as part of my further research so it will be interesting how their work is presented.  Both of these artists have passed away and so their websites are managed by a foundation so they are good to compare as we consider the photographic legacy of these artists.

I will begin by looking at Carolee Schneemann's website.  Below you can view the homepage 

I find the homepage quite busy there does not seem to be a menu however there are buttons you can click into to view the various pages on her site.  The layout and design are in a mosaic form and so parts of the artist's works cover the page.  The buttons that link to the pages cover the homepage.  The typography is a sans serif font and is white for the title of the artist and so this is clear over a busy background the font is rounded and very easy to read.  The buttons are white with black titles which again works well over a coloured background that changes with videos and artworks changing underneath. 

I then clicked into artworks to view the artists work please see this page and layout here;

As can be seen here the page has a black background and a menu on the left-hand side which uses white buttons consistent with the homepage for the menu to the artist's work, life, bibliography and newsletter and misson.  It is easy to click into the works which appear large when clicked into with a title, date, and introduction to the work which is well-written and informative. 

There is not an About page as such on this site but there is a mission for the legacy of Schneemann and her work and a chronology of her work throughout her lifetime.  This is useful and the viewer can get a clear understanding of the artist and her work. 

The last page I will look at here is the contact page, this page is clear and simple in design with a consistent sans serif font using black text on a white background.  This page does include email contact links and social media links however these could have been added as icons for increased and easy usability as many people would not necessarily click into this page and then copy and click these links.  The copyright is included on this page and has copyright details for the Schneemann foundation.

Lastly, I checked the mobile view of Schneemann's website on my mobile phone.  I believe this website works better and is laid out better for mobile as it has a menu button on the homepage with clear links to every page, The artworks are easy to click into and are clearly defined as you scroll through the work however there are still no social links appearing as icons and this really is missing a trick here as this would establish a clearer presence online of the artist.

I will now consider the website of Francesca Woodman - this actually is the Woodman Foundation and her work appear here as part of her family foundation site. 

The homepage of this site has a triptych of images that show three members of the family and when your hover over these images a navigation box appears to lead you directly to their works.  There is also a navigation menu in black sans serif text against the white background of the homepage that is on the left-hand side of the screen.  The title 'Our Mission is in light grey and this works well as a title for the information, which sits underneath the images so it is clear what the website is about. The user then clicks on the 'More about us button to read the whole mission.  The homepage works well, is clear, and is very easy to use.  The Woodman website has a logo that appears in the left-hand corner throughout and scrolling on the homepage leads you to the latest news and works by the Woodman family.  These are laid out in clear square image boxes that the user can click on and immediately read more information.  In the footer of all the pages is the copyright notice. 

I click next to Francesca Woodman's works.  This is easy to use and each image has a title and a year and the works expand upon clicking into them.  There are back and next buttons so it is easy to click through the works and explore this work fully.  The page gain is white with a light grey title for the name of the artists and the black menu and logo remain keeping the pages consistent and easy to use. 

I then check the biography page of Francesca Woodman as this will be most useful when considering my own about me page for my own site. The biography is clear and informative, easy to read and there is a fairly detailed overview of Francesca Woodmans' short life and her legacy.  There is a printable bio and a CV that lists her works and exhibitions.  This works really well for a biography page and there are a few images that give the page life and context.  

The contact page works well and is consistent with all other pages, the image is not overly inspiring but it does work and it is easy to use. There is one social media link to Instagram and after searching around the site I did think more social media links would be available as this would mean that their work was advertised and promoted on a wider scale globally.

The mobile view on the Woodman site is good and looks very similar to the website itself and remains consistent, again easy to use with no issues.

Comparing both sites The Schneemann site seems more mobile friendly and seems to work better on the mobile version, the website can seem a little busy on the homepage and you do end up clicking on the buttons not quite sure if it is what you want then going back to the homepage.  The Woodman site is very structured, consistent and organised and clearly denotes each woodman family member's work and life.  Social media on both sites needed massive improvement and this could be increased and promoted so that these artists really get their work out there.  For both artists, the information and work is there and on Woodman's it is easier to click and view but perhaps the site could be more exciting and perhaps there could be more of a feature made of some events.  Schneemann has an exhibition that I went to at the weekend in London, again this could have been promoted on the homepage and been more prominent.  Overall when making my own site looking at these makes me realise that I need something in-between the two, organised but exciting, features on the homepage of current news and events, and a selection of social media that really add and enhance content and connectivity to the audience.

Website Creation: Homepage/Contact Page

 I began creating my website today on Wix and I opened Wix and chose this template for my Photography website. 

I then edited the text of the title of the website (my name) I changed the font to Libre Baskerville, my name was 53 ppi and the title was 42ppi

I then went to the menu using the left hand side menu bar and then I deleted the pages I did not need and I made sure the correct menu items were showing by previewing the website.  I then saved this and also deleted the 'lets chat' as I did not intend to use this. 

I then changed the copyright to my name and the correct year and I checked that this appeared in the footer of every page.

I then found an image on Pixabay a that I will use temporarily until i find my own image and I clicked on the add button on the left hand menu and then clicked on image and upload image and I uploaded this to Wix as shown below. 

