Carolee Schneeman is a character! This was a pretty interesting talk and good overview of Schneeman's thoughts on her own work. It was interesting to hear her talk about how she viewed her work at the time of creating it. She talked about how she was not misunderstood but that she had misunderstood her culture and what they were ready to receive. She mentioned was always shocked when her pieces were censored but now she is equally shocked when the censors are removed. Schneeman describes her early work at the juncture of sexuality and politics, but also how her painting was a personal venting of energy.
She talks about how her early work studied gender roles a lot but in a way that focus more on men and how they would handle domestic normalcy that women are so often placed into. She talked about one of her first models being a man and how that was so different than the norm or women as models. It was interesting to listen to Schneeman who sounded like such a soft spoken lady, when her work had been anything but. I wonder how much has changed over the years. I think she feels she has spoken her peace on the body, saying that she will leave the body to other artists and seek to regain privacy in her own life.
My favorite line was when the interviewer asked her "what is the most important truth you have discovered as a
multidisciplinary artist and educator?" to which she responded: "To have a
psycho, sensitive cat that sleeps with you every night."
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