SALT

1 Introduction Salt is a video installation designed to pose questions about the community of lesbian and bisexual women. My intent is to present these marginalized people in a new light and to provoke discussion and debate regarding the issues that surround them. This thesis will discuss the installation Salt and how themes of duality, the politico-artistic partnership, and the experiences of gay women relate to my work. Duality Embedded in art theories and methodologies such as socialist, feminist and gay theory is the concept of binary opposition. Binary opposition is best described as a list of opposites such as male/female, black/white, and gay/straight. Each of these theories has come under criticism by modern philosophers. From these critiques arose queer theory in which the opposing sides are blurred to the point that division can no longer be maintained. Whereas gay theory focuses on the differences between those that are gay and those that are straight, queer theory claims that the two communities cannot be clearly divided. An example of a blurring of boundaries is evidenced by the fact that a lot of us have a genetic makeup that is racially mixed. In the Deep South during the days of slavery, for example, it was common for the masters to rape their female slaves. If the children were born with a lighter complexion, they would take them into the family and rear them with their legitimate children. Over time, this blended the racial makeup of 2 many with southern heritage. The cultural differences between masculine and feminine are also blurred within contemporary society. Women hold jobs that were traditionally thought of as masculine professions and men can now be found staying at home and caring for children. Even within genetics, one can find situations of hermaphrodites and XXY chromosomal patterns questioning the very definition of what is male and what is female. There is, therefore, no true binary opposition but only social constructs. Salt is designed to question social constructs and represent the fluid nature of sexuality and gender, as well as the boundaries used by society to define them. The gallery is divided into two fields by way of a single line of salt poured horizontally across the gallery floor in which the homonyms “dyke” and “dike” are written. The term “dike” refers to a dam or earthwork designed as a protective barrier against flooding while “dyke” is a derogatory term for a lesbian, especially one with masculine characteristics. Both words point to two differing views of lesbianism. More recently, the gay community has embraced the term “dyke” and uses it as a source or symbol of power. The word “dyke” has become a “dike” or a word symbolizing the protection offered by their community. For gay women, living within a community in which one feels safe and free to be themselves, serves as a protective barrier against a world that refuses their acceptance. The line of salt represents the manner in which people are categorized and labeled. When the viewer crosses the line, they are being invited to align themselves with the community represented in the videos. They are asked to break a societal construct of observing a boundary line, much like the gay and lesbian community, who 3 cross the boundary of accepted sexual identity. Furthermore, the line is formed of salt, which can be easily dissolved or simply swept away. It is no more substantial than a line drawn in the sand. I see the mineral salt as a rich metaphor for duality. Composed of two elements, sodium and chloride, it is used as a preservative for meat, adds flavor to our food, is necessary for our survival and yet can corrode metal. It has healing properties, but causes pain if rubbed into a wound. Similarly, for those opposed to alternative lifestyles, homosexuality is considered a perversion, but for someone who is gay, living openly as a homosexual brings a sense of empowerment and freedom. The Politico/Artistic Marriage For me, good art has nothing to do with aesthetic beauty, but has everything to do with fulfilling a concept or idea, perhaps expanding a mind. Art can be beautiful but aesthetic beauty is secondary to the point of the piece. Walter Benjamin discussed the many ways in which the reproducibility of art changed the purpose of art from being about aesthetic beauty, or what he called ritual, to being about politics. I feel the purpose of art is to challenge the status quo. It should pose questions, create thought and dialogue, and provoke change. The purpose of creating works of art that can be reproduced numerous times is to reach the masses. The desire to reach to masses coincides with a desire to propagate a political agenda. Influenced by the ideas of Benjamin, I wish to create works of art in order to propagate my political beliefs. 