17 Mar 2009

Feminist Art, Again! Oriana Fox: Installation Artist

In nigh-on Georgia O'Keefe levels of startling originality, another great Feminist Artist emerges from the lager soaked halls of Goldsmiths. Oriana Fox (no relationship to a fox, foxiness, benign sexuality etc) She is based in London and New York (how cool - bitch!)

One of the things she says is

I admit it, I want to be like and look like many of the women I see on TV and in the movies, yet I am highly critical of them. I want them to more accurately represent my self and the women I know and admire.>

This is great because she wants women in the media and public eye to be more representative of herself. Rather than sitting around doing nothing and waiting for this massively unlikely thing to happen, she's decided to replace images of other women in the public eye with images of herself and become massively successful- how much more representative can you get?

Here's an image of her looking a bit trendy in a short film, it's a bit like Cabaret, isn't it? I personally feel much more comfortable with this sort of thing than with other images of women like Cheryl Cole. I wouldn't say it was purely representative of myself though, and this is something I put to Oriana in a recent email - surely the next big step for her would be a Posie Rider inspired performance in the hope that it would give young women a more inspiring role model? I'm awaiting her call.

She also says some great stuff about painting and vaginas (my favourite things!), see below:

I want to sew vaginal, womb-like forms out of lush smooth fabrics, I covet any excuse to wear curlers and crinoline, I fancy baking brownies and consequently, I need to work my abdominal muscles.
Shame about the cookies. It's also a shame about the sculpture, how ugly is this? It's called Vagina with Balls- ick! Frankly that is one of the least
representative 'mysteries' I have ever seen. I guess it might be a
concept thing but I just can't figure it out. Perhaps it can procreate itself, like the velocoraptors in Jurassic Park, but then where's the womb? Maybe it's about how the vagina always looks shocking (because of society) while the balls are just comical (fact) who knows? Either way make it onto the shelves of Habitat as a concept cushion it will not.

I can't resist an ode to the inimitable Georgia, this is her divine Black Iris, which I think we can can all agree is much more like it.



But if you can't afford a Georgia O'Keefe original or print (I have 4 from Aunt Lily's estate, why not buy an original Oriana Fox? Or just make do with yourself.

http://www.orianafox.com/

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for writing such a nice article about me. I didn't receive your email - I wasn't ignoring you. I don't know if I'd describe myself as 'massively successul' but thanks! If I was would I be sitting around googling myself? What's the question you have for me? I'd be happy to answer. By the way that's a performance still, not a film still, choreography is from Singing in the Rain.
    -Oriana

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