Wednesday, 18 May 2011
we have gone Facebook official
For anyone who is on facebook, this is a link to the Art of Conversation group where the chat continues. Plus pictures and videos from the performance have been uploaded thanks to the lovely Claire Sharples.
Monday, 16 May 2011
"Slutwalk"
There is an interesting on 'Slutwalk' by Germaine Greer at telegraph.co.uk. Look it up ! It will be in the 'womens' health' section .
Diane
Saturday, 14 May 2011
What comes out of chatty women...
Delivering my documentary to you as promised!
Always throws up some questions around (mis)representation so I hope you're all happy, particularly with the edit which can be viewed on a charming AoC group page I made just for the job and more loose chat and updates -
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_145723982166973Have loved the skewing of ownership and anonymity throughout -
The audio at the beginning: whose voice, whose words
Blogging under a shared name (or despite people using their own it being a bit of a guess/process of elimination job at first)
& the confessions
So here are some of the photos, more on the group page. Best, C
Hen Do or Hen Don't
I've had this idea about a journal - an academic journal with papers written by all kinds of different people.
About Hen Do's.
I seemed to have reached the point in my life where my friends think it's ok to ask me to shell out £300 on a weekend away and a further £250 on another weekend away (and at least one day off work) later in the same year. They cleverly disguise these 'weekends away' as a "Hen Do" and a "Wedding".
Don't get me wrong - I love a good night out, but I do wonder what these Hen Do's really say about modern, liberated, educated women about to embark on an equal(?) partnership for the rest of their years.
And on said Hen Do, it's ok to carry around all manner of willy paraphernalia ... when did you last see a stag do with a cunt straw, or a cunt balloon ... no, thought not.
So anyway, this is a call for papers - 2,000 word limit, to be submitted by the 14th July 2011 to me as a word doc; kirstsil@yahoo.com. I'll make a blog. I'll invite others to submit. If it ever goes anywhere I'll set up a co-operative so we all gain. Oh and I'm the editor.
Please spread the word far and wide. Papers can be fun, serious, academic, positive, negative, by men or by women.
Kirstin x
About Hen Do's.
I seemed to have reached the point in my life where my friends think it's ok to ask me to shell out £300 on a weekend away and a further £250 on another weekend away (and at least one day off work) later in the same year. They cleverly disguise these 'weekends away' as a "Hen Do" and a "Wedding".
Don't get me wrong - I love a good night out, but I do wonder what these Hen Do's really say about modern, liberated, educated women about to embark on an equal(?) partnership for the rest of their years.
And on said Hen Do, it's ok to carry around all manner of willy paraphernalia ... when did you last see a stag do with a cunt straw, or a cunt balloon ... no, thought not.
So anyway, this is a call for papers - 2,000 word limit, to be submitted by the 14th July 2011 to me as a word doc; kirstsil@yahoo.com. I'll make a blog. I'll invite others to submit. If it ever goes anywhere I'll set up a co-operative so we all gain. Oh and I'm the editor.
Please spread the word far and wide. Papers can be fun, serious, academic, positive, negative, by men or by women.
Kirstin x
Thursday, 12 May 2011
sweet dreams
Just woken up from a dream that i think is trying to tell me something:
I realised i needed sharp knives for the performance and knocked on the door where 2 Pigeons were up to something!They showed me where boxes of them were laid out and asked if i could self-serve.I then started a very satisfying carving of polystyrene but was aware of the fact that certain people were missing that were vital if everything was going to be ok.
Then I lost my sight and with totally blurred vision kept walking the wrong way into closed exits trying to find the performance space.
I walked in and saw my son and his friend watching me perform.Me and the other performer were muppets though you could only see our heads. I am saying in a Miss Piggy voice "We're doing this all wrong" I am wondering if my son will hear himself talked about amongst the taped stories.
Anyone would think I was anxious about tonight's Happening!!
I realised i needed sharp knives for the performance and knocked on the door where 2 Pigeons were up to something!They showed me where boxes of them were laid out and asked if i could self-serve.I then started a very satisfying carving of polystyrene but was aware of the fact that certain people were missing that were vital if everything was going to be ok.
