the essay at a glance
This is my final researched essay for the Davidson College Humanities program. In it, I explore my definitions of revolution and how they rest upon the need to recognize social and societal complexity in what and how we define something to be “revolutionary.” Because I also invest myself in the study of sociology and gender & sexuality studies, I took a theoretical approach with the work of Michel Foucault to contribute to the scholarly conversation surrounding my “artifact,” Carolee Schneemann’s “Interior Scroll” art performance. My definition of “revolutionary” is inherently tied in this piece to my definition of “feminist.”
annotated source for the essay
Klinger, Linda S. “Where’s the Artist? Feminist Practice and Poststructural Theories of Authorship.” Art Journal 50, no. 2 (Summer, 1991): 39. http://ezproxy.lib.davidson.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1290101724?accountid=10427.
This author helps us to understand the purposes of a few feminist artists, including Schneemann, through the creation of their works. These women artists attempt to rebuff the state’s definition of “Artist” with a personalized take on defining “artist” in relation to their own identities. This source helps me to understand the revolutionary nature of Schneemann’s work in fighting against political structures and societal positionings that oppressed her as a woman within the art industry; nevertheless, I argue that there can be layers of “revolution” just as there can be layers to oppression. Schneemann can be both revolutionary and non-revolutionary, progressive and regressive, all at once, across different times, contexts, and spaces depending on who her audience is—what their own privileges and positionalities are.
