Response to historically specific crises and “generational” model politics in feminism
Response to historically specific crises and “generational” model politics have continued agency within our current political climate. Whether hope inspired or pessimistic, inspiration is all around. Feminism is as necessary today as days prior, due in part to a continued issue grounded in sex and ego also displayed in the images of Pauline Boudry inspired by the work and theatricality of Hannah Cullwick.
The passage within Elizabeth Freemans essay on New Literary History and themes behind photographs where Freeman asserts Firestone’s exploration in painting against the male gaze is continually relevant. This section influenced my further research into the focus on feminism during this hotly contested Presidential Campaign full of discussions on bigotry and roles of women in our society. My thoughts and research were drawn to the White House.
I created photographic works based on the official Presidential portraits, which have been painted for every president. Only three official portraits have been painted by women:
William McKinley, Harriet Anderson Stubbs Murphy, 1902
Harry S. Truman, Martha Greta Kempton, 1947
Lyndon B. Johnson, Elizabeth Shoumatoff, 1968
The first two images that populated were appropriated from the internet using search terms:
- 1902 female photography
- 1947 female photography
- 1968 female photography
Following up I felt the necessity to pair Foucault’s “use sexuality henceforth to arrive at a multiplicity of relationships,’ that is within Elizabeth Freeman’s Time Binds essay. Secret Service has been using codenames for the President, First Lady and staffers for decades. The president has a very masculine name, while the first lady and other women staffers are more feminine. Nancy-Ann DeParle and Alyssa Mastromonaco who served together as Deputy Chiefs of Staff in the Obama administration from2011-2013 intentionally went for the ultra-feminine when selecting their monikers: Peaches and Popsicle, respectively. The women “delighted in watching the mostly male, macho Secret Service agents announce the arrival of Popsicle and Peaches,” Newton-Small writes in “Broad Influence: How Women Are Changing The Way America Works”. [1] Linking the female body and various aspects of dehumanization and alienation that are brought up by the extreme sexuality and connotation the two words they chose as codenames are ripe for interpretation. The uncertainty in my understanding of their reasoning, while likely playful, brings forth questions.
Was this a case where women were taking back the power of the visual perspective and thought these two items tend to carry? Either way the sexual nature of both where brought within the background of the political conversation due to their link to the White House and continued power struggles by many who might feel the use of these less conventional choices may have been more thoroughly considered.
Presidential Codenames:
Harry Truman: General
Dwight Eisenhower: Providence
John F. Kennedy: Lancer
Lyndon Johnson: Volunteer
Richard Nixon: Searchlight
Gerald Ford: Passkey
Ronald Reagan: Rawhide
Jimmy Carter: Deacon
George Bush: Timberwolf
Bill Clinton: Eagle
George W. Bush: Tumbler
Joe Biden: Celtic
Barack Obama: Renegade
Jacqueline Kennedy: Lace
Lady Bird Johnson: Victoria
Pat Nixon: Starlight
Betty Ford: Pinafore
Nancy Reagan: Rainbow
Rosalynn Carter: Dancer
Barbara Bush: Tranquility
Hillary Clinton: Evergreen
Laura Bush: Tempo
Jill Biden: Capri
Michelle Obama: Renaissance
[1] Tikkanen, Amy. "Secret Service Code Names of 10 U.S. Presidents." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Accessed September 05, 2016. https://www.britannica.com/list/secret-service-code-names-of-10-u.s.-presidents.
WORK FROM THE READINGS:
Continued work in collage of visuals and sound elements allowed for me to work with found objects and appropriation while I still work through internal questions of material and medium. Taking a step away from primary focuses on sound or sonic inclusion to allow an openness for the image to stand independently. The historical narrative and discovery process was intriguing as to what was found and relations to subject within our material. The web search performed brought with it continued narratives of sexuality, race and gender I hadn't at first anticipated. Each appropriated image brings its own connotations pairing with the additional readings discovered.
