#imwithlibby

This afternoon, I went and visited the Women’s Work exhibit at the SP/N Gallery on the north of the #UTDallas campus. It featured several works by various women artists. When I arrived, the individual taking care of the exhibit greeted me and gave me some materials about the works within. This was very helpful as I might otherwise have been tempted to just walk around, not knowing who did which piece.

pic: A selfie with Libby Rowe

I spent most of my time in the back room of the two room exhibit. Bookending those works were two by @TheLibbyRowe. Unfortunately, the video for her piece called Feminization was not functioning while I was there. I did, however, have the opportunity to take a selfie with the artist herself (actually, her cardboard doppelgänger). 

Libby was kind enough to give me a free pin, and asked me to “spread the word.” I wore that pin the whole way home. 

From there, I was drawn to the work of Colette Copeland. The first piece I looked at, Ball and Chain, was an entertaining and yet serious twist on the notion of a women or wife being a man’s “ball and chain.” In the video, these roles were reversed. The man was following the woman around, in Victorian garb, hindering and slowing her movement. More than just a twist on the roles themselves, I think this can be seen as a commentary on man hindering woman in society and the world.

pic: Keeping a watchful eye on Copeland’s Ball and Chain.

The piece which was most visually alluring to me, however, was by Jessie Budd. Called Identity: Digital Self, it was a bit of red and white with 6 video screens and lots of fluff and yarn. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure how to describe it. I’m afraid I can’t quite do it justice. It felt...complicated. So, I’ll post a couple of pictures instead.

pics: Jessie Budd’s Identity: Digital Self

I really liked this piece. The red yarn reminds me of blood, gushing out like a waterfall. The white and red are both strong and contrasting. The rare glimpses of skin on the screens (folding shots of what is probably an eye on a face) is the only place in this piece you will not see red or white (unless you count the floor). 

As a guy, it’s hard for me to understand the feelings and thoughts associated with menstruation, but I think the piece is deliberately invoking thoughts of that, perhaps to question the relationship between our digital and physical selves. 

There were other works in the exhibit, and they are work seeing, but I felt these were the three artists most relevant to my classroom assignment. If you have the chance, you should go check this exhibit out. Your last chance is Saturday, April 21, 2018.

Friday, March 30, 2018 – Saturday, April 21, 2018, Venue: The new SP/N Gallery at Synergy Park North 2 Admission: Free