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La inceputul anilor 70, cand
eram la scoala de arta din Mexic, doua evenimente m-au
facut sa realizez ca faptul ca sunt femeie va influenta
modul cum este perceputa arta mea.
Primul eveniment s-a petrecut atunci cand o colega studenta
a tinut o prelegere despre artistele din trecut, fapt
care era uimitor pentru ca niciuna nu fusese vreodata
inclusa in vreunul din cursurile noastre de istoria
artei. In timpul discutiilor care au urmat dupa prezentarea
ei, toti barbatii prezenti la curs au fost de comun
acord ca femeile nu erau la fel de creative ca barbatii
pentru ca ele pot da nastere. Acest lucru, venind din
partea tinerilor artisti liberali si "revolutionari"
care ne cunosteau arta, m-a facut sa realizez cat de
stupizi erau si ca daca vroiam ca arta noastra sa fie
apreciata, trebuia sa schimbam societatea.
Cateva luni mai tarziu, a avut loc la scoala noastra
de arta, o miscare importanta a studentilor care cereau
o schimbare in programele academice. Intr-o zi am mers
la toaleta si am observat ca pe perete era pictat un
text care cerea femeilor sa faca dragoste cu baietii
din scoala pentru a-i mentine puternici in lupta. Faptul
ca am fost la fel de active in aceasta miscare parea
irelevant. Se pare ca nu eram vizibile decat ca obiecte
sexuale.
Din fericire erau anii '70 si in Mexic exista o miscare
feminista in crestere. M-am alaturat acestei miscari
si am militat timp de doi ani. Chiar am organizat in
tara noastra, primul An International al Femeilor. Exista
o constientizare crescanda in privinta problemelor femeilor
si in scoala noastra de arta exista un grup curajos
de tinere artiste interesate sa lucreze in proiecte
de colaborare.
Pe cand inca eram in scoala am citit despre Cladirea
Femeii din Los Angeles, scoala pe care Judy Chicago,
Arlene Raven si Sheila De Brettville au deschis-o si
am decis sa merg si sa studiez acolo dupa scoala de
arta. Am lucrat mult cu Suzanne Lacy si Leslie Labowitz
care aveau un grup numit Ariadne: O Retea de Arta Sociala
si am obtinut diploma de Master cu o lucrare intitulata:
Arta Feminista: Un instrument politic eficient.
M-am intors in Mexic la inceputul anilor 1980 si am
initiat un workshop despre arta feminista la vechea
mea scoala de arta. Am format un grup numit: Tlacuilas
y Retrateras. Am format deasemenea un alt grup impreuna
cu Maris Bustamante numit Polvo de Gallina Negra/Praf
de Gaina Neagra, care denumeste un remediu impotriva
deochiului. Ne-am gandit ca era greu sa fii artist,
si mai greu sa fii o femeie artist, dar cine se hotara
sa devina artista feminista avea nevoie de o protectie
speciala asa ca am inclus-o chiar in numele grupului.
Umorul era cea mai puternica unealta a noastra, si singura
strategie posibila intr-o societate extrem de sexista,
traditionala si catolica. Ambele grupuri au activat
mai mult in domeniul performance-ului. Este interesant
de observat ca astazi, cele mai puternice si mai vizibile
artiste din Mexic fac performance. Acest lucru se datoreaza
faptului ca este o modalitate de lucru care vorbeste
inevitabil despre problemele femeilor, pentru ca suntem
acolo cu trupurile noastre, varstele noastre, kilogramele
noastre, prezenta noastra, dar si pentru ca este o modalitate
de lucru care atrage artistii care nu sunt in mod special
timizi.
