For reference – old school
I came up to Cleveland (more specifically Peninsula, OH) to visit my cousin and partner-in-crime Stephanie (aka Stephalou, Ludas, Stebby, Steve…) and her sweet man, Nathan. The point of the visit was to hang out, catch up, drink wine and eat good food together. We succeeded on all points. Along with visiting SPACES Gallery, West Side Market, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, we ate at two fantastic restaurants – Taki’s Greek Kitchen and Taza Lebanese Grill.
Here I want to talk about an exhibition I saw….and how I love to see women artists doing great performance-based work.
MOCA Cleveland
When we visited MOCA today, one of the current exhibitions was Kate Gilmore: Body of Works. I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition. The remnants of a performance were what made up the exhibition along with video documentation of other past performance works.
Kate Gilmore at MOCA
In her performances, Gilmore appears “dolled-up” in obviously feminine clothing – sequin dresses, panty hose, heels, etc. While dressed this way, she puts herself in physically challenging situations forcing us to think about feminist issues and the difficulties that women have gone through and still do. It’s a bit literal at times, but I think that is ok….I still really liked the work. The exhibition surveys 10 years of Gilmore’s performance-based works. She has a pretty impressive exhibition history including her inclusion in the Whitney Biennial in 2010.
The exhibition also made me think of two other artists. First – Ana Mendieta. This reference is obvious in that Mendieta’s work is autobiographical and she uses her own body in most of the work. I looked at her work quite a bit when I was in graduate school so it was nice to be reminded of her today. The Hirshhorn Museum always had her work out — it was a favorite stop of mine whenever I visited DC.
Ana Mendieta
Ana Mendieta
Ana Mendieta
The other artist that Gilmore’s exhibition made me think of is Vanessa Beecroft. For one, I have been working Vanessa and her team on an upcoming exhibition at Dallas Contemporary in September. The exhibition at DC will be made up mostly of the remnants of a live performance – imagine 20 female models completely painted in white which look like classical marble sculptures sitting in the space. Her performance are beautiful, sensual and with references to feminist issues. It’s going to be kiiiillllller. Mark your calendars for Saturday September 21.
Vanessa Beecroft
Vanessa Beecrofit
Vanessa Beecroft
So…..FINALLY…..it’s almost time for me to board the plane. Love you. Bye bye Cleveland!!
Zuzu Bluebottom 