January 17th 2009, ICA, London, SPECIAL EVENT
In an age when commodification has almost completely silenced any political discussion of the casual use of female nudity, Club des Femmes revisits some of the seminal film works made by women artists using the female form.
BODY OF WORK: PROGRAMME 1
ICA, Cinema 2, 2.30pm
ALMOST OUT
Director: Jayne Parker. UK, 1984, 90 mins
'Almost Out' is a confrontation/statement with fragments of dialogue between a mother, daughter and a cameraman" - J.P.
The gap between intention and expression is explored as the camera isolates parts of the body, and the women speak of how the image relates to themselves and their body image. Parker says at one point, 'I want to please my mother, that is what this film is about!' Her mother looks at her naked body on the monitor and talks about how she feels being produced as an image. There ensues a brutal but caring talk between mother and daughter which is disturbing, sad and breathtakingly intense.
BODY OF WORK: PROGRAMME 2
ICA, Cinema 1, 6.30 pm
A survey of ground-breaking works, made against the backdrop of feminist discussion of body politics, that properly interrogate what the female body means, how the body is viewed societally, how much the body communicates meaning and ultimately ask: how much do our bodies express our selves?
Film Programme:
TAP AND TOUCH CINEMA
Director: VALIE EXPORT. Germany, 1968, 2 mins
"The cinema has shrunk somewhat - only two hands fit inside it. To see (i.e. feel, touch) the film, the viewer (user) has to stretch his hands through the entrance to the cinema. At last the curtain which formerly rose only for the eyes now rises for both hands. The tactile recption is the opposite of the deceit of voyeurism." – VALIE EXPORT
VITAL STATISTICS OF A CITIZEN, SIMPLY OBTAINED
Director: Martha Rosler. USA, 1977, 40 mins
Taking aim at the social standardisation enforced on women's bodies, Rosler critiques the politics of 'objective' or scientific evaluation that result in the de-personalisation, objectfication and colonisation of women. Just to whom are these statistics vital? They are vital to a society which circumscribes the behaviour and roles of women.
IMPONDERABILIA
Directors: Marina Abramovich/Ulay. The Netherlands, 1977, 10 mins
"Naked we stand opposite each other in the museum entrance. The public entering the museum has to turn sideways to move through the limited space between us. Everyone wanting to get past has to choose which one of us to face" – Marina Abramovich
K
Director: Jayne Parker. UK, 1989, 13 mins
"I bring into the open all the things I have taken in that are not mine and thereby make room for something new. I make an external order out of an internal tangle." – Jayne Parker
MEASURES OF DISTANCE
Director: Mona Hatoum. UK, 1988, 16 mins
Hatoum explores how degrees of proximity and separation can be conveyed by employing both concrete examples (her mother taking a shower), and more formal abstractions (text, paper, voices, a trip to Beirut).
Body of Work is generously supported by Peccadillo Pictures.
Thank you LUX, VDB, Montevideo, Amsterdam and Charim Gallery, Vienna
Coming soon.. Finn's Girl, released January 19th by Peccadillo Pictures
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