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The artist Jennifer Weigel
writes,
I am a visual artist in St. Louis,
Missouri, and have been making art
about (and sometimes using)
menstruation in order to raise
cultural awareness
and lessen the social stigma
associated with it, although I
create other
types of work as well. I've included
some information on the Menstruation
series that I have compiled. My
Menstruation series has been shown
in upstate New York, although I have
(as expected) run into several
roadblocks
in regards to getting this work
shown. There are also other
pieces
about menstruation involving acrylic
stained clothing and the like, but
they haven't been shown as of yet.
Anyway, I love your website and
thought that this series of my work
seems
relevant, so I've since decided to
share it with you. You're
welcome
to check out some of my other work
anyway, if you're curious.
Also,
you should look up Vanessa Tiegs'
blood moon paintings - they're just
great.
Anyway, thanks so much for MUM -
great idea and an inspiration to us
all.
Jennifer Weigel
visual artist
http://home.earthlink.net/~cwilbur202/
Description of Work (from the
Menstruation series):
This is a series of bodily function
monoprints made in Jan. 2005. First
thing each morning during the week
of my monthly period, I pressed my
menstrual
vagina to the watercolor paper to
make these prints. Due to the
somewhat
unpredictable nature of this
exercise, each piece is its own
unique experience,
although the method and materials
remain the same
throughout. However,
they still form a cohesive whole.
Artist's Statement on
Menstruation (from her
experiences):
Menstruation is still a fairly
taboo topic. It is often an
avoided
aspect of a woman's existence even
though PMS is blamed for all sorts
of
angry outbreaks and mood swings,
many of which have nothing to do
with it. Since
it is a culturally taboo topic,
menstruation doesn't often appear in
conversation
except in certain types of gross-out
humor and among groups of women, who
sometimes have chat sessions
comparing their experiences.
A girl's first period is often a
dreaded part of parenthood, since
her
body is asserting that she is, in
fact, growing up. She is no
longer
a little girl and could now even
have a baby of her own. As a
result,
this major life change is not
readily celebrated as a step towards
womanhood,
and, like many other bodily changes,
it can bring shame or guilt instead.
Most women try to conceal any
evidence that they are on "that time
of the month." Some wear padded
mattresses in their panties to
collect any evidence, shameful of
any seepage that might
occur. Others
discreetly dash into the store to
buy a box of tampons, often burying
it
among other items or using the
self-checkout. A few even limit
their
attire and their activities so that
they are unlikely to encounter any
embarrassing
incidents.
Some women have sought ways to
better understand their bodies and
their
menstrual cycles as a decisive step
towards celebrating
womanhood. Several
women have made "blood moon
paintings" by collecting and using
their menstrual blood, most notably
including Vanessa Tiegs, who keeps
an
ongoing journal of paintings.
While continuing to redefine the
idea of art and artmaking, I am also
seeking to help demystify this
process of the female body. By
making art
about menstruation and even using
the by-products of this natural
occurrence,
I also hope that I might encourage
more women to find ways to celebrate
their own cycles through art.
She later wrote,
In regards to my limitations
showing this work, I have submitted
it to
a local art party celebrating women
in the arts multiple times now, but
it hasn't been accepted as part of
the exhibited work. They have
shown
some fairly provocative work, often
centered on cultural perceptions of
beauty and body image, so I was
surprised that they didn't jump on
the opportunity
to show these pieces. I'll probably
try again, for the third time, this
year, though. They get
different jurors each time, so it's
just a matter
of time. And I don't hold it
against the show, since there are so
many great pieces of art out there,
and I know that a lot of really
relevant
pieces are rejected from shows
simply because there isn't enough
space to
show them all. I have also
tried to find venues to show some of
my
other pieces about menstruation to
little avail, but I'll keep on
trying. It
always depends on what has been
submitted and on how open-minded the
gallery
is. The more subtle pieces tend
to do better. I have managed to
show some of these works in upstate
New York, however. And I've
shown
some menstruation jewelry wherein I
used beads to symbolize different
days
of the month, with unakite
representing ovulation (since it is
often associated
with fertility and rebirth) and
various light brown and red beads of
different
sizes and shapes to depict the
menstrual cycle itself. These
pieces
were so popular once the symbology
behind them was explained that they
were
purchased before the show even
opened! (They required an
explanation
simply due to their subtlety.)
It seems to me that, in regards to
the topic of menstruation, a lot of
people would rather simply look the
other way and not have to think
about
it or be confronted by it. I think
that's part of why I'm finding it
difficult
to show some of these works, because
they're controversial even though
they
really shouldn't be. But I feel
that until women learn to accept
every
aspect of their bodies and embrace
their coming of age into womanhood,
they
can't ever really appreciate what it
means to be a woman. We need to
learn to celebrate ourselves and our
bodies, not hide from them.
I create other sorts of artwork as
well, but I prefer to make artwork
that causes people to think and not
just more pretty pictures. If
you
want, you can look at some of my
other work on my website at http://home.earthlink.net/~cwilbur202/ I've
been
planning to create a subsection in
mixed media for my art about
menstruation,
but it's simply been too long since
I updated the site and I haven't
gotten
around to it yet. I'm hoping to
get some of these pieces
photographed
and uploaded in the not-too-distant
future, once I find the time between
shows.
Anyway, I have attached the first
three pieces (Days 1 - 3) from the
Menstruation series, as noted in my
earlier email. As anticipated,
they have darkened a bit with age,
so if I were to scan the other 3
now,
they wouldn't match. Day 3 is
probably my personal favorite
because
it looks like a rather eloquent
abstract painting. If you are
interested
in seeing some images of some of my
other work about menstruation, I can
shoot some digital photos and email
them. One piece is a physical
manifestation
of a woman's Coming of Age. The
next main piece in this series is
still
in its formative stages, though, but
it will be a design for a
site-specific
installation. If the piece is
accepted and actually installed for
the show,
I'll let you know and will email
photos. Also, once you acquire
a physical
space in which to house the museum,
let me know as I would love to
donate
a piece of work.
If you get the opportunity, you
should really look into Vanessa
Tiegs'
work and see if she wouldn't mind
for you to link to her site
somewhere
or to interview her for the museum
(if you can still find her website -
it keeps moving around). Her
paintings are stunningly beautiful.
Thanks so much for putting together
such a wonderful museum and record
of how we perceive of menstruation
in different cultures. It is an
invaluable resource. I am
looking forward to perusing the rest
of
the site when I get the opportunity
- there is a huge font of
information
there! I have already emailed
it to several friends of mine whom I
thought would greatly appreciate it
as well. Anyway, take care and
thanks again.
- Jennifer
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