4 Salt functions as a political statement. The refusal of our government to legalize gay unions or protect the gay community under current anti-harassment law supports the discrimination of this population. However, gay discrimination is not as concrete as its sister, racism, since lesbianism can be hidden or denied unlike skin color. When one can easily hide the characteristic that leads to discrimination, there is little motivation to fight for the oppressed community. I am motivated to lay bare gay and lesbian issues in my work. Salt is a call for lesbians to stand and confront, or be confronted. It is also a challenge for those opposed to homosexuality to look at the lesbian and see that they are not fundamentally different from heterosexuals. The gay person has the same basic human desires as those of a straight person. The Procession I address these issues in Salt, a video installation in which viewers are confronted with two frames containing images of women who walk into a brightly lit, white space without hesitation. With a confrontational stare, they turn to present themselves to the viewer. They then look upward spread their arms open and offer themselves for analysis. Then they turn slowly, full circle for further scrutiny. When observed closely, body language varies from powerful to meek. While Salt represents a community, each woman within the video represents herself. These women are represented as martyrs in that they offer themselves up for the observation of the camera and the viewer. However, while they go through the ritual of 5 offering themselves for analysis, they transition from unwilling victims to courageous individuals who publicly acknowledge who and what they are despite the ease of hiding it. Epiphany While in graduate school I attended an installation by Dread Scott in the Ernest G.Welch School of Art and Design gallery. The installation was very simple, consisting of an American flag on the floor and a platform with a book in which to write comments. To reach the book, one had to step on the flag. When I first approached the installation, I found it very difficult to walk on the flag. After I worked up the nerve to do it, I first took my shoes off and stepped very gingerly, as though that would excuse such a flagrant disrespect of an icon. When I left the gallery I questioned my motives and over the next several days, I had conversations with colleagues about the meaning of our flag and how deeply ingrained our social constructs are. After much debate, I went back to the gallerywearing boots and danced on that flag with my lesbian partner. I had discovered within myself that it was not my own beliefs that made me uncomfortable with walking on the flag, but my conformity to social instruction. Not once through all of this did I describe or even consider the installation in terms of line, form, color, or any other notion of aesthetic. What I did describe was my experience and reaction to it. The installation, the debates with colleagues, and the final act of dancing on that flag had a significant impact 6 on me and produced a change in the manner in which I create art. I suddenly found that ideas were more important to me than aesthetics. In contrast, I went to see an exhibit of Sally Mann’s photographic series entitled What Remains at Jackson Fine Art Gallery. While Mann was very influential to my earlier work in photography, and her work has conceptual content, when I described the event to friends, I described what the images contained, how they looked and how the beauty of them brought me to tears. Though equal in power to the Scott installation, I did not come away with an experience that became a memory of my own. It did not change anything in my psychological fiber. With my own photography, I have often been criticized for being too didactic. It was always due to an earnest desire on my part to get the viewer to understand my point of view. After my participation in the Dread Scott piece, I realized that the best way to get viewers to think about someone else’s point of view is to offer them a manner in which to experience how the other person feels. The intent of Salt is to create an experience for the viewer that will be woven into the very fabric of their being, to struggle with what they had not considered before, like the Dread Scott piece had done for me. Ghosts and Zombies Salt attempts to expose some of the experiences of lesbian and bisexual women as marginalized individuals. For example, even though lesbian couples can hold 7 commitment ceremonies and have children through adoption or artificial insemination, many lesbians fear that accepting their sexuality will be a fatal seal against having a “legitimate” family. Coming out can also mean a total abandonment by friends and/or family, the loss of employment, and financial ruin simply because they are gay. In the majority of her work, Virginia Woolf wrote about heroines who were forced to live as “ghosts” forever denying their desires due to a world that would not accept them. It has been said that the main character of Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway suffered from such psychological strain that resulted in “the death of the soul” (Barrett and Cramer 58, 106). Gays and lesbians are forced to live as ghosts in an unaccepting world when their sexuality is not acknowledged. Salt uses color and clothing as symbols to further the concept of the ghost. The women in the videos are stripped of any indication of sexuality. They are meant to be clinically analyzed. The clothing is simple; there is a purposeful omission of lace, satin or revealing attire. They are not wearing make-up and do not adorn themselves with jewelry. It is a subtle act of rebellion against a society that uses such things to beautify and sexualize the female. The women are dressed in white to create an ethereal presence. The wearing of white is symbolic of virgin brides while simultaneously the glowing light mimics a ghostlike presence. All of the women in the video can tell a story of coming out. They can