| Description |
Kate Gilmore's video Rock, Hard, Place (2012) not only corresponds with the rest of; Gilmore's oeuvre in its combination of physically demanding self-appointed tasks and the female body as a tool to humorously challenge conceptions of gender, but it also formally and; conceptually aligns with two major art historical movements of the twentieth century. Gilmore's video references the procedural emphasis of action painting in Abstract Expressionism and the bodily focus and dematerialization of the art object present in early feminist video art. Just as these movements historically respond to each other, my master's project investigates how Gilmore responds to them with an emphasis on process, gender identity, and deadpan and slapstick humor.; ; In order to understand Gilmore's references and responses to Abstract Expressionism and; early feminist video art, I make primary comparisons between Rock, Hard, Place and a major; artwork categorized within each of these movements. My first comparison is between Gilmore's procedural methods to those captured in Hans Namuth's photos and video of Jackson Pollock practicing his drip painting technique in 1950. After exploring Gilmore's references to Abstract Expressionism, the final section of my project analyzes Gilmore's place within the movement of feminist video art, as I connect Rock, Hard, Place to the filming method, comedic engagement, and references to television present in Martha Rosler's 1975 video Semiotics of the Kitchen. These comparisons focus on Gilmore's central themes of gender, irony, and procedural performance as the primary connecting factors between Rock, Hard, Place, Abstract Expressionism, and feminist video art. Through an extensive analysis of Gilmore's video, I aspire to distinguish how it subverts and reinterprets the art historical traditions that it is linked to. In comparing her work to the theoretical philosophies and formal qualities used by these artists associated with each of the two movements, the aim of this project is to understand how issues of gender, dry humor, and process engage with Rock, Hard, Place. |
