Its Blog Against Sexual Violence day and I am going to be obvious and blog about Tracey Emin. I know there is a lot of controversy and negativity about Emin but maybe (just maybe) her art is what sexual violence made of her.
“In her art she tells all, all the truths, both awful and wonderful, but mostly awful, about her life. Physical and psychic pain in the form of rejection, incest, rape, abortion and sex with strangers figure in this tale, as do love, passion and joy.”
I am NOT trying to say this is at all a good thing. Just that we are the sum of our experiences and while such experiences don’t have to break us, they are always with us and mark us permanently. Emin deals with this through her art, but we all process things differently.
‘People say “Oh, the honesty and the truth behind it,” but it’s all edited, it’s all calculated, it’s all decided. I decide to show this or that part of the truth, which isn’t necessarily the whole story, it’s just what I decide to give you.’
I would say this is a trait of many people but particularly of damaged women, we reveal ourselves in a very calculated manner.
Emin’s famous “tent” Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995, was a blue tent, appliquéd with the names of everyone she has slept with. These included sexual partners, plus relatives she slept with as a child, her twin brother, and her two aborted children. Although often talked about as a shameless exhibition of her sexual conquests, it was rather a piece about intimacy in a more general sense, although the title invites misinterpretation.
Tags: Emin
April 2, 2008 at 11:54 pm |
Great post.
April 3, 2008 at 12:29 am |
Very thought provoking post on the link between our experiences and our art. Thanks for participating in the BASV day.
April 3, 2008 at 7:51 am |
Damaged women, as you here refer to them, are the most wonderful women. So creative and intuitive mostly.
Thanks so much for joining in BASV.
April 3, 2008 at 7:55 am |
Thx – I wasn’t meaning damaged in a negative sense and I was referring to ‘us’. I guess thats why I like to buy chipped plates in op shops – so much more character :-)
April 4, 2008 at 5:42 pm |
Just that we are the sum of our experiences and while such experiences don’t have to break us, they are always with us and mark us permanently.
Yes, thank you for saying that so clearly. I’ve been struggling to find the words to express that idea, and haven’t been able to.