Then I lost my sight and with totally blurred vision kept walking the wrong way into closed exits trying to find the performance space.
I walked in and saw my son and his friend watching me perform.Me and the other performer were muppets though you could only see our heads. I am saying in a Miss Piggy voice "We're doing this all wrong" I am wondering if my son will hear himself talked about amongst the taped stories.
Anyone would think I was anxious about tonight's Happening!!
Sunday, 8 May 2011
One for the team
Leaping in with a bit of a better late than never effort and no idea what to say...
Had a gander at other contributions as they've appeared and they are an interesting counter slant to the collaborative conversational bit that we do of a Thursday, possibly more insightful than talk from my point of view - is that generally understood? - not sure whether it's just concentration, the ability for people to shape and deliver their contributions as independent statements or having both the face to face and blogging in tandem.
As I seem to have opted out out of the performance I was hoping you might all be happy for me to get snap happy and document the night (with editing rights to the pics of course).
Look forward to Thursday - see you all then. Best,
Claire
Had a gander at other contributions as they've appeared and they are an interesting counter slant to the collaborative conversational bit that we do of a Thursday, possibly more insightful than talk from my point of view - is that generally understood? - not sure whether it's just concentration, the ability for people to shape and deliver their contributions as independent statements or having both the face to face and blogging in tandem.
As I seem to have opted out out of the performance I was hoping you might all be happy for me to get snap happy and document the night (with editing rights to the pics of course).
Look forward to Thursday - see you all then. Best,
Claire
Thursday, 5 May 2011
Maybe a bit too provocative?
I just thought I'd post quickly even though we're meeting in a few hours time :)
I've printed off a few choice Germaine quotes for the shrine (until my printer ink ran out) and I will bring them in along with a few other bits i've collected - fake flowers, candles etc. I like the idea of there being fruit and flowers in there as well - maybe some of the fruit from the interval?
I've also commissioned something a bit fancy that I thought I'd run by you all just in case it seems, well, a bit blasphemous to be honest!
My fella is a dab hand with photoshop so I asked him if he could take a photo of Germaine and make her into a Virgin Mary/Jesus, something very holy with lots of light, iconographic image. I thought it would be a nice big colourful centrepiece to all the other bits we will collect. I also want to make a big frame around it (i'm thinking paper mache and spray painted gold!). Do you think this will be stepping on any toes? It will be a little provocative, enhanced by it being in a loo, of course.
I'm also very excited to try out some non-verbal communication gestures (some subtle, some not-so) throughout whatever conversations will be happening in the main space. Perhaps if the feeling is very relaxed and conversational it will add a strange, almost jarring performative element to the proceedings. I would enjoy that :)
See you all very soon!
Sarah.
I've printed off a few choice Germaine quotes for the shrine (until my printer ink ran out) and I will bring them in along with a few other bits i've collected - fake flowers, candles etc. I like the idea of there being fruit and flowers in there as well - maybe some of the fruit from the interval?
I've also commissioned something a bit fancy that I thought I'd run by you all just in case it seems, well, a bit blasphemous to be honest!
My fella is a dab hand with photoshop so I asked him if he could take a photo of Germaine and make her into a Virgin Mary/Jesus, something very holy with lots of light, iconographic image. I thought it would be a nice big colourful centrepiece to all the other bits we will collect. I also want to make a big frame around it (i'm thinking paper mache and spray painted gold!). Do you think this will be stepping on any toes? It will be a little provocative, enhanced by it being in a loo, of course.
I'm also very excited to try out some non-verbal communication gestures (some subtle, some not-so) throughout whatever conversations will be happening in the main space. Perhaps if the feeling is very relaxed and conversational it will add a strange, almost jarring performative element to the proceedings. I would enjoy that :)
See you all very soon!
Sarah.
What Does It Mean To Be A Woman?
Grace Edwards
Switch on the television, read a magazine or simply look around; contradictory messages about women are everywhere. The commercial media would have us believe ‘women’ are all blonde, busty, bronzed, ‘girly’ dependents, whilst history would teach us that women fall into two categories: the eternal virgin or the mother/wife/homemaker.
