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If you create or own art
concerning menstruation or menopause
and are interested in showing it on
thesepages (it's free!), contact MUM
Marie Claire magazine
(Italian edition) featured several
of the above artists in an article about
this
museum and menstruation in 2003. The
newspaper Corriere della Sera (Io Donna
magazine) (Milan, Italy) and the magazine
Dishy (Turkey) showed some of
the artists in 2005 in articles about this
museum.
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The Art of Menstruation at the Museum of
Menstruation and Women's Health
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"Kotex says Sorry is
intended to promote a positive
although surreal representation of
menstruation. The images were
painted originally and then
photographed and printed out in
large scale
for exhibition purposes. The style
of the female body parodies the form
taken by American Pin-up artist Gil
Elvgren," writes the artist.
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"This is the
centre-piece of my artwork on
menstruation.
As I have explained, the pixie
represents the menstrual period,
hence taking
the place of what has not transpired
to be a human foetus. The image is
intended to be celebratory of what
is commonly termed as the women's
'curse.'
This image was made into a sculpted
model (next
page)."
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(Next artist:
Elvira)
The artist, Natalie Aniela
Dybisz, England, is studying BA
(Hons)
English and Media at the
University of Sussex, and
writes,
"For a long time now I have
been intrigued by menstruation
as a symbol of womanhood, but
more so by the imagery
surrounding menstruation. The
theme of my artwork started as
'Illusionism' I began by
looking at the Bible and
questioning its authority,
interpreting it as I would any
media text. I then linked
menstruation to this when I came
across Leviticus.
"I am more interested in the
attitudes to menstruation than
the science of the blood itself.
I therefore refrained from
creating shock art or goriness;
I wanted to depict menstruation
in an endearing manner by using
such images of strawberries and
tomatoes. I turned around
euphemisms that use horror
imagery, such as 'the pixies are
coming,' and made a surreal
adaptation 'Congratulations,
it's a pixie.'
"What I want to communicate is
that menstruation is only as bad
a thing as any bodily function,
and more so, a positive
function. Whilst it is unfairly
seen as a taboo issue, it is
beneficent for art to depict it
in divergent ways. I do not want
to glorify women or glorify
menstruation, but as a novelty,
I will spotlight menstruation as
I have done in 'Congratulations,
it's a pixie.' This is a
metaphor for discovering you are
on your period, it is not
intended to allude to birth or
sex at all. I have simply used
the idea of birth to hyperbolise
one's period, to celebrate the
fact that the woman can rejoice
that once again she has evaded
the often oppressed
responsibilities of childbearing
and housewifery. Simply put, I
strived to create an
entertaining piece of surrealism
that throws a positive light on
women and menstruation."
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NEXT
artist: Elvira
See all the
artists in the links in
the left-hand
column.
If you create or own art
concerning menstruation or
menopause and
are interested in showing it on
thesepages (it's free!), contact
MUM
See
also
Bea Nettles' art The
Moonsisters
© 2005 Harry
Finley. It is illegal to reproduce
or distribute
work on this Web site in any
manner or medium without written
permission
of the author. Please report
suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org
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