The Intersectional Self
As more feminist marches, protests, and gatherings organize in the wake of the new U.S. administration, critiques of contemporary feminist approaches also emerge as on womans day this year in Turkey. Two of the largest issues that feminism faces today are the exclusion of transgender and non-White cultural perspectives and representations. The Intersectional Self at 8th Floor Gallery answers the call for the need of these inclusions by assembling myriad identities…
Ana Mendieta, “Untitled (Facial Hair Transplants)” (1972, estate print 1997), suite of seven estate color photographs, © The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, LLC. Courtesy Galerie Lelong, New York.
The gallery 8th Floor in New York is presenting The Intersectional Self until May 19, an exhibition centered on gender and feminist politics in the age of trans-identity, features the work of artists Janine Antoni, Andrea Bowers, Patty Chang, Abigail DeVille, Ana Mendieta, Catherine Opie, Adrian Piper, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Cindy Sherman, and Martha Wilson. The exhibition both explores how notions of femininity (and alternately, masculinity) have shifted in the context of newly defined gender identities nd how family structures have been reimagined and reshaped through relatively recent advances in reproductive medicine and evolving gender roles. Ultimately, The Intersectional Self examines how feminism in its many forms has changed the world as we know it.
The Intersectional Self the work of artists Janine Antoni, Andrea Bowers, Patty Chang, Abigail DeVille, Ana Mendieta, Catherine Opie, Adrian Piper, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Cindy Sherman, and Martha Wilson.
Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, “My Funny Valentine,” 2013, courtesy of the artists and Invisible-Exports.
Like the idea of a child as the composite of two parents, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge has merged male and female genders into one pandrogynous self. While Cindy Sherman’s experiments in multiple personalities express the nuanced and continuously shifting versions of self, Genesis’ collaboration with Lady Jaye has been a long-term evolution that ultimately results in the fusing of gender binaries into one self-determined being. Sherman and Genesis use their bodies as the site of their artistic production; Sherman’s characterizations eclipse her own persona as artist, and Genesis have dissolved two into one, embodying the lived experience of their artwork. According to Genesis, “Everything is mutable. Names can be changed, bodies can be adjusted, imagery can be adjusted to tell or hide a story.”
Cindy Sherman – Exhibition at MoMa New York
Through performance and persona play, the ten participating artists focus on the idea of “otherness” and tackle issues such as black liberation, the prison system, gender, and immigration.
International woman’s day Istanbul, 2017
The 8th Floor is an independent exhibition and event space in New York established in 2010 by Shelley and Donald Rubin to promote artistic and cultural initiatives. Inspired by The Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation, the gallery is committed to broadening the access and availability of art to New York audiences. Seeking further cultural exchange, The 8th Floor explores the potential of art as an instrument for social change in the 21st century, through an annual program of innovative contemporary art exhibitions and an events program comprised of performances, salon-style discussions, and those organized by external partners.