Monday, February 15, 2016

BLOWN AWAY...

In the words of Adele...

Hello!
BLOWN AWAY - 2016


I have been making a lot of art, but not a lot of blog, so I am just going to plunge in with what has been on my mind.

Well, Texas passed open carry and the law went into effect on the first of January.  I was unnerved by the prospect of seeing a lot of hotheaded shitkickers brandishing weapons in the grocery store and movie theater, or across from the sauce when we were gettin' our Q, but what could I do?  The Texas legislature had made up their minds that my state was returning to the days of the wild west.   

Loaded weapons juxtaposed with the usual sort of impulsive idiot Texas is famous for left me feeling pretty nervous... but as of today (mid February) I still haven't seen one gun.
  
I think this is due (in part) to the many businesses who have elected to opt out of allowing open carry carriers onto their premises.  Despite the efforts of the second amendment proponents, the law (at least in practice, so far..) has only served to encourage business owners to draw the line, and most of the establishments I frequent have indicated that guns are simply not welcome.

But all of this talk about guns in Texas got me to thinking... Does having a gun make you safer?

Anecdotal evidence was inconclusive.

I was acquainted with a Texas State legislator who shared the awful story of her parent's murder at a mass shooting in Killeen, Texas.  She ran for office specifically to strengthen laws allowing people to carry guns, because she believed that their deaths could have been prevented, if only they had been permitted to carry the guns hidden in their glove compartment into the Luby's on that fateful day.  

I have also spoken with others whose relatives or friends were killed when the gun they had purchased to protect themselves had been turned on them by a partner or spouse, or, less frequently, an intruder.  Others gave accounts of the senseless outcome when a suicidal person took advantage of an easy to get at gun.  News reports of toddlers shooting surprised parents or naive siblings were also bubbling up on my news feed.

So I did what any curious artist would do.  I started googling statistics.

I focused my efforts on how women were affected, because I believe that a lot of women, like me, are very confused about the issue.  All we want is to know the right thing to do to keep ourselves and our families safe, but when it comes to guns, one wrong move could actually be... well...fatal.  

Because open carry is so new, there is not any information on "saves" of women, men or children by gun toting bystanders - I'm sure that story will unfold as time (and crazies) march on. 

But the escalating stats (The Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Statistics) on women killed by guns (and fists) had a profound effect on my thinking and analysis of the gun issue as it relates to common, everyday women in the Lone Star State.  

I spent several months pouring over reports, and when my typically non analytical head was nearing explosive overload it hit me:  This story should not be told in a blur of numerals.  

This story needed to be told one week, one year, one woman at a time.  

And art could help me do that.

Without really planning what I wanted to do, I just began playing with fabric to try and document the women I had been reading about. I awoke one morning with an idea to make something like the paper dolls I used to color and then cut out when I was a little girl.

Using wire, fabric, thread and a meditative buttonhole stitch, I began making silhouettes of dresses, which I thought could serve to represent the women I had been reading about.  

This play evolved into a prospectus for a solo show, which I am calling "BLOWN AWAY..."



BLOWN AWAY - 2016

What follows is some of the writing  about the project that I submitted to several Texas venues, along with some pictures of work samples created for my applications:


According to the DPS, 309 Texas women were murdered in 2014, representing an 11.5% increase over the previous year. 2013 saw 277 female victims, which was already an increase of 5.32% from the 263 murdered in 2012. The overall (both men and women) murder rates since 2012 had increased only marginally (0.5% [2013] to 3.1% [2014]), making it apparent that the homicide of females was on the rise in the Lone Star State.

But why aren't we talking about that? Why is our focus on mass shootings and the pros and cons of open carry? Because statistics are dry, dull and difficult to fathom, and the majority of those victims weren't killed by strangers. Most importantly, unlike an AK47 pointed at somebody's head in a movie theater, statistics just aren't immediate.

BLOWN AWAY aims to give those victims, those statistics, a voice. In ....a....Gallery Space, this installation will honor all 277 women killed during 2013 through an immersive experience in which each woman can be seen as more than just a number buried in an unread report.

My show will feature a single row of 52 - 9” (tall) white linen covered panels, which will be hung contiguously throughout the darkened gallery. Each panel represents a week during 2013, and the panels will wrap the perimeter of the gallery (skipping openings), viscerally representing a visual year of victims.

BLOWN AWAY - 2016


Each panel will feature several raised (about 1/2”) and sculpted transparent dresses (manipulable wired dress shapes embroidered to layers of sheer fabrics then cut free) suspended (unobtrusively) in a horizontal row. Like a lineup of chalk “victim” outlines, each dress tells the story of women - often victimized by crime and simultaneously blamed for crimes against them.

BLOWN AWAY - 2016

The wired and embroidered dresses are both a fantasy of who these women (perhaps) were or wanted to be, as well as the sad reality of their deaths, either by gunshot or stabbing or “strong arm” weapons (described by DPS as the use of hands, feet and fists).

BLOWN AWAY - 2016



BLOWN AWAY - 2016
BLOWN AWAY - 2016



The only special equipment I would request is that of spotlight lighting to illuminate the full row of panels.


BLOWN AWAY - 2016


Strong, clear lighting directed on and through the dresses (suspended above the panels) activates the colors and textures of the transparent fabrics, creating beautifully colored “shadows” on the white linen beneath.  

BLOWN AWAY - 2016
BLOWN AWAY - 2016




BLOWN AWAY - 2016
BLOWN AWAY - 2016



BLOWN AWAY - 2016







BLOWN AWAY - 2016
















Multiple shadows emerge as the light changes, reminding the viewer of all of the lives each woman's life can touch.

BLOWN AWAY - 2016


As the viewer moves past them, these shadows “come alive,” moving with the viewer's eye like ghostly apparitions on the pure white support. The viewer simultaneously sees both the heavenly and corporeal, the victim as alive and at the very moment of her demise; her hope and promise, and the sheer and unalterable waste of her death.

BLOWN AWAY - 2016
BLOWN AWAY - 2016
BLOWN AWAY - 2016

BLOWN AWAY - 2016




I am hoping my installation sparks conversation about this slow yet somehow acceptable form of mass execution and gives women in unsafe situations the courage to recognize themselves and take action. I am hoping survivors (children, parents, friends) will find peace through the work.

BLOWN AWAY - 2016
BLOWN AWAY - 2016


This work is made of fabric, cotton embroidery floss, wire and light.

Please feel free to share, or leave a comment and let me know what you think.