Frankly, I don’t buy that. Neither does any other woman I know.
I believe that to be a woman therefore is, first and foremost, to be an interpreter.
I am constantly amazed at the creative ways in which the women around me express their own brand of femininity. And of course, it’s more than just symbolic; navigating the waters of social acceptability is a particularly perilous task for women, whether out at a function or going for that job promotion.
I love the quote in bold. I think it reflects exactly what we have been saying in our sessions about the importance of listening in conversation.
Also I'm getting very excited about the performance now and the shrine
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
Forgive me Germaine...
So, I shared this story last week, but I'll repeat it in case anyone wants to write a confession around it.
When I was 14 my ex-boyfriend cheated on me with my best friend of the time, Donna. He then broke up with her and told everyone he loved me... Now technically Donna sinned... but I broke the laws of sisterhood also, by rejoicing in getting one over on her, rather than uniting with her against the heartless boy. I still can't think of her without wanting to mutter 'bitch' under my breath.
I think that one of the biggest sins a lady can commit against the sisterhood is using a word like 'bitch' or 'slut' or 'slag'. Language like that is a way of controlling how women behave, usually insulting women for having sexual confidence. More than any offensive language, these are the words I reserve for when I'm really angry, and I feel guilty for uttering them.
Jen
When I was 14 my ex-boyfriend cheated on me with my best friend of the time, Donna. He then broke up with her and told everyone he loved me... Now technically Donna sinned... but I broke the laws of sisterhood also, by rejoicing in getting one over on her, rather than uniting with her against the heartless boy. I still can't think of her without wanting to mutter 'bitch' under my breath.
I think that one of the biggest sins a lady can commit against the sisterhood is using a word like 'bitch' or 'slut' or 'slag'. Language like that is a way of controlling how women behave, usually insulting women for having sexual confidence. More than any offensive language, these are the words I reserve for when I'm really angry, and I feel guilty for uttering them.
Jen
An Effigy of Germaine
As part of my home work I thought I'd look up different images of Germaine Greer to decorate Germaine's shrine.
I think I just hit the flaming jackpot guys. Feel free to be not as excited as me but look at this:
http://westendwhingers.wordpress.com/2008/07/20/the-whingers-do-winehouse-amy-in-vegetables/
It's only a picture of A POTATO decorated as Germaine Greer!!! Genius, it's a sign!!!
I've been thinking about food buffets, partly because our experience has involved eating strawberries and chatting and also it's something which fits an interval. What do you do in a performance interval - you go to the loo and you (after washing your hands) go and get a drink and some snacks. We could have an entire themed food trolley!! The bar could serve bloody marys called "my friend said that Germaine said you're not a real feminist until you taste your own period blood". (I just explained this idea to my housemate who added "and the room should be lit by the flames of burning bras") Or maybe we should just have a Germaine shaped potato effigy in the shrine, and I should calm myself down. Either/or.
What I really love about Germaine's shrine making something comic from the stereotype of Germaine being a feminist Idol. I don't know if she is. She isn't my idol.
I feel very comfortable about us concluding that we have no fixed conclusions about what feminism is, what it should be now and how we should respond to the challenge we set ourselves. In fact I feel more confident about having no conclusions. I think part of the performance should include talking, if we are having a discussion, about what the new word for feminism is. I think the performance about conversation should include a genuine conversation with an audience, who feel comfortable contributing.
On the topic of finding GG photos, there are some great google images we can download. I'll bring as many objects in as possible tomorrow
Jen
I think I just hit the flaming jackpot guys. Feel free to be not as excited as me but look at this:
http://westendwhingers.wordpress.com/2008/07/20/the-whingers-do-winehouse-amy-in-vegetables/
It's only a picture of A POTATO decorated as Germaine Greer!!! Genius, it's a sign!!!
