discussion

I would like to start a discussion about gender in the arts.

How is it possible that 70% of the students in artschool are female and it are mostly the male graduates who succeed?
What does the fact that the fine art department does not have a single female teacher in the permanent faculty say?
Should gender be an integrated part of your work?
Is it possible to be a woman an not deal with gender issues?
Do woman not have the ultimate need to create work because they can bare children, and create life?
Is this a sexist remark?

This are things that I was wondering about, being raised by a single mum in the eighties.

She has very Strong sense of being independent and thinks in terms of us and them. I like to regard myself as a human-being more than male or female. In my experience its however almost in possible not to particapate in the discussion about gender. Twist or turn I am a young woman, and my work will be percieved diffrently once this is known. should I hide, protest or just play along?

I’m curious about your opinion.

ps. Here is the link to the guerillagirls, it gives more statistics and a clear humours take on the curator’s and the art market.

http://www.guerrillagirls.com/interview/index.shtml

In connection to the talk about the hotel project in the area Transvaal in The Hague I thought about the book The Tipping Point. The author, Malcolm Gladwell, talks about the way in which trends are spread and developed. He does not speak mainly of fashion trends but also trends within all sorts of areas. The way he sees it trends spread in the same way as an epidemic develops, and at one point something that was before just a small thing tips and becomes popular.

As an example he mentions a housing area. If one window within this is broken, and then left broken for a long period of time, this will signalise that this is ok. The risk that other windows in that area are broken are much higher than in an area without broken windows.
This is of course interesting and valid in the opposite way as well, like in the Hotel Transvaal project. Interesting to see when it reaches the tipping point.

For you who haven’t read the book I warmly recommend it.

Inspired by a concept by Hussein Chalayan.

From Xuena He

David Goldblatt

Windmills for sale, Ventersburg, Free State, 6 August 2003

I saw the above photo at the Stedelijk Museum on Monday, and I suddenly was puzzled as regards to the relation between these windmills and the infamous wind turbine electricity generators –

Somehow these tiny things look so delicate and refined, and do not seem to disturb the grey, dull landscape. They are for sale, indicating people actually do want to go out and buy them, and will use them for something – It is doubtful those shown in the photograph will do anything but turn, but will rather just amuse people and show how fast and from where the wind is from.

We will never entirely rely on wind power or completely green energy, so if we all had a couple of these things, and perhaps even a solar panel on the roof, wouldn’t that spare us the need for massive controversy in our ‘backyards’?

Who decides on whether massive turbines can or cannot pop up and whether people want them in-their-backyards? – My thoughts lead me to think: let’s put a few wind turbines on the front porch next to Granny, or in the living room next to the sofa by the window – the kids will love it!