describe life before this event and the difficulties involved in learning to accept themselves. Attempts to kill or change their sexuality in order to fulfill societal expectations can make the lesbian hollow. For example, when the world expects a 8 closeted lesbian to marry a man and that man expects his wife to desire sex with him, the closeted lesbian must succumb to her expected role. This situation creates the numbing of the female psyche or what can be referred to as a female ghost or zombie. Much of Virginia Woolf’s writing references the zombie-like state that exists for the closeted lesbian. Although the women in the video are courageously exposing their sexuality, my intent is that they demonstrate a potential threat of zombification by their ethereal presence. In fact, the metaphor of a zombie is pertinent to Salt. In the Haitian culture, three types of zombies are defined. One is a physical zombie created when a person is given a poison to enslave them. A second is a political zombie and is generally referencing Haiti as a symbol of an enslaved population. The last is a psychological zombie and occurs when a person is abused to the point of a psychological death. For the lesbian who never accepts her sexuality, becoming a zombie is inevitable. In Haitian voodoo, the only cure for a zombie is to be given salt. In part, this installation calls for the closeted lesbian to cross the salt line and join her sisters. She is offered a metaphorical cure for her zombification. The Story The audio of Salt relies on an adapted version of the children’s folktale entitled The Little Dutch Boy. The manipulated story is told through the use of three female voices: an elderly woman, an adult female and a little girl. The differing generations 9 address cross generational issues regarding feminism, and acts as a “passing of the torch.” In addition, the original tale of a little outcast boy who eventually saves his town by plugging a hole in a dam to keep the town from flooding is changed to that of a little girl. In fact, I purposefully replace all masculine characters have with female ones. Essentially the island of Lesbos is recreated, a colony entirely composed of women, dedicated to the worship of the female principle as opposed to later Christian monasteries that were devoted to the worship of the male (Walker 535). For instance, instead of a boy taking baked treats to a blind man, a little girl takes salt to a blind woman. Another difference between the original tale and the adaptation for Salt concerns the word “dike” which has been omitted from the story and replaced with the word “dam.” This change has been made to avoid the sexual innuendo in the story while simultaneously drawing attention to the censorship of the word by using it in the form of written text in the salt on the gallery floor. In the story, the idea of blindness is used in the same fashion as Virginia Woolf used namelessness and ghosting as metaphors of the closeted lesbian in her short story entitled The Mysterious Case of Miss V. Also, in the Haitian voodoo religion, zombies are described as being blind. Blindness then represents the potential fate of a soulless existence. So, it is fitting that in this manipulated version of the folktale, the blind character is being offered salt. The sun and the flowers represent the enjoyment of freedoms. Yet, throughout the story there is a constant threat of the breaking of the dam that protects the characters’ world from flood and destruction. The “angry waters” pose 10 as the opposition to homosexuality and those who would see the rights of such individuals stripped away. The little girl is the heroine in the story. She is a woman who grew up as an outcast, lived through the challenges of coming out, and saves her world through courageously fighting political and social opposition. She is a representative of the lesbian feminist movement and yet she can be read as each of the individual women in the video. Like the girl in the story, the women in the video stand before the viewer in a manner of saying, “Look at me, accept me or deny me but either way, I will stand before you.” These are the women who ingested the salt, have cured their own state of zombification and now demand to be accepted by the society that has so long penalized their existence. Kindred Spirits Salt is an example of the personal becoming political and dovetails with artists who have approached their work as a means of expressing a political platform. In the 1970’s, Martha Rosler used her video, A Citizen Observed, in this way. In the video, scientists relentlessly measure a woman in a multitude of ways. They draw out her body on a white backdrop and write down the measurements in detail as they collect the data. Rosler uses a white background and examples of clinical examination in much the same manner that I have used these within Salt. With this video, Rosler expresses the feminist issues of her day and uses art as a form of social critique. I find it interesting how much 11 the norms she challenged then are still prevalent today. Like Rosler, my work is motivated by a desire for social change. I also admire the work of Catherine Opie and Jo Spence. Catherine Opie’s portraits of the gay, lesbian and transgender community are presented with a sensitivity and respect that is necessary in order to honestly portray a marginalized community. One such piece is her self-portrait. The photograph