My performance consists of my son and I. I decided to make a video of my son looking at what I do from his point of view. Little kids are like sponges- hearing, watching, and acting out everything they see others do. Children not only copy the good things, but they also copy the bad things. So with that being said, parents and guardians have to be careful on what they do and say around kids. In the video, I chose to do one little scene of my son watching me pick out a book in a library. He sees how interested I am in choosing a book that he wants to do the same and choose his own. The next clip switches to him picking a book out and showing me how he is just like me. Then the next scene is of myself cutting up fruit for him. He wants to do the same, but instead of actually using a real knife, he uses his kitchen toys to copy what I do in the kitchen. And the next scene is of myself, talking on the phone and arguing. He sees what I am doing and saying and does the same with his imagination and toys- acting out the anger. The music I chose corresponds with the scenes- happy music and children laughing in the first two scenes and barking sounds and children booing in the last scene. My scenes are not acted out perfect nor recorded perfectly. I wanted my video to be shown from my son's point of view- the true reality. My son and I talking, me smiling at my son at the activities I am doing, and his point of view not being perfect and not only looking at me; he is viewing the world around him and is not only focused on one thing such as in the first scene when he is looking at me then at the books.
There are a couple themes that one can notice throughout this video. Identity, abuse, and a glimpse of patriarchy. Identity can be seen in this video from my son- he is still figuring out who he is and what he likes. He has to copy me in order to see if he likes something or not. It is not until I am doing something that he must be thinking, "Wow, let me see what is making my mom happy and maybe it will make me happy too." And to tie into this theme of identity with my son's is also my own. My identity changed in 2018 when my son was born. I went from being a teenager to a mother. My work was inspired by Carrie Mae Weem's, because of where I chose to film my video which is in my kitchen. In “How Carrie Mae Weems Rewrote the Rules of Image-Making” by Megan O’Grady, it states, “… and a handful of Weems’s pictures are nearly definitive artistic representations of motherhood…” In Carrie Mae Weem’s, the Kitchen Table Series, she shows a lot of roles that women have to take on at home, especially one being the role of motherhood. She is showing her daughter in these photos how to do things and what others expect of them. Not just in these series, but in her other artwork, most of it relates to motherhood. Her artistic representations of motherhood can also be seen in my version through my performance video.
Another theme is abuse which can be seen in the last scene. Although the abuse was not directed to my child, my anger and arguing is affecting him and how he behaves. An artist that sticks with me is Ana Mendieta. In "Overlooked No More: Ana Mendieta, a Cuban Artist Who Pushed Boundaries" by Monica Castillo, it states, "Ana Mendieta's art was sometimes violent, often unapologetically feminist and usually raw." This shows just how much she tackled themes of violence and abuse in her work, and that is why I chose to do my last scene of me arguing on the phone and my son copying that anger when he is playing. Even though I am not as violent and graphic as she is in her work, I chose to still show how much indirect abuse can still hurt others. With my last theme, it ties in with patriarchy. In "Understanding Patriarchy" by bell hooks, it states, "I was taught that it was not proper for a female to be violent, that it was “unnatural.” My brother was taught hat his value would be determined by his will to do violence (albeit in appropriate settings). He was taught that for a boy, enjoying violence was a good thing (albeit in appropriate settings)." To me this ties in with my video because I want to show that women can still show anger like men do, even if it is "unnatural" and "improper". Men are supposed to be violent because it is "natural", but I wanted to show that it is not only women who show that kind of "violent" side. And then when it comes to my son, you can see how he was acting "angry" and "violent" and yet still took it as a "playful" thing- something that is supposed to be normal and natural for men. That is totally okay in a patriarchal society, but not the part where his mom is showing her angry side. I wanted to highlight that in my video as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment