I was reminded of two Rilke quotes today. This one is an old favorite, often copied into my journals because my nature makes it so challenging. Es una cuestión del tiempo y de la fe!
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Hye-Seong Tak Lee, a Korean Women's Caucus for Art Member-At-Large, independent curator, artist and lecturer at Gwangju University, spontaneously flew over to Los Angeles for the Women's Caucus for Art Conference and, in particularly, to attend the inaugural meeting for the newly formed International Caucus, for which I was the Director. She had no room at the hotel, so I offered her my extra bed. What she added to this already whirlwind of a kickoff, was a proposal for a collaboration between WCA artists and Korean women artists for exhibitions in South Korea. I had never directed an exhibition, especially an international one, but, my natural instincts to say YES and have faith in my abilities as a quick learner won out. This conference was in February of 2012 and the exhibitions, just concluded!
With Priscilla Otani's guidance, and many odd-hour conversations with Hye-Seong, with her as director and me as co-director, we tackled the complicated international logistics:
Woman + Body explored the range of sexual identification - female, transgender, and male - with a contemporary, 21st century view. The subject of the female body was well-explored in the 1960's and produced many discourses in the 90's, related to such issues as AIDS, cosmetic surgery, stereotyping and discrimination, but what is new? 1) Woman's Body as Subject: unabashed exploration of women's bodies and women's desires- unaltered, unadulterated images that set a new standard of beauty. 2) Transformation and Crossover: Bodies altered through cosmetics, cosmetic surgery, tattoos, sex change, cross dressing, costuming and other means to achieve a metamorphosis. 3) Man's Body as Subject: a woman's view of the male body - affectionate, lustful, critical, envious. There was little English spoken, but, somehow, even when Hye-Seong was not there to translate, we communicated our collective thoughts on living as self-identified women. Shared meals and a night of Karaoke (with many repeats of the song "Gangnam Style", since we were in the Gangnam section of Seoul and the song is bi-lingual) broke down many barriers. The obvious matriarch of the South Korean artists was Park Youngsook, who graciously toured us around the Bukchon Hanok Village historic area and invited us to tea. The short time line for this project was crazy-making, but the end product and the reception by the women artists there were deeply rewarding. I created a video of the exhibitions: vimeo.com/99755522 Military women in uniform greeting us everywhere yesterday a the UN CSW Consultation Day. And silently reminding us of the sexual violence they are subjected to in service to our country. The day opened with Girl Be Heard's theatre performance about girl sex slavery - the actors taking the roles of 9 year old girls, Caribbean girls, Ukrainian girls, Mexican girls and pimps.The stories from them and others the rest of the day still shock even if heard before. Yet there were moments of light such as men volunteering to ring the doorbells at homes in which noises of violence are heard - disrupting the violence. Here is just a snippet from the Girls.
Here is a PSA about Girl Be Heard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RssOoRG0Of8 And here they are at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKkCaJ4tKf8 Photo courtesy of Girl Be Heard website In NYC for the UN Commission on the Status of Women Conference, as a representative for the Women's Caucus for Art. Amazing and beautiful connections and I am just one day into it. Tonight Jean Shinoda Bolen, one of the women who mentored me years ago (at the Wise Women gathering at Feathered Pipe Ranch) and for whom I made one of my Ancestresses & Wise Women sculptures, inspired us. One of her many messages - we women must ignore fear, acknowledge our power and support it with conviction because we have an immense circle of women around us, supporting us as we do the important work that needs doing.
Soothing equine therapy under the blue sky at the ranch yesterday when two donkeys and three horses surrounded me, coming in close for hugs, noses breathing softly on my body with one blowing gently in my ear. My mother passed away on New Year's eve and I wondered if they sensed my grief.
I am wishing for a world that, as David Brooks recently wrote, spans reason AND emotion - people who have #attunement, #equipoise, #metis, #sympathy and #limerence.
Attunement: the ability to enter other minds and learn what they have to offer. Equipoise: the ability to serenely monitor the movements of one’s own mind and correct for biases and shortcomings. Metis: the ability to see patterns in the world and derive a gist from complex situations. Sympathy: the ability to fall into a rhythm with those around you and thrive in groups. Limerence: This isn’t a talent as much as a motivation. The conscious mind hungers for money and success, but the unconscious mind hungers for those moments of transcendence when the skull line falls away and we are lost in love for another, the challenge of a task or the love of God. Link to original article by David Brooks: https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/opinion/08brooks.html From Greenpeace's Campaign for a World We Can Breathe In, 90 seconds to breathe deeply with theses gorgeous clips of tides across the world. https://www.greenpeace.org/international/ |
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