Through the eyes of a woman

I don't know if I grew up a feminist but I know that this is a title that I use or other people know me as.I think I understand my obsession of feminism as I look at some of the movies I watched (Mary Poppins) or family structure (my father did my hair ever morning for all of elementary school while my mother went to work). It's a huge part of who I am and it's funny how the name became stamped on my heart and life. I became a feminist because I was oppressed in a Christian context. Because of that I was able to move on and find my freedom not only in my Christ but also in my womanhood.

Today my friend Jenny and I spent the say touring the feminist art exhibit, entitled WACK at the Geffen Contemporary Museum of Art, part of the MOCA in LA.


This was my second of hopefully three times to visit the exhibit that I think is absolutely fascinating. This exhibit is the first feminist exhibit of all women artists. It surprises me that it's 2007 and only now we are celebrating the work and achievements of women. My first encounter was with my friends Grant and Josh.

We had a great time and it was intriguing to bring a male perspective into what I was thinking, feeling, and reacting. Grant is a friend who knows quite a bit about art so it was lovely to have his thoughts and knowledge of the pieces and the layout of the show. It was a lovely afternoon where I felt like I stepped into something that I was always meant to step in. As I encountered the art my soul felt at rest and at ease because it was resonating with the images that so much of it has encountered with brokenness and the agony of silence.

One of my favorite pieces is Yoko Ono's Cut Piece


This piece really strikes me as the basics of human nature and human interaction. I think watching the video is worth the time and your interactions with it makes the meaning that much richer. Other pieces that I really enjoyed were ads that juxtaposed real woman that were taken years before the ads were introduced. I loved this piece where a woman's face was being tied up with string and towards the point where it seems like suffocation there are scissors that cut the thread. There were also a couple of pieces that had to do with what ads show and what are really underneath the clothing of the models. A piece that showed the struggle of women trying to work in the art fields that are dominated by men. There were so many pieces that spoke to me.

Because this was the second visit I choose to spend time at spaces that I really enjoyed and moved past the pieces that either I didn't relate to or didn't connect with. I love this exhibit and feel so lucky that this is in Los angeles, just a train ride from my home. I left rethinking the same questions I have been asking myself and others for awhile...what is beauty? Who defines it? What defines it? Why do we give it so much worth?