Sandra Bermudez: “The Happy Pussy and Other Endings”
When one enters the Kasia Kay gallery greeted by the centerpiece of Sandra Bermudez’ work, a pink neon sign with the word “PUSSY” in all capital letters, one is almost not impressed. In our current culture prevalent with Bratz dolls and “graphic ” or “logo” t-shirts, slang terms for any and all kinds of genitalia and drugs have become wildly common in the English lexicon. However, Bermudez’ work brings forward a new interpretation to this slang by choosing only the words that she believes to be the most positive. “Conceived as a counter-balance to the negative driven lexicon for female genitalia… the artist selected positive, cheerful words and symbols creating 19 new sculptures.”[1] What’s interesting is that instead of questioning the use and symbolism of the slang in the first place, Bermudez chooses to stay within the form and language that these negative symbols were created in in the first place and put a positive spin on them. The sculptures are hung in various positions along a long white wall, the majority of them larger than a person’s head, some even larger than head and torso combined. While the sculptures in their use of language as well as colors (light pinks, fuchsia, silver and gold all coated with a high gloss) seem stereotypically girly and not that far out of the ordinary decor in a teenager girl’s bedroom, the sheer size, placement and arrangement of the sculptures is somewhat aggressive and confrontational, asking the viewer to question the use of these kinds of symbols and language. Bermudez doesn’t limit her sculpture to just words, using the imagery of peaches and a pink kitten to also question of such symbolism of the vagina in the first place.
The quality of the sculptures within Happy Pussy also question the production of the images used. The hyper-stylized text seems to be taken directly out of Microsoft WordArt, or possibly a graphic t-shirt available in the lower echelon of the mall[2] (This is also reflected in her “Charms” series, such as Wife, #1 Lover, and Beautiful Cunt). The images of text and especially the cat are pixilated and up close don’t have the same quality as they do from viewing at a distance. This along with the slightly jagged edge of the sculpture from where it was cut is a reminder of the mass production as well as the consumption of these images; how filtered and digested they already are when we finally get to them.
While Happy Pussy deals with the constant consumption, creation, and spreading of these symbols and slang, Jona’s Daughter is less of a positive attempt by the artist to spin the stereotypes and symbols behind women in today’s society. Instead of encouraging her audience to question stereotypes and symbols (and even come up with better ones), Jona’s Daughter encourages the viewer to be put in the place of the cut out woman, going even further than empathy and embodying that precise moment. The same tactic is used by designers of female-marketed “quick reads” who always conveniently leave out the face of whatever character they’re portraying, so that the reader can imagine themselves in that character’s place.[3] Instead of being able to identify the female victim in the image, distance yourself from the victim and empathise with her (and then quickly move on), one must personally embody the empty space within the image and question why one got there and why one made those choices in the first place, or if it even was a choice. The fact that his image is hung at eye level also aids in this process. Along with this personal embodiment of the female figure, one is also left to analyze the figures still pictured within the piece. The scopophilic male gaze captured within the image seems almost ridiculous to the point of photoshopping. However, in the gallery’s statement the image is implied to be real.[4] Both men and women stare, shoved into clustered rows at a hot sweaty day at the beach. The amount of media being used to capture this moment also seems insane: cameras on cell phones, actual camera equipment, and digital cameras can all be seen. This duel commentary on both the debasing role of the woman in this image and its constant duplication and spreading through various mediums also tie directly into Happy Pussy. Furthermore, the title itself lends an allegorical aspect to the piece, encouraging the viewer to take one step further from imagining himself or herself within the cutout of the image, and also include the judgment of this invisible father figure hinted at within the text.
Her final pieces in the gallery, Be and Mine aren’t as sexual as her other two pieces, but still bring into question the idea of rituals behind female identity and how engrained certain stereotypes are within our culture and society. A common request on candy hearts given out on Valentines Day, one often forgets the true significance of the words. As Hong-An Truong notes in her review, “the words [perform] both subject and object. One can never “be” except in one’s undoing in the face of another.”[5] These words seem to ring true for the entirety of the exhibit, as women in our society struggle to form their own identity outside of stereotypes and sexually submissive roles, there is always a struggle between one end or the other, with no place to settle into.
Note: When I went to see the Sandra Bermudez show on Saurday, May 2nd, not all of the works featured on the Kasia Kay Gallery’s website were hung.
[1] http://www.kasiakaygallery.com/
[2] http://www.shopjustice.com/detail/7460997, http://shop.pacsun.com/girls/tees/Starry-Night-Tee/index.pro
[4] “…a blown up internet photograph from a college porn website, where the topless female has been cut-out and all that remains are voyeurs photographing an empty silhouette of a female.”
[5] http://www.artslant.com/ny/articles/show/4226
Image courtesy of ArtNet: http://www.artnet.com/Galleries/Artwork_Detail.asp?G=&gid=424444055&cid=159472&which=&aid=424630223&wid=425960616&source=exhibitions&rta=http://www.artnet.com
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