Alas, it is already the spring semester and I am already getting back to hard work. As I prepare for my presentation (february 4th at Temple Contemporary,) I am going over old notes that I had taken during intensive research. This project has become so much of a mirror of itself. I am creating a social practice project while researching social practice. Oy.
One significant aspect of this project was to find a way to balance art and activism. As if there was a magic recipe... In many ways I have lost what it means for me to be an activist. Today, in my "Social Practice Class," we watched Nato Thompson's presentation on Living as Form. At one point he said that "to make meaning is a form of resistance." Resistance is communicating in a way that is against the norm or current form of power. In small ways artists create forms of resistance every day. They create new ways and possibilities of seeing the world. And in some cases, maybe this is all we can hope for, to create an opening for others to see the world in a new critical way.
Many of these women open up these doors in different ways. Whether it is Swoon pasting on a street corner to draw attention to an abandoned wall, Suzanne Lacy using social media and public performances to raise awareness about Rape, or Peggy Diggs leaving don't drink and drive coasters in bars. These artists create moments of clarity, understanding, that are accessible, and artistic. Subjective Rupture.
There are small ways of being an activist. I am an activist in my daily interventions, creating moments of resistance. In many ways though, these projects seem like smaller gestures for larger activist movements. What are those larger activist projects? When do I find something to specialize in? Take advantage of my passion for larger social movements.... It is about time to have a specialized research driven project that reflects that.
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