depicts Opie seated with her bare back to the camera. On her back is a child-like drawing of a house on a hill and two stick figure girls holding hands that has been carved into her back with a razor blade. Blood drips from the carved picture. It is simultaneously a powerful and vulnerable image. The power in the image comes from the choice of the artist to present her back to the camera. She denies the gaze of the viewer. The image is created on her terms. Yet it is also vulnerable due to the damaged body and its connection to the emotions of hurt and pain. For me, the work address the difficult choices and societal consequences many lesbians face. Most of Jo Spence’s work addresses the female experience in an aggressive and physical manner. Much of her later work revolved around her experience with breast cancer and what she did in an attempt to take back control over her body. She used her body and photography as a form of phototherapy. My favorite photograph by Spence is a self-portrait in which she is facing the camera clothed in a hospital gown with her breast exposed. On one of her breasts is an X, drawn presumably by the hospital staff to mark it for surgery. Above the X is written “Property of Jo Spence.” In this singular image, all 12 of the devastation of breast cancer is profoundly demonstrated. Her body is rebelling against her desire to fight and heal. She is attempting to reclaim what is being lost. Catherine Opie and Jo Spence have inspired me because both are photographers with political agendas and both work to bring awareness to the causes of the communities in which they participate. These artists work to provoke change in the world, the purpose of their work goes beyond personal expression. It is my desire to align my artistic pursuits with theirs and others like them. Conclusion The installation Salt is both a personal work and a political statement. It is designed to pose questions and provoke discussion about issues relating as to the lesbian community. Women’s bodies are used to evoke analysis of the lesbians. The salt line represents the duality residing in debate. The audio is meant to bring awareness to the threat of a loss of personal freedom, whether due to government or the self-inflicted attempt to live according to societal norms. Salt negotiates a conflict with a battlefield of sorts, soldiers in formation, a boundary line drawn, and decisions to be made. The lesbian community is called to bravely acknowledge their sexuality for the future betterment of the community and those opposed to homosexuality are asked to respect the humanity of all. The hope is that the line of salt will ultimately be dissolved. Although my tenure at Georgia State University is over, Salt has changed the way I will make work in the future. As a politically morivated artist, I will seek to make 13 work that gives voice to marginalized people while calling on those same people to speak for themselves. Through the making of this work, I have come to understand my place in the art world and the work I will choose to make in the future. That place is to make personal work that evolves into political or social critique. All of this will be continued with an earnest desire for acceptance of all with the human condition. 14 Bibliography Arnason, H.H. History of Modern Art. Eds.Eve Sinaiko et al. NewYork: Harry N. Abrams, 1998. Barrett, Eileen and Patricia Cramer, eds. Virginia Woolf: Lesbian Readings. New York: New York University Press, 1997. Benjamin,Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Translated by: Andy Blunden, 1998. UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. Brooks, Max. The Zombie Survival Guide. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2003. Bowring, Michele. “Resistance is Not Futile: Liberating Captain Janeway from the Masculine-Feminine Dualism of Leadership.” Gender, Work and Organization 11.4 (2004): 381-404. Cosentino, Donald J. Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou. Regents of the University of California, 1995. 15 Danticat, Edwidge, ed. The Butterfly’s Way: Voices from the Haitian Dyaspora in the United States. New York: Soho, 2001. Dick, Susan, ed. The Complete Shorter Fiction of Virginia Woolf. San Diego, New York, London: Harcourt, Inc., 1989. Hussey, Mark. Virginia Woolf A to Z. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. Kawin, Bruce F. and Gerald Mast. A Short History of the Movies. New York: Longman, 2006. Marcus, Sharon. “Queer Theory for Everyone: A Review Essay.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. 31.1 (2005): 191-218. Roca, Jamie.”Gloria Steinem’s Two Cents.” Curve, September, 2007: 22. Sontag, Susan. On Photography. New York: Picador, 1977. Walker, Barbara G. The Woman’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets. San Francisco: Harper, 1983. 16 Woolf, Virginia. Mrs. Dalloway. San Diego, New York, London: Harcourt Brace and Harcourt Brace and Company, 1925. “Queer Theory.” Colorado University, 11 Nov. 2006. http://www.colorado.edu/english/courses/engl201/queertheory.html. 17 List of Materials 250 pounds of Extra Coarse Sea Salt Video Projection SALT: approximately ten minute continuous loop Audio Sound Track on CD: approximately four minute continuous loop 18 Slide List Slide number one Slide number two Slide number three Slide number four Slide number five Slide number six Slide number seven Slide number eight Slide number nine Slide number ten