Benny Lemaster
WGGS 305
11 February 2016
Unit 1 Paper
Having to define what it means to be Queer or Feminist is full of such significant detail, that before I had once overlooked. What deserves to be referenced as Queer art and or Feminist art? This ignites so many questions, that revolve around who that consumer may be. For each of us being consider Queer or Feminist may require a changed definition. For myself, Queer/Feminist arts boldly holds a variety of meaning. It is a way of life, a practice of immunity of limitation towards a performance of foreign approach without any structure of policing. The simplistic nature of Queer and or Feminist art can be easily over processed or over complicated. Asking yourself to climb out from under oneself understandably can be much easier said than done, but in this reality we have the control to loose control. Depart ways with once was and embrace the now. Queer and or Feminist art embarks on a journey of exploration to exhume these buried desires we all have that we have been ordered to mask.
When we try to examine what is art we are in essence examining a part of ourselves within. Trying to grasp the meaning of a particular performance whether it be music, film, canvas, etc. is a movement of transition that purposely directs us on path of self recognition. Art can be utilized as a tool to dismember the inner most workings of oneself. With this new enlightenment we piece ourselves back together with new adjustments because we have now discovered new pieces of ourselves that aids in a more self comprehensive framework. On a universal level according to “Dictionary.com” art is defined as “the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles,of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance”. I believe we all create art as a community as well as individuals, this art being life lived.
Whenever art has been given a title or label of some sort I feel it usually limits its potentiality. I feel as if the majority of us use labeling as a defense mechanism towards the possibility of what could or can be. Why must we feel the need to label? When we look at Queer art and or Feminist art I feel that the act of putting this title to it has done the exact of opposite, instead of creating an end, it instead empowers a symbolic note of creation. The idea of Queer itself encourages one to overcome the notion of restriction, to always gear towards the probable, to never give up on the potentiality of what could and can be. This interpretation that the word “Queer” is so significant because we need that space in order to always be able to create on top of what has already been created.
Our culture plays this crucial role in how we react to performance. Depending on who you are, where you are, expands this space for reaction. You may be inclined to respond a certain way due to who you are surrounding yourself with along with what smells, temperatures, noises, etc. you are experiencing during this time of digestion. Each motion of time, space, and environment helps develop these reflections. According to “Merriam- Webster” culture can be define as “the the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time”. We are all part of a culture and we all have our ways of participating. Each participant is crucial, there is not one that does not have any influence on their surroundings.
We are all affected by what we distribute into the world. There are those moments that we do not even recognize that a connection of some sort has been meet. This connection does not have to be at the exact time of experience, but can awaken after. Either way there is a queer unconscious that has been hit. That uncertainty or confusion of feeling a new pulse of emotion that you are not familiar with is that queer unconscious shifting inside, awakening. It can be this out of body experience, finding yourself behaving in a way that is completely untouched and foreign. This new enlightenment can be so liberating with a range of freedom that allows you to banish all your old preconceived notions on how you were once programmed to feel in which case you will realize you are capable to form your own body of rules, boundaries, and expectations.
The importance of critiquing art as a Feminist and or Queer concept is that it allows us to focus on a exact area of influence within oneself. Art as a entirety erupts the senses, but when we filter through a Queer and or Feminist lens it educates us through the eyes of a Queer and or Feminist prospective. A Queer prospective will deliver on allowing all doors of expression to be open. Basically taking this concept of Queer art and or Feminist art can make the art of life that much more infinite. Applying this new contact I can reach an entire new platform of concepts that cure me of ignorance in regards to a new feeling I once did not understand or appreciate. This is now a new reality for myself that I am and will be continually developing.
This critique on Queer and or Feminist art that we discuss in class is great example of where I personally have applied this new formula towards my own Queer introspection. Listening to how my peers feel and then processing how they have been affected by a performance have all been extremely influential on how go about my own personal evolution. At times I feel really misplaced because I feel that I have such little experience with this method of process. I will hear someone's reaction of what has been consumed and I will find myself to be slightly overwhelmed with the expansion of possibility, that again I was unaware of. I keep reminding myself to challenge what I know and allow myself to look into the more. This was prevalent during the Beyonce music video “Formation”. I was able to pull apart the video, making connections to the past that correlated to the now. This practice has taught me how to really soak in and appreciate so much more of the content.
The other day I visited the University Art Museum for the first time where I was exposed to what can be considered as Queer and or Feminist art. There was once piece in particular that I was affected by the most. The work “Diamond Valley”, belonged to Rebecca Campbell, basically a painting of a women in a room, crying, seemed she was cutting up something possibility preparing a meal of some sort. The use of these bright colors as well as an image of a rainbow in the background seemed to be making the effort to persuade viewer to believe that this woman was in a state of an ideal reality. In complete contrast I found the art to be a sad and lonely. It was almost as if the painting was depicting the notion of what seems to be is not at all. I kept asking myself what is the intent of the artist? This piece of art spoke volumes of a Queer and Feminist language because of how it made me process every detail of the work, and how it resonated within myself. It stirred up questions of intent, firing up this energy I was not expecting and for me that is a testament of the power of Queer and or feminist work.