If you create or own art
concerning menstruation or menopause and are
interested in showing it on thesepages (it's
free!), contact MUM
Marie Claire magazine
(Italian edition) featured several of the
above artists in an article
about this museum and menstruation in 2003.
The newspaper Corriere della Sera (Io Donna
magazine) (Milan, Italy) and the magazine
Dishy (Turkey) showed some of the artists in
2005 in articles about this museum.
|
The Art of Menstruation at the Museum of
Menstruation and Women's Health
"Shove it!"
2001
Bronze, approx. 1 meter x 0.30 meter
Isa Menziest writes,
Basically I loved the idea of
creating a giant tampon out of
bronze - tampons (and all other
sanitary products) in Australia
attracted a "luxury tax" (which
has now been replaced by the GST);
by creating this most 'luxurious'
of items (HA!) in bronze I guess I
wanted to have a bit of a dig at
that.
I also think that in this
allegedly "post-feminist" era we
need to seriously examine the ways
we are manipulated - with all its
marketing-generated connotations
of freedom, the word "tampon"
actually means "plug." The idea of
celebrating aspects of feminine
culture - especially the once
taboo subject of menstruation - is
also a key theme.
It doesn't have to be loaded
with political significance,
though - it appeals most to one's
sense of humour - and it always
gets a reaction!!
I myself am a "mature-age"
student (big deal - that just
means I'm over the age of 21!) at
the University of Western Sydney,
where I am in my second year
studying social ecology.
Creativity in all its forms is my
passion, and sometimes it's
unleashed in the form of art works
like "Shove it!" When I grow up I
want to change the world.
And later she added,
Yup, it is bronze - not solid;
it has an inner core of refractory
material (the stuff we use to make
molds for casting), but it weighs
twenty kilograms nonetheless!!
It's not HUGE - the body would be
about 50 cms long, and the tail
maybe twice that - but the tail is
detachable, so you can arrange it
however. Sorry, I don't have it
here so I can't give you exact
measurements.
I would love to make a huge one,
like with a body of over a metre.
Hm . . . . (!)
|
NEXT artist:
Megan Morris
See all the
artists in the links in the
left-hand column.
If you create or own art
concerning menstruation or
menopause and are interested in
showing it on these pages (it's
free!), contact MUM
© 2001 Harry Finley. It is
illegal to reproduce or distribute
work on this Web site in any manner
or medium without written permission
of the author. Please report
suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org
|
|