it is always a pleasure for me to read feedback on my work. so i was thrilled to find this bit of literature.
see the full post HERE!
the second bit was on a blog titled Mediated Space. however this post, by duncan will was specifically about my one woman show, "Sheela's Gig" at sea and space. i wish i could contact duncan to write about my work full time. he really nailed many of my references. his post meant the world to me. duncan not only truly understands my work, but also extended the narratives i was building on and opened new ideas and perspectives.
here is a CHUNK from duncan's post that i found especially rewarding:
"Aesthetically, the installation recalls the humorous hyper-sexualization of works by Jeff Koons, 1970’s female video artists such as Dara Birnbaum, and the aggressive brushstrokes and bright colors of De Kooning’s Woman series. However, with regards to De Kooning, D’Amico’s content differs from his aggressively sexualized women, which are congruent with the modern man’s fears of a liberated female sexuality. D’Amico’s female forms do not pander to man’s fear of the sexualized woman but rather facilitate a wider acceptance of the post-millennium woman’s right to sexual pleasure. Her celebration of female sexuality refutes and erodes the negative connotation associated with the popular notion of the sexualized female as promiscuous.
The content of D’Amico’s art is very similar to some of the more sexualized works of Jeff Koons such as his early 1990’s series of erotic images produced with then-wife Ilona. Like Koons, she relies on the kitsch, everyday objects, to present a work that is both sensational but also decidedly more accessible to a greater diversity of people. Unlike Koons, D’Amico incorporates nature into her work. For example, the Sheela’s Gig installation includes a rather large painting of a nude female whose genitalia are articulated by real plants. The connection is clear: sexuality is natural. While her articulation is somewhat different from Koons the message is similar: to deny sexuality is to deny life. There is also a video component to the installation that recalls Dira Birnbaum’s Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman. Situated between the legs of the large painted female is a box containing video images, balls of yarn, and pieces of wood. The video resembles an erotic workout video on acid. In the video one woman is bent over while the other is thrusting an attached penis behind her. The notion of a woman thrusting an artificial penis is subversive because it refutes man’s sexual power while the bright colors oversaturated colors reaffirm the prominence of media in contemporary society. Although there is a distinct critical element to the video, the colors are meant to amuse and the imagery is meant to be humorous. Birnbaum’s film emphasizes the exploitation of women’s bodies through repetition and the role of technology, the media, in defining gender roles. Similarly, D’Amico uses repetition and attention-grabbing colors to emphasize the media’s role in defining popular conceptions about female sexuality. D’Amico’s reversal of gender roles pokes fun at the media’s debasing portrayal of sexualized women as sluts while the sexualized man is regarded as somewhat of a heroic icon.Ultimately, the viewing of D’Amico’s work is fun and often hilarious much like the work of Koons; however, don’t write off D’Amico’s work as simply humorous or kitsch because within the work’s sensationalism the artist delivers a deft critique of repressed sexuality and the media’s role in defining the acceptable practices of sexuality. It is precisely the accessibility of D’Amico’s work that is so exciting because, like Koons, it invites a larger, more pedestrian audience to consider the complicated issues surrounding the taboo nature of female sexuality."
to read the full post click HERE!
thank you to both Dr. U. & d.s.W., "UBER Blogger Andrew" and especially to Duncan Will. check out duncan's blog here for more reviews.
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