The following are a few concepts I saw in Maya Deren's experimental film, Meshes of the Afternoon. Keep in mind that these are my connections, and they might not represent the artist's original intent.
Code-switching from body to object (0:39) The fragility of the flower, shaken and roughly carried, is similar to our main character. She is beautiful, but her life seems to be ruled by abusive powers out of her control.
Double-coding such as the key/knife (10:00) Destruction (as signified by a knife) can potentially offer the same outcome (freedom) as a key. *This can also be seen as a juxtaposition, a Postmodern Principle recognized by Gude.*
Reversals in the relation of subject to object (6:29) Deren's character watches herself try, and fail, to catch a cloaked figure with a mirrored face multiple times. She becomes an object in her own narrative. This repetition of Deren's character watching herself perfect representation of a visual palimpsest. *The Postmodern Principle of "Gazing" can be applied here.*
Subversion of normalcy (9:06) Three physical manifestations of the same character are not as surprising as the reappearance of a key.
Hypersignification of domestic objects, e.g., with extreme close-ups, slow zooms, camera angles, & space constriction (2:00) A purposeful pause before the protagonist ascends the stairs acts as an acknowledgement of a nearby unhooked telephone. The telephone reappears many times throughout the piece, culminating in the male figure's replacement of the handset back on the receiver.
Harlem Rose
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| Willie Cole, Harlem Rose, 2005 |
In Museum Culture and the Inequities of Display and Representation (2007), author Alice Wexler provides a damning description of museums and their exhibition selections. After working as a graduate assistant at the Palmer for 6 months, I must say that some of these claims are not universal truisms. In fact, I was disappointed to see that the role of museum educators (and their work) was not discussed. Museum education seems to be the perfect place to start changing the attitudes Wexler describes.
For example, many docents have told me that Harlem Rose is a favorite of children visitors, a prominently placed sculpture by a black artist. Dana, the Curator of Education at the Palmer, uses it to bring up many contemporary concepts. In one tour, she described titular "Rose" as referring to both the shape of the piece (a flower) and the verb "to rise." This takes on many different meanings when juxtaposed against the female working-class shoes that make up the sculpture. Could the artist be honoring the females in his community that worked to raise their families? What implications does this have for the type of beauty "grown" in Harlem?
Attentive Learning (a Principle of Possibility) can be achieved through questions that museum educators (or other art educators facilitating a museum trip) ask in order to foster connections between visitors and contemporary themes. Here are a few prompts that I would ask in response to viewing Harlem Rose.
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| Detail: Willie Cole, Harlem Rose, 2005 |
Appropriation (Postmodern Principles): Why do you think shoes were chosen to create this piece? What do shoes symbolize?
Representin' (Postmodern Principles): What connections can you make between the artist's background (growing up in New York City) and the themes discussed?
I hope that by respecting each museum visitor's agency and abilities to make connections, museum educators can help right some of the historical wrongs mentioned by Wexler. To my classmates: what experiences have you had in museums? Where there any times you felt particularly welcome (or unwelcome) and do you have any suggestions for inclusive future tour planning?
March,
ReplyDeleteyou mentioned "The telephone reappears many times throughout the piece, culminating in the male figure's replacement of the handset back on the receiver." I wondered why you thought he was the one that put it back on the handset. The woman had seen it off the hook several times, but never did anything about it. Since he was the one who put it back on, it seemed like he was the one in control of the relationship and perhaps of the woman. What do you think?
My class viewed and discussed Harlem Rose today. We are working on a collage that conveys a juxtapostion, so this was a perfect artwork.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the idea!
I'm so happy that you were able to use it for your class! As for the telephone...I'm not quite sure what to make of it. It's almost as if hanging up is the resolution--there's no more uncertainty of a busy tone. The scene (as portrayed by the phone), like the character's life, is done.
ReplyDeleteI like how the soles of the shoes are aimed towards the viewer- an effective juxtaposition of view that one doesn't normally see. This is the part of the shoe that does the work, not the part for "show."
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