I've been thinking about food buffets, partly because our experience has involved eating strawberries and chatting and also it's something which fits an interval. What do you do in a performance interval - you go to the loo and you (after washing your hands) go and get a drink and some snacks. We could have an entire themed food trolley!! The bar could serve bloody marys called "my friend said that Germaine said you're not a real feminist until you taste your own period blood". (I just explained this idea to my housemate who added "and the room should be lit by the flames of burning bras") Or maybe we should just have a Germaine shaped potato effigy in the shrine, and I should calm myself down. Either/or.
What I really love about Germaine's shrine making something comic from the stereotype of Germaine being a feminist Idol. I don't know if she is. She isn't my idol.
I feel very comfortable about us concluding that we have no fixed conclusions about what feminism is, what it should be now and how we should respond to the challenge we set ourselves. In fact I feel more confident about having no conclusions. I think part of the performance should include talking, if we are having a discussion, about what the new word for feminism is. I think the performance about conversation should include a genuine conversation with an audience, who feel comfortable contributing.
On the topic of finding GG photos, there are some great google images we can download. I'll bring as many objects in as possible tomorrow
Jen
Our performance
I have been thinking a lot this week about our performance piece and to what extent it manifests the sessions and workshops we have done so far.
I think it's really interesting to see what has come about, and where it has generated from. Initially I worried that what we had come up with didn't quite reflect the nature of 'conversation' and particularly gendered conversation as intended, but the more I think about it, the more it seems to make sense...
The Germaine Greer shrine... great, a good bit of fun and almost a celebration and a finger in the air for feminism... hitting the accusation of being aggressive and in your face head on by being knowingly and celebratorily(?) so...
The confessional aspect - I have been thinking a lot recently about the confessional nature of some of my personal conversations (particularly with Sarah who unfortunately for her has to deal with my verbal dhiarrhoea)... to an extent I have found these workshops quite confessional, much more than I thought they would be given my initial apprehensions about attending a session full of women.
The sound recordings - these for me hint at the notion that not all conversation is experienced directly and physically, and particularly in a modern age this is quite an important thing to address and explore. I think there is potential for more 'interpretive' performance here, perhaps in the way we respond to the recording (as discussed) and interpret the non-physical presence with our own physical presence
Also with the tape and the confessions - the notions of stories (particularly personal stories) and how these are so important for conversation and in particular female conversation and the notion of sharing
The gestural element - I think it's really importnat to explore the physical element of conversation and there is further scope here. Something Sarah and I have been discussing is the potential of an additional intermission piece in which we sit and have a conversation in the bar, but over gesticulate in a mirrored fashion...
The comedy aspect, the playing with conventions, the stealing of a recognisable format so as to subvert and challenge.
But perhaps where is the tradtional conversational element? I am keen to address this, but don't really have any suggestions and am anxious at how forced this may seem (I'm also not personally happy to perform myself as I'm not a perfromer)... but mabe a forced and strained conversation, or one plyed out with characters and types might address the notion that conversation is always performed, and roles are always played...
I'm also a bit anxious about how we end... hopefully we'll have lots of brainwaves tomorrow to top it off beautifully!
Ah, I don't know! I'm just waffling horribly!
See you all tomorrow!
Michelle x
I think it's really interesting to see what has come about, and where it has generated from. Initially I worried that what we had come up with didn't quite reflect the nature of 'conversation' and particularly gendered conversation as intended, but the more I think about it, the more it seems to make sense...
The Germaine Greer shrine... great, a good bit of fun and almost a celebration and a finger in the air for feminism... hitting the accusation of being aggressive and in your face head on by being knowingly and celebratorily(?) so...
The confessional aspect - I have been thinking a lot recently about the confessional nature of some of my personal conversations (particularly with Sarah who unfortunately for her has to deal with my verbal dhiarrhoea)... to an extent I have found these workshops quite confessional, much more than I thought they would be given my initial apprehensions about attending a session full of women.
The sound recordings - these for me hint at the notion that not all conversation is experienced directly and physically, and particularly in a modern age this is quite an important thing to address and explore. I think there is potential for more 'interpretive' performance here, perhaps in the way we respond to the recording (as discussed) and interpret the non-physical presence with our own physical presence
Also with the tape and the confessions - the notions of stories (particularly personal stories) and how these are so important for conversation and in particular female conversation and the notion of sharing
The gestural element - I think it's really importnat to explore the physical element of conversation and there is further scope here. Something Sarah and I have been discussing is the potential of an additional intermission piece in which we sit and have a conversation in the bar, but over gesticulate in a mirrored fashion...
