Understanding Women in Video Art

Follow on from my blog about women directors, I want to get back into art and how women were pioneering the medium of video in art. This is a media where women excelled, there was no history competing with men. No man claimed it as their own. Women jumped on video because they had no movement for themselves.

Technology/Transformation Wonder Woman

My connection with video art is very bumpy, I haven't had the greatest experience with it. I recently went to the Omer Fast exhibition at the Baltic in Gateshead and I found it lacking for a better word, my little modern brain just did not want to take in the information and I just wanted to leave, which I did. There has been other experiences were I have enjoyed video art. I went on holiday to Venice, with my beautiful friend, who has no interest in art (even though she has a degree in it). We went to a contemporary art gallery, (which is what you don't expect in Venice) The gallery,  Punta della Dogana which is a stunning building which was funded by Francois Pinault, who is one of the wealthiest men going and Salma Hayek’s father in law! So this collection of exhibitions are not just there because they are “great work” I saw “big bucks” as most of it was, *emoticon confusing.* I entered the room with my friend and from memory,  I remembered a chaotic scene of sun bed, shades and random sculptures that looked like beds. Maybe it wasn't chaotic, maybe just when I reached for those headphones and discovered the crazy video that the space became dysfunctional. When I put those headphones on it was like a mix of disturbing art, drag culture and stereotypes. Many things going on, but all I really thought was how fun this this!!! Did I love it because of its bright fibrous colours? That I had witnessed an evolution of art history? Or that I had to pay 15 fucking euros to see this!? Who knows……...

Ryan Trecartin exhibtion at Punta della Dogana  

When I talk about video art I do not mean people who do performance art and video tape it, this is all about women taking the media of video and creating art. This is not my perfect curated show this is me exploring video art and seeing what I like.

Dara Birnbaum

Dara Birnbaum is an American video and installation artist who lives and works in New York. One of her most famous pieces was, Technology/Transformation Wonder Woman. Imagery from the 1970s tv series Wonder Woman, Birnbaum isolated and respects the moment of her real woman's symbolic transformation into superhero. Challenging the gendered biases of the period and television was growing presence within the American household. This series points to gender as a subject to on image chain of reproductions. Repeated transformations expose the illusion of fixed female identities in media and attempts to show the emergence of a new woman through technology, (not my words, from Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to mass communication). I had to repeat these words because I just do not understand the work. Is it that times have changed? That superhero wonder women, maybe not the best representative for women? Or I am so tired when I write these blogs? WHO KNOWS! I have watched this video over and over and it just doesn't pack a punch with me personally. Can someone help I feel my feminist powers have been taken away from me!

Martha Rosler

Martha Rosler is basically one of the first names you hear about in feminist art 101. She is an icon and was one of the first pieces I saw when it came to feminist art.  I am talking about Rosler, 1975 video, Semiotics of the Kitchen. This video is a 6 minute parody of a women listing off kitchen supplies. This video is considered a critique of the commodified versions of traditional women's roles in modern society. In this video she lists off kitchen supplies, she creates angry movements with each equipment, you should see her with the measuring instruments. This video is all about how women are represented to be in one place, the kitchen. I can relate to this as even today, men will joke about getting in the kitchen! WTF!! Its 2016 I can't cook!! Let me get Martha Rosler to come at you, see what she likes to do with a cheese grater. This video really stays with me because, we all know about the stigma of the housewife image and that a lot of women in the 1960/70 were stuck in this situation. Today it's a choice to be a housewife, which again is great. Would love to see the opinions of people who have dedicated their lives to the home, see if they find this video offensive.This piece is as important as it was in the 70s, I don't know if that's a good thing.

Hannah Black

I think I found Hannah Black work on a list of video artists, I believe she is British artist living in Berlin. She does many videos about the female body and the representation of women. I first became obsessed in her work with, Team Jolie. This video is all about a celebrity rivalry what never was and the media turned it into one of the biggest stories of the century. This video is all about the “rival” about Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie. The media pinned these women together one being the injured lamb the other a wild wolf. This was not the case and we were split with half of us being Team Aniston or Team Jolie. I am not going to lie when this was going on I was 15/16 years old, I was so team Aniston. How did Brad do that do her! Now I know it was total bollocks and that the media loves to tear women down and pin women against each other.I love this video and her work because it in a poetic view on these strange perceptions we have with women hating women. .

And that's it, I have loved looking at women in video art, that they claimed it for themselves. I still don't get it all. But who does!!

Till next time

MAW