photos: Bob Raymond (MAG)Photos by David Chin of El's Performance @mobius
http://www.prehensileeye.net/EL_Putnam_Status/page.html
Durational performance over all three evenings (May 23-25, 2009) with resultant installation of
paper, yarn, mixed media.
El Putnam - The Politics of Shoes @Mobius from MobiusArtistsGroup on Vimeo.
Youtube video of El Putnam tracing shoes including videographer's:
Artist's original proposal and statement:
I will be dressed in business attire and a pair of “Fuck me” heels. I will trace the outline of the shoes of the audience, making note of their occupation, gender, and the type of shoe. Images of shoes are then measured and organized according to size, creating an installation that will last the duration of the exhibit. This will be a durational performance. I will only speak to the audience to ask them questions pertaining to the information I need, as listed above. When not tracing shoes, I will be pacing the installation space, counting my steps, whispering the number and marking it on a legal pad when I have to stop to trace shoes. I will only be allowed to drink water from a specific container (still to be determined) during the duration of the performance.
This work behaves a commentary on the treatment of shoes as a status symbol, determined by a variety of factors involving cultural identity, including class and gender. The reduction of the shoes to an outline while presenting only the information that the shoes are meant to symbolize plays with notion in a literal sense, pointing out that the use-value of a shoe extends beyond the need to protect the feet. My actions are also related to this commentary, with my pacing in intentionally uncomfortable shoes that will harm my feet functioning as a painful reminder of the concepts I present through this work.
BIO
EL Putnam is an interdisciplinary artist who works predominately in photography, video, and performance art, and has a studio located at the Washington Street Arts Center in Somerville, MA. Her work draws from multiple themes and sources, though are all intertwined through notions of personal and cultural circumspection. Currently, she is exploring the potential of subtle radicalism and its contribution to a new feminist aesthetics. At the moment, she is currently working on a doctorate in aesthetics, art theory, and philosophy at the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts. She also teaches at Emerson College in the Visual and Media Arts department.
Video Clip of Final Installation:
El Putnam's Installation - The Politics of Shoes @mobius from MobiusArtistsGroup on Vimeo.
paper, yarn, mixed media.
El Putnam - The Politics of Shoes @Mobius from MobiusArtistsGroup on Vimeo.
Youtube video of El Putnam tracing shoes including videographer's:
Artist's original proposal and statement:
I will be dressed in business attire and a pair of “Fuck me” heels. I will trace the outline of the shoes of the audience, making note of their occupation, gender, and the type of shoe. Images of shoes are then measured and organized according to size, creating an installation that will last the duration of the exhibit. This will be a durational performance. I will only speak to the audience to ask them questions pertaining to the information I need, as listed above. When not tracing shoes, I will be pacing the installation space, counting my steps, whispering the number and marking it on a legal pad when I have to stop to trace shoes. I will only be allowed to drink water from a specific container (still to be determined) during the duration of the performance.
This work behaves a commentary on the treatment of shoes as a status symbol, determined by a variety of factors involving cultural identity, including class and gender. The reduction of the shoes to an outline while presenting only the information that the shoes are meant to symbolize plays with notion in a literal sense, pointing out that the use-value of a shoe extends beyond the need to protect the feet. My actions are also related to this commentary, with my pacing in intentionally uncomfortable shoes that will harm my feet functioning as a painful reminder of the concepts I present through this work.
BIO
EL Putnam is an interdisciplinary artist who works predominately in photography, video, and performance art, and has a studio located at the Washington Street Arts Center in Somerville, MA. Her work draws from multiple themes and sources, though are all intertwined through notions of personal and cultural circumspection. Currently, she is exploring the potential of subtle radicalism and its contribution to a new feminist aesthetics. At the moment, she is currently working on a doctorate in aesthetics, art theory, and philosophy at the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts. She also teaches at Emerson College in the Visual and Media Arts department.
Video Clip of Final Installation:
El Putnam's Installation - The Politics of Shoes @mobius from MobiusArtistsGroup on Vimeo.
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