The comedy aspect, the playing with conventions, the stealing of a recognisable format so as to subvert and challenge.
But perhaps where is the tradtional conversational element? I am keen to address this, but don't really have any suggestions and am anxious at how forced this may seem (I'm also not personally happy to perform myself as I'm not a perfromer)... but mabe a forced and strained conversation, or one plyed out with characters and types might address the notion that conversation is always performed, and roles are always played...
I'm also a bit anxious about how we end... hopefully we'll have lots of brainwaves tomorrow to top it off beautifully!
Ah, I don't know! I'm just waffling horribly!
See you all tomorrow!
Michelle x
AoC Thursday 5th May
MEMBERS OF AOC WE HAVE THE WORKSPACE FROM 5PM THIS WEEK STOP WILL HAVE RECORDING EQUIPMENT SET UP FOR THEN STOP HOPE TO SEE YOU STOP
Monday, 2 May 2011
It's better to ask than assume.
On Thursday we were asked (Don't quote me on the exact wording - I have a fish brain) whether we have ever failed ourselves as women, or failed woman kind.
I pondered.
I had stories of women that had failed me, but none of my own (Or that I was willing to dig around in my fish brain for)
So I went home, and pondered some more.
Just before midnight, I received a text message 'are you asleep or can you ring me' off my best friend.
I called her.
She told me she was pregnant.
She told me she was around nine month pregnant.
I waited 25 minutes for a taxi.
We drank coffee and discussed the situation. There was denial, humour, anger, laughter, happiness, sadness and frustration.
People had asked me if she was pregnant, and I'd said
'No, if she was, she would have told me. I think she's just put on weight like i have'
The next day we heard the baby's heartbeat at the hospital.
It all became very real.
How had my best friend carried a baby for nine months without me noticing.
I asked her 'If I'd asked you if you were pregnant months ago, would you have admitted it'
'Yes' she replied.
And that was the moment my heart sank and I realised I'd failed as a woman, and I'd failed my best friend.
I'd seen her at least twice a week as of November. How had I not noticed? Why hadn't I just asked her, instead of making up excuses for her about eating too many chips?
Looking at her there in the hospital bed, her beautiful pregnant tummy was obvious.
She'd suffered in silence, not knowing what to do, or who to turn to since she'd realised in January.. Waiting for me to just ask her, so she could admit it to me and to herself.
I'm waiting for a phone call to go to the hospital and be her birthing partner (Without antenatal classes)
She's having a boy.
I pondered.
I had stories of women that had failed me, but none of my own (Or that I was willing to dig around in my fish brain for)
So I went home, and pondered some more.
Just before midnight, I received a text message 'are you asleep or can you ring me' off my best friend.
I called her.
She told me she was pregnant.
She told me she was around nine month pregnant.
I waited 25 minutes for a taxi.
We drank coffee and discussed the situation. There was denial, humour, anger, laughter, happiness, sadness and frustration.
People had asked me if she was pregnant, and I'd said
'No, if she was, she would have told me. I think she's just put on weight like i have'
The next day we heard the baby's heartbeat at the hospital.
It all became very real.
How had my best friend carried a baby for nine months without me noticing.
I asked her 'If I'd asked you if you were pregnant months ago, would you have admitted it'
'Yes' she replied.
And that was the moment my heart sank and I realised I'd failed as a woman, and I'd failed my best friend.
I'd seen her at least twice a week as of November. How had I not noticed? Why hadn't I just asked her, instead of making up excuses for her about eating too many chips?
Looking at her there in the hospital bed, her beautiful pregnant tummy was obvious.
She'd suffered in silence, not knowing what to do, or who to turn to since she'd realised in January.. Waiting for me to just ask her, so she could admit it to me and to herself.
I'm waiting for a phone call to go to the hospital and be her birthing partner (Without antenatal classes)
She's having a boy.
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