This is my homepage and I have adjusted the header and the image so that it is designed how I would like it to look 

I then edited my contact page by managed the form settings so that it set notifications to my email and I adjusted the design by adding an image and changing the text on the page.

The next post I will complete my About page.

Feminism & Photography Initial Research: Jemima Stehli

 I am looking at the work of Jemima Stehli as my initial research for my photographic project.  I chose to start with Stehi as; 'she places herself as either subject or object of the image and often as both. In so doing she explores the relationship between sculpture, photography and performance and underlies the tensions that exist between these mediums.' (Jemima Stehli: Galeria Miguel Nabinho (n.d) 

From Strip Series (2000) Jemima Stehli

From the 1980s Stehli intended to make photographic work that provoked and the Strip series (above) created much controversy, Schwabsky writes; 'I had already heard several people say that they had no intention of seeing it. What was it that had gotten on their nerves? Apparently, they were revulsed by “Strip,” 1999/2000, an earlier group of photographs, which Stehli had made in collaboration with a number of male critics.' (Schwabsky, 2001)  The idea here of turning the male gaze on its head and confronting this in a rather uncomfortable head-on situation (Stehli stripping, the critic watching).  Stehli does this in several works where she has remade great artworks so that the feminist perspective is shown.  In After Helmut Newton's "Here They Come" (1999) Stehli recreates Newton's statuesque model using her own body and in a postmodern version (a little like Jeff Wall's 'Picture for Women' (1979)) the remote cable can be seen and Stehli stares directly into the lens looking directly at the viewer/voyeur of this image.

After Helmut Newton’s “Here They Come,” (1999) Jemima Stehli

Helmut Newton's "Here They Come" (1981)

These recreations all have a performative aspect which appeals to me as I enjoy creating performative photographic images and although I am not intending to recreate as Stehli does here, I need to find a way to express the issues for feminists today.  We appear to be entering the fifth wave of feminism and yet it seems even more fractured than at any other time, and no one yet can agree on what this is or how it should look.  What is clear though is that women are still battling with everyday sexism, misogyny, lack of equality, and many other serious issues surrounding women's rights and their own bodies, the rape crisis in the UK with a percentage of convictions so low (1%) that the message seems to be that you can get away with rape.  Domestic violence, abuse, and so many other issues that affect women seem to still be living large.  

Stehli, in her images, confronts the men staring defiantly out or almost shouting that she exists as a person, not an object/objectified being.  Schwabsky asks; 'What draws such a rancorous reaction is that Stehli undermines the basis of her own critique by displaying the female body as a glamorous object. Is this naïveté or a calculated ploy to have it both ways? ' (Schwabsky, 2001).  This is often a question asked of women artists who use their own bodies in their work, here I would argue that clearly, a woman's body is a powerful symbol that has been objectified and women taking back control of how their bodies are used with art is a powerful statement.  

References

Hohl, K. (2022) New scorecards show under 1% of reported rapes lead to conviction – criminologist explains why England's justice system continues to fail, City, University of London. City, University of London. Available at: https://www.city.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2022/04/new-scorecards-show-under-1-of-reported-rapes-lead-to-conviction-criminologist-explains-why-englands-justice-system-continues-to-fail (Accessed: October 26, 2022). 

Jeff Wall Photography, bio, ideas (no date) The Art Story. Available at: https://www.theartstory.org/artist/wall-jeff/ (Accessed: October 26, 2022). 

Jemima Stehli: Galeria Miguel Nabinho (no date) Galeria. Available at: https://www.miguelnabinho.com/jemima-stehli (Accessed: October 26, 2022). 

Schwabsky, B. (2001) Barry Schwabsky on Jemima Stehli, The online edition of Artforum International Magazine. Artforum. Available at: https://www.artforum.com/print/reviews/200102/jemima-stehli-49250 (Accessed: October 26, 2022). 

Project Plan: Feminism/Photography

 Please find my project plan here.  I will complete the tasks each week and I will explain them in more detail in the project posts.

Project Sign Off: Feminism & Photography

 I have now completed my project sign-off for my negotiated project.  Below is one of the artist's works I will be discussing through my research; Jemima Stehli, Table 2.  This work references the work of Allen Jones which can be seen below.  Through this work I will look at the second to the fourth waves of feminism and discuss. 

My own work has an element of performance and through analysing these works I hope to explore ideas of performance and photography in relation to a woman's body.

Table 2 (1997-98) Jemima Stehli

Objectifying women, 1969, Allen Jones

Please find my project sign-off: Feminism, Performance & Photography here.

SMART Objective: Feminism/Photography

 

Robert Morris with Carolee Scheeman , 1968

SMART Objective: Major Project Feminism & Photography

In my photographic project this term I will be creating an Image and Text book, this will be both digital and hard copy and will be created on Blurb.  The concept of the book will be a feminist 'performance piece' that has been photographed to create a narrative, that celebrates women and art using boundaries and instructions.  The images will be taken on my Olympus DSLR OMD MkII and I may also use polaroids. My target market for this work will be Generation X as I believe it will appeal to my own generation and will reference forms of feminism and photography that they will be aware of.  I will complete this and upload to a gallery on my website by the beginning of December.