Pentru ca provin dintr-o tara unde 40% din populatie
traieste intr-o saracie extrema si unde rasismul este
atat de inradacinat incat nici nu vorbim despre el,
ma definesc ca feminista pentru ca imi permite sa-mi
inteleg propria opresiune si sa imi dau seama cand eu
insami devin opresoarea altora. Imi permite sa inteleg
puterea relatiilor, care sunt intotdeauna complexe si
imi daruieste empatie. Cred de asemenea ca feminismul
este mama tuturor bataliilor pentru egalitate din moment
ce nu iti poti ignora sau satiriza "inamicul"
pentru ca el este tatal, sotul, fratele, fiul si prietenul:
trebuie sa invatam sa negociem si sa traim impreuna
ca fiinte umane.
Treizeci de ani reprezinta o perioada lunga cand este
vorba de viata personala a cuiva, insa este o perioada
foarte mica raportata la istoria umanitatii. Acest lucru
incerc sa mi-l amintesc ori de cate ori vad ca, desi
foarte multe lucruri s-au schimbat incepand cu cel de-al
doilea val de feminism acum cateva decenii, inca mai
este o cale lunga de strabatut.
Monica Mayer
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In the early seventies, when
I was in art school in Mexico, two events made me realize
that the fact that I was a woman would affect how my
art was perceived. The first one was when a fellow student
gave a talk on women artists from the past, which was
quite amazing because none had ever been included in
any of our art history classes. During the discussion
after her presentation, all the guys in the class agreed
women were not as creative as men because we could give
birth. This, coming from liberal, "revolutionary"
young artists who knew our work, made me realize how
dumb they were and that if we ever wanted our art to
be appreciated, we would have to change society. A few
months later, there was an important student movement
at our art school that demanded a change in the academic
programs. One day I went into the bathroom and there
was a large text painted on the wall asking women to
make love to the guys in school to keep them going in
the struggle. The fact that we had been just as active
in the movement seemed irrelevant. Apparently we were
invisible except as sex objects. Fortunately, it was
the seventies and in Mexico there was a growing women's
movement. I joined it and militated in it for two years.
We even had the first Women's International Year in
our country. There was a growing awareness of women's
issues and in our art school there was a feisty group
of young women artists interested in working on collaborative
projects. While still in school I read about the Woman's
Building in Los Angeles , the school that Judy Chicago,
Arlene Raven and Sheila De Brettville opened and I decided
to go and study there after art school. I worked a lot
with Suzanne Lacy and Leslie Labowitz who had a group
called Ariadne: A Social Art Network and obtained my
Masters Degree with a thesis titled: Feminist Art: An
Effective Political Tool. I returned to Mexico in the
early 1980's and started a workshop on feminist art
at my old art school. We formed a group called Tlacuilas
y Retrateras. I also formed another group with Maris
Bustamante called Polvo de Gallina Negra, which is a
remedy against the evil eye. We figured it was hard
to be an artist, harder to be a women artist, but anyone
that decided to be a feminist woman artist would need
some special protection so we had it even in our name.
Humor was our strongest tool, and the only strategy
possible in a highly sexist, traditional and Catholic
society. Both these groups worked mostly performance.
It is interesting to note that today the strongest and
most visible women artists in Mexico are doing performance.
This may be because it is a type of work that inevitably
speaks about women's issues because we are there with
our bodies, our age, our weight, our presence, but also
because it is a type of work that attracts artists who
are not particularly shy.
Coming from a country where 40% of the population lives
in extreme poverty and where racism is so engrained
that we don't even talk about it, I define myself as
a feminist because it allows me to understand my own
oppression and to detect when I myself am the oppressor
of others. It lets me to understand power relationships,
which are always complex, and it gives me empathy. I
also believe that feminism is the mother of all battles
towards equality since you can't ignore or satirize
"the enemy" because they are our fathers,
husbands, brothers, sons and friends: one has to learn
to negotiate and grow together as human beings.
Thirty years is a long time in terms of one's personal
life, but very little in terms of human history. This
is something I try to remember whenever I see that even
though a lot of things have changed since the second
wave of feminism started a few decades ago, there is
still a long way to go.
Monica Mayer
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