Expuestas
Laborious Expectations and the Plight of Feminist Art in Contemporary Mexico
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2227424 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tania Islas Weinstein (0000-0002-6088-8318, McGill University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 903-929 |
| Publication date | 2020-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0097-9740 • E-ISSN: 1545-6943 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/707800 |
| OpenAlex | W3035570944 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 12 |
In 2015, the Modern Art Museum (MAM) in Mexico City put on a much-anticipated exhibit of the works of Lorena Wolffer, a feminist artist and political activist known for tackling issues of gender-based violence in her work. However, the exhibit soon became a flash point for a debate about sexual violence in art institutions and the personal responsibilities of artist activists when a MAM worker was harassed and fired. Many members of the Mexican artistic community loudly condemned Wolffer for denouncing sexual violence in her work while not doing enough to help the victim and even going ahead with her show. This article analyzes Wolffer’s oeuvre—situating it within both Mexico’s contemporary political climate and existing debates on feminist activist art—and the scandal at the museum. It argues that the personal and professional expectations and critiques placed on many feminist artists arise not simply from the subject matter of their work but also from the form that their artistic practice takes and the types of labor it entails, which often include decentering the authorial element of creation, giving voice and presence to ordinary citizens, helping victims of gender- and sexual-based violence heal, and educating the broader public about these issues. This often entails privileging the artistic process over the production of objects that are sold in the art market. To bear out this argument, this article contrasts Wolffer’s work with that of Santiago Sierra, an artist who engages in politically critical art but eschews normative political commitments and activism. The article concludes that while the artistic field in Mexico is ostensibly becoming more open to feminist art and nontraditional artistic practices, its organizational, curatorial, and critical facets remain staunchly antithetical to a feminist project
Aesthetics · Argument (complex analysis) · Art · Art history · Contemporary art · Normative · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Subject (documents) · Art, Politics, and Modernism · Cultural Industries and Urban Development · Historical Gender and Feminism Studies · Law
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2024 (3) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |