Kime Buzzelli
After just making that last post, conjuring up some feminist art thoughts, I ended up at New Image Art Gallery's site looking at Kime Buzzelli's new paintings. I find these paintings hard to look at. They remind me of high school doodles of girls in love, wishing for love or wanting to be desired. I feel like there is something missing in the artist and they feel weak compared to other woman artists that do similar things like Bernhardt (love her work) and Vine. The press release goes on to say, "...They search for hidden spaces of the mind trying to solve feelings of longing, investigating thoughts like evidence by delving deep into daydreams and exploring the sensations of losing yourself in love – vanishing..." So it looks like I wasn't so far off but is it counter-feminist to criticize another woman baring her heart in paintings...or is she poking fun at those girls too? hmmm....
posted by art blogs are fun at 9:50 AM
19 Comments:
"is it counter-feminist to criticize another woman baring her heart in paintings...or is she poking fun at those girls too?"
Feminism does not equal women divesting themselves of their desires and longing for love (heterosexual or otherwise). That mindset, disguised as feminism, is just dissapointing and really counter to what feminism is about. It's like "superficial-feminism".
It reminds me of all the "feminist" art strewn up and down the CCS hallways at year-end: oh how many sculptures and paintings depicting a girls' portrait between her naked breasts. Last year I know I counted at least 8 such peices with little-to-no variance. On the surface, I'm sure someone would deem them more "feminist" than these paintings. Those "see me" peices are certainly not more original. They're not even near original, but they represent a (cliche) phase that all modern women go through, including the female artists, and each one feels it is profound to bring attention to it, and we the audience are left to respectfully yaaawn.
(flame away).
"is it counter-feminist to criticize another woman baring her heart in paintings...or is she poking fun at those girls too?"
I am in full agreement with anonymous here.
Also it is not counter-femenist to criticize bad art made by women. In fact a desire not to critique it would do more damage. Nothing gives femenism a bad name as much as respectable galleries showing bad art because of the socio-political leanings of the artists. Bad femenist art is bad art and if it cannot be critiqued as such then women will continue to be excluded from the broader dialogue. Even Judy Chicago dissproves of group shows in which the sole linking element is gender.
*feminist* (sorry)
That said, I actually don't mind the paintings. I hate the press release. But the paitings themselves are at least a little intriguing.
"it reminds me of all the "feminist" art strewn up and down the CCS hallways at year-end"
give me a effing break! Isnt CCS an undergraduate school? What do you expect....that these young artists are going to have thier rap totally together and thier works are fully formed and complete?
these are thier first steps, for crying out loud!!
the work itself is fine (in terms of craft, execution)... it's the thinking behind them that is high-school. Perhaps CCS could concentrate a bit more on expanding its' students thought processes as well. Afterall, if you're the best sculptor, but you have nothing to say....??
Also, Curtis: so many double negatives, it took me forever to understand your 2nd paragraph, but I agree completely w/ your points.
Ha. Sorry. I was fairly tired when I wrote that.
global feminisms at the brooklyn museum
a setting for the creation of a seperated history. feminist shows only seperate women. have shows
dont define work
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The titles of these pieces are empowering to women..."If he calls again don't answer- we're in safe hands", "the strongest weapon in the world is the teenage girl" and "what are you gonna do when you can't have everything- in which a guy is shown surrounded by a bunch of ladies. The artist-also a fashion illustrator is merely creating a dream like state that is depicting desire and longing- not in a pathetic way- Since when does being a feminist mean shunning love or the desire for it? The artist links that you posted as being so substantial seems to be "obsessed" with wanting to paint like Karen Kiliminik. Which is fine- but just because you post images with sarcastic or ironic text doesn't make it feminist- That is about as fresh as an Urban Outfitters tshirt. Don't assume all artists are trying to tell sell you some political message, or that the artist's own life is "lacking".
Seems like maybe your high school years were painful in the love dept?
Wow.
As a longtime friend and fan of the very talented Kime Buzzelli, I was brought to your blog by looking for her so kudos for driving traffic your way by trashing her art and her as a person.
You seem very narrow-minded and I hesitated to even bother responding but I figure if I managed to stumble across your lil blog so might others so I will speak my piece.
As someone who not only attended the actual opening- rather than judging off the bits posted to a site- and experienced witnessing the artist's process as she created the works and knowing her as a person, artwork aside, I can confidently say your judgements on her viewpoint and voice could not be further off the mark.
Kime is certainly NOT making fun of the girls in her paintings.
She is someone I would call a woman's woman and if you need to put it into a category b/c boxes make you comfortable, then perhaps, yes, I might call her a feminist of sorts. I find it disparaging to see you judging and comparing women artists solely by their gender. Do you do the same of white male artists? Must their work follow and fit to a prescribed mold of what you deem as artistic and worthy with a certain noble political agenda attached? Must all female artists have the same narrow realm of expression in order to affect you?
I personally, and speaking as a woman and a friend of the artist, am inspired by Kime's unjaded world and the way she holds onto what is most precious in younger women- their hopes, their willfulness, their personal power, their femininity and their right to revel in being themselves. I can also assure you on the personal level Kime is missing nothing since you seemed curious about that. I will say I find it questionable you would make that jump in reasoning based off a press release and the bits you saw on a gallery's site.
BLOG ART
curtis said...
"is it counter-feminist to criticize another woman baring her heart in paintings...or is she poking fun at those girls too?"
I am in full agreement with anonymous here.
Also it is not counter-femenist to criticize bad art made by women. In fact a desire not to critique it would do more damage. Nothing gives femenism a bad name as much as respectable galleries showing bad art because of the socio-political leanings of the artists. Bad femenist art is bad art and if it cannot be critiqued as such then women will continue to be excluded from the broader dialogue. Even Judy Chicago dissproves of group shows in which the sole linking element is gender.
4:11 PM
curtis said...
*feminist* (sorry)
4:12 PM
curtis said...
That said, I actually don't mind the paintings. I hate the press release. But the paitings themselves are at least a little intriguing.
4:27 PM
buttcher said...
"it reminds me of all the "feminist" art strewn up and down the CCS hallways at year-end"
give me a effing break! Isnt CCS an undergraduate school? What do you expect....that these young artists are going to have thier rap totally together and thier works are fully formed and complete?
these are thier first steps, for crying out loud!!
6:50 AM
Anonymous said...
the work itself is fine (in terms of craft, execution)... it's the thinking behind them that is high-school. Perhaps CCS could concentrate a bit more on expanding its' students thought processes as well. Afterall, if you're the best sculptor, but you have nothing to say....??
Also, Curtis: so many double negatives, it took me forever to understand your 2nd paragraph, but I agree completely w/ your points.
1:40 PM
curtisfglenn said...
Ha. Sorry. I was fairly tired when I wrote that.
4:28 PM
Anonymous said...
global feminisms at the brooklyn museum
a setting for the creation of a seperated history. feminist shows only seperate women. have shows
dont define work
-----------------------+-
11:16 AM
Anonymous said...
The titles of these pieces are empowering to women..."If he calls again don't answer- we're in safe hands", "the strongest weapon in the world is the teenage girl" and "what are you gonna do when you can't have everything- in which a guy is shown surrounded by a bunch of ladies. The artist-also a fashion illustrator is merely creating a dream like state that is depicting desire and longing- not in a pathetic way- Since when does being a feminist mean shunning love or the desire for it? The artist links that you posted as being so substantial seems to be "obsessed" with wanting to paint like Karen Kiliminik. Which is fine- but just because you post images with sarcastic or ironic text doesn't make it feminist- That is about as fresh as an Urban Outfitters tshirt. Don't assume all artists are trying to tell sell you some political message, or that the artist's own life is "lacking".
Seems like maybe your high school years were painful in the love dept?
7:32 PM
Jazzpoppy said...
Wow.
As a longtime friend and fan of the very talented Kime Buzzelli, I was brought to your blog by looking for her so kudos for driving traffic your way by trashing her art and her as a person.
