Disavowals
Alberto Giacometti, Suspended Ball, 1930-31. Plaster and metal, 24 x 14 ¼ x 14 inches. Kunsthaus, Zurich, Alberto Giacometti Foundation.
Claude Cahun's work was a radical and complex it aimed to challenge conventional ideas about gender, sexuality, art, and subjectivity in the interwar period.
Cahun sought to deconstruct traditional notions of the self and propose alternative ways of understanding subjectivity and relationships between self and other.
Claude Cahun, masked self-portrait, 1929.
Their/Her photography and collage methods and juxtapositions blur of boundaries to visually represent Cahun's ideas about fluid identities. Like this piece above they are highly intentional about how the elements come together. Layering and placeing them in such a way that metaphors and story about ones indeity can unfold.
Going deep though Cahun uses masks and photomontage to represent the progression from childhood to adulthood as a form of masquerade. This technique not only challenges traditional notions of gender and identity but also sheds light on the heteronormative expectations placed on women during the interwar years.
Looking at the juxtaposition of Cahun's childhood photograph with later self-portraits creates a visual narrative that disrupts the linear, gendered expectations of maturation. By presenting these images in a non-linear, fragmented manner, Cahun invites us to question the very nature of identity formation and the societal pressures that shape it.
Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, Faceplate for Chapter I entitled R. C. S. in Aveux non avenus, 1930.
“She describes the process of growing up as an effort to win
her freedom’ from such conformity.”
Jennifer Shaw, Reading Claud Cahun's Disavowals.
The concept of "winning freedom" from conformity that Cahun describes is centered on agency, self-determination, and the construction of identity.
my concluding thoughts:
Her work for me, highlights the human need for fluidity, permission to change and dip into the many facets of your own identity. When we allow our selves to fully feel our identities we’re able to see and exisit in the world with multiple perspectives. Only with this ability that we can truly be advocates for our fellow human. _______________________________________________
Reading Quantum Listening
Pauline Oliveros encourages us to rethink our creative practice and focus as much, if not more, on the process then the final output. She sets on centering ourselves on deep, attentive listening to the world around us suggesting that this practice allows us to be more responsive to our own context.
My thoughts:
When we are deeply connected to our own relationship with the world around us our creative work is likely to have a far greater impact on society as well as progress our personal evolution. -Haven’t finished this reading fully yet