purcc 2012 - University of the Pacific

Oral Presentation Abstracts
The Myth of Black Solidarity and the
Sexist Oppression of Black Women
Danielle Procope
Faculty mentors: Jeffrey Hole
Black solidarity is an ambiguous concept that
has been held to throughout the history of black
people in America. Black solidarity is
understood to be the way in which black people
can actively and most effectively resist the
duress white supremacy. However, I will argue
that black solidarity is in fact a superimposition
of institutional hierarchies within the black
community. In that, the political and social needs
of the least marginalized of black people:
middle-class, heterosexual black men, are
attended to, whereas, the needs of the poor,
homosexual, and women are not. This creates a
black community that mirrors oppressive white
supremacist formation, steeped in sexism,
classism, and heterosexism. I will specifically
focus on the sexist oppression acted on black
women and how this oppression is justified by
black people who are invested in patriarchy but
do this by arguing for the concept of black
solidarity. But also, I will grapple with how the
construction of the authentic black woman is
entrapped in an acceptance of sexist norms and
oppression. In this way, inauthentic black
solidarity disempowers black women.
Cindy Sherman’s outrage against the
victimization of women
Amy Olmos
Faculty mentor: Merrill Schleier
From her Untitled Film Stills of the late 1970s in
which she depicted actresses and starlets in
various poses until the present, American
photographer Cindy Sherman has used her own
body to explore issues affecting women.
Beginning in the 1980s, Sherman began her
Fairytale and Disasters series of which Untitled
#153 1985 and Untitled #93 1981 are a part,
which depict what appear to be female violence
victims. Sherman’s inspiration for these graphic
photographs could arguably be due to the
increased violent acts against women seen in the
late 1970s and early 1980s. By being both the
artist and character in Untitled #153 and Untitled
#93, Sherman tries to reclaim the voice of these
past victims of sexual rape and domestic battery
who were afraid or unable to speak. In the hope
of ending these two prevalent crimes, Sherman
spreads awareness t by allowing viewers access
behind the symbolic caution-tape barrier. A brief
examination of her career before the Fairytale
and Disaster series, an overview of the rape laws
in the United States before 1985, and analysis of
the formal elements will uncover her motive for
such explicit photographs. By making us
unwitting witnesses, she prompts us to take her
artwork seriously and perhaps use it to our
advantage in order to prevent future crimes.
The Deflection of the Gaze: How Lorna
Simpson’s Stereo Styles Subverts the
Messages of Advertisers
Eeva Nelson
Faculty mentor: Merrill Schleier
Visual artist Lorna Simpson uses her
photographic work Stereo Styles (1988) as a
commentary on African American women’s
representation in the media. She does this by
adopting the rhetoric of advertisements and
through the use of these methods, subverting its
often Eurocentric messages. Lorna Simpson
accomplishes this by formatting her picture like
an advertisement, and then facing her subject
away, therefore not allowing her viewers to
objectify the young woman she is portraying.
She protects the subject by defending against the
viewer’s sight and expectations. This
presentation will use formal analysis, historical
analysis of African American representation in
the media, as well as the artist’s biography to
prove this point. I will demonstrate how Simpson
identifies stereotypes and clichés of race through
her exploration of the model’ hair, so that she
may ultimately undermine them.
Shirin Neshat’s Turbulent: A Look Inside
Gender in Muslim Society
Emily Duarte
Faculty mentor: Merrill Schleier
Shirin Neshat is Iranian-born visual artist and
feminist whose works provide thoughtprovoking
insight into lives of Muslim men and
women. In Neshat's video piece Turbulent
(1998), she focuses on the differences between
the sexes and the strict rules of interactions that
have been instilled in them since birth. Turbulent
brings the status of women in Iran to light and
shows the ways they have been rebelling and
exerting power.
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