You seem very narrow-minded and I hesitated to even bother responding but I figure if I managed to stumble across your lil blog so might others so I will speak my piece.
As someone who not only attended the actual opening- rather than judging off the bits posted to a site- and experienced witnessing the artist's process as she created the works and knowing her as a person, artwork aside, I can confidently say your judgements on her viewpoint and voice could not be further off the mark.
Kime is certainly NOT making fun of the girls in her paintings.
She is someone I would call a woman's woman and if you need to put it into a category b/c boxes make you comfortable, then perhaps, yes, I might call her a feminist of sorts. I find it disparaging to see you judging and comparing women artists solely by their gender. Do you do the same of white male artists? Must their work follow and fit to a prescribed mold of what you deem as artistic and worthy with a certain noble political agenda attached? Must all female artists have the same narrow realm of expression in order to affect you?
I personally, and speaking as a woman and a friend of the artist, am inspired by Kime's unjaded world and the way she holds onto what is most precious in younger women- their hopes, their willfulness, their personal power, their femininity and their right to revel in being themselves. I can also assure you on the personal level Kime is missing nothing since you seemed curious about that. I will say I find it questionable you would make that jump in reasoning based off a press release and the bits you saw on a gallery's site.
7:32 PM
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Dear Detroit Arts,
You seem to have put on a facade of knowing quite alot about art, but I think you are missing one very important componant. ART IS SUBJECTIVE. This means that after the artist has completed a piece it is the interaction between each viewer and the work, which sparks personal interpretations of the artist intent.
Therefore you have to ask yourself if maybe it is you that is not seeing the hidden complexity of the work.
Quite possibly huh?
quite possibly "Detroit Arts" is at least putting herself out there and doing some of the footwork to expose you to these artists whom you may never have known about otherwise...
so what if she voices her opinion? art is subjective, so you can have your opinion and she can have hers, right?
yikes, this type of flaming is ridiculous. stop attacking the blogger and discuss instead the work.
i posted the first statement (anonymously b/c blogger hates my Mac and/or my IP) with the intention of starting a discussion about modern feminism and art (and the reflexive nature thereof) because I disagreed with Ann's opinion, however there is no need to personally attack her over it in an attempt to express your disagreement. sheesh.
"I feel like there is something missing in the artist" seems like Detroit Arts is the one who started the personal attacks making assumptions about the artists personality...
anon- that statement could be taken a number of different ways, not necessarily as a personal attack. I guess it's up to the blogger to clarify.
u are uptight and have no taste. u need to watch the dark crystal and have an orgy. and maybe dunk your head in holy water for like three days
miss violette
hmph. Well, I'm going to venture you're a college student in your first or second year studying art and fancying yourself an expert?
While you may dislike, hate, or merely not relate to the art in question, what's true here is that your context-less critique of these pieces is more revealing about who you are, than what the artist is express or who the artist is. As one commenter suggested, maybe its more about you rebelling against something troubling in your past?
Anyhow, aside from demonstrating your lack of critical nuance and knowledge of the arts, you also show how ignorant you are about feminism. THERE IS NO SINGLE WAY A WOMAN SHOULD LIVE AND NO EMOTION OR RANGE OF EMOTIONS SHE SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO EXPRESS. We are humans. Male or female we can express longing, desire, or vulnerability for someone of the same sex, or the opposite (not that I even agree your assessment that her paintings demonstrate this). This should not be off limits, especially for an artist to express. And, as one commenter said, not everything artists do can be dissected as political statements, pieces may reflect internal/psychology elements, emotions, etc of the artist. Youre very question about whether critiquing women is counter feminist or not reflects a laughable misunderstanding about feminism.
its too bad that just anybody and everybody can have a platform online that claims authority ('detroit arts')... but this, i guess, is the other side of the coin...
Kime Buzzelli is in fact, an amazing artist in my eyes....Her paintings show every emotion I feel as a depressed young woman, and she captures the images that I always have in my mind. The girls in these paintings are beautiful, and show expression, and sadness, and capture the way people feel inside. I love her work. Its beautiful.
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