Amenorrhea 4

In this piece, the seashells, blood and a menstrual pad on a circular shaped canvas, refer to my inability to obtain a normal menstrual cycle.

Amenorrhea 3

Drawing/Quilt

Within this piece are five drawings of the inside of a pomegranate which symbolizes the early stages of the menstrual cycle. Menstruation, the process where blood exits the body, is also depicted by the red painted branches of a pomegranate shrub peeking through the brown ones. As the viewer progresses clockwise, the drawing portrays the decaying process of the fruit, which implies the absence of menstruation. The continuation of this unusual condition is reflected by the circular shape of the piece. Finally, I tied these series of representations together by sewing the drawings into one and trimming the piece in lace, making it a quit as well as a drawing.

Amenorrhea 2

From a distance, one may suspect they are viewing a simple arrangement of colorful seashells, however they are not.  Upon closer inspection, the viewer can plainly see that the shells are actually set upon a menstrual pad floating inside of a toilet. The shells portray feminine sexuality since their forms curve inward, resembling female genitals. Before the viewer realizes it, they have become a voyeur. From the opening of the conch shell, a small splat of blood, instead of the usual flow, hints to a lack of menstruation. The oval contour of the drawing plays off the shape of a toilet seat, completing the piece.

2 Point Perspective

Artslpash 2010 Exhibition

“Deux Beaux Chats,” by Julian Caso, winner of the Best Oil award at ARTSPLASH, on view through October 10 at sTudio 7, RoCA at Fort Tilden.

Anne at the Queens Museum

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Amenorrhea (7)

Local Local Artist Anne Frances Clinton wins two art (2) awards

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Amenorrhea (6)

At first glance this sculpture appears to be a decorative object – an object to be admired. From this perspective, the viewer observes the piece the same way countless teenage girls want to be perceived. Because of society’s view on what is to be admired, many girls try to transform their bodies into the ideal appearance. However, when the golden lid is removed, the viewer is presented a grotesque cluster of bones and bodily organs.  The viewer is now faced with the reality that society’s view has damaged many a girl’s physical as well as psychological well being all in the pursuit of what is to be admired.

Amenorrhea, 10” in diameter, Multi Miedia Sculpture

A few years ago I was diagnosed with Amenorrhea – a condition where a previous “normal” menstrual cycle is absent for a three month period. To express this concept of suppressed maturity, I created a multi-media sculpture of the immature worm-like larvae stage of an insect. Their inability to progress from this stage is reflected by the overall symmetry of the piece. Depicting my femininity, are spots of blood on the menstrual pad in between missed periods. As the blood soaks into the dirt, it meets the lace that trims the piece as well as a cluster of larvae, thereby completing the quilt. In retrospect, the final piece was not only satisfying, but the process of making it has help me release emotions that I am usually not comfortable talking about.

Women & Sexuality

During the 1970s and 80s, feminists began to experience a division within its own movement as they debated on issues regarding sexuality. My sculpture/installation is an historical analysis of the significance of this division. The viewer is able to see the progress and achievement which resulted. I created the piece in the form of a bed, which is, traditionally, where the act of sex is performed. On the headboard, I have a collage of images referencing the debates. Within the railings is a bed of orchids which depict sexuality. Here I used color and form to illustrate the division. The footboard represents women’s present status, and it shows how it has progressed from the debates. For these images, I have a collage of Lady Gaga who embraces sex as a form of liberation. I created the entire piece in black and white to resemble newspaper images and the division within the feminist movement these debates generated.

Letters to the Army of Three (detail image)

Letters to The Army of Three (Final in Dada Potery)

The letter on the quilt:
Received eight months Mexico only countries and take care. Mexican doctor possible return address willing enclosed. Santa Monica him physician cause trouble mentioned too much. Discuss envelope for put your child. Very quickly can help me said package. Mentally on the envelope that abortions. But I recently have devoted Catholic responsibilities. Jungle training married return from of those I am afraid. Abortion concluded just to person required. I will be, thank you, self-supporting problem. Feasible make the trip at this time. Doctors the names send California. Understood my girl only. It may abortions give forbidding that my husband, responsibilities. Even that reverend estimate with in Mexico. Only answer, have to California active duty. Daughter obtaining as unable. Called however, speaking nine weeks outside a list address. Has detail name according to conditions. A few bad way up trouble. Only answer so much of.

The original letters:
March 6, 1968
Fresno, CA
When I called about an abortion, the girl I spoke with said you only had a list of doctors outside of this country. When I in inquired about any in California, she asked if I was willing to take the legal responsibilities. If that is the problem, yes I would. Prior to speaking with her, however, I understood that the main problem of obtaining the names of any California doctors was a law forbidding a list of that sort through the mail. If there is any way of getting a doctor closer than Mexico, the only countries of those mentioned to me, if that is at all feasible, I will be willing to accept the legal responsible and come up to San Francisco so you won’t have to send anything through the mail. I am nine weeks along, according to my doctor, and need to take care of this very quickly. Could you also give me an estimate of cost? If you prefer and you can help me contact a physician in California, you can call me person to person collect. If you can still only give me the name of a Mexican doctor, please use the enclosed envelope as soon as possible. Thank you very much.

May 21, 1968
Los Angeles, CA
My daughter is mentally ill and is unable to the care of a child. Please send a list of doctors who do wanted and take care of abortions. Thank You.

May 21, 1968
Los Angeles, CA
I received your name and address from my reverend in Sana Monica. I have seen him recently to discuss my problem in detail, and have concluded that an abortion is the only answer, right now. I am married but my husband has just been called for jungle training in Korea for a period of active duty for eighteen months. I will be self-supporting, so a child will cause too much trouble at this time. I want to be sure this is a pretty hygienic group of doctors. I have heard so much about the terrible conditions in Mexico. But I feel even that I have heard a few bad things, this is the only answer. I wish you rush this to me before June 4th because my husband will be leaving before then. I will also like to know if any of these doctors will do this on Sunday, because I work all week and it would be the only other day besides Saturday that I can make the trip down there. Mail the package to my office but do not put your return address on the envelope. For my employer is a devoted Catholic and I am afraid it may cause trouble.

Letters to the Army of Three (in progress)

Patricia Maginnis, Lana Clark Phelan and Rowena Gurner were a group of abortion rights activists who formed an organization nicknamed “The Army of Three.” From 1964-73, people from across the country would write to this organization seeking guidance to obtain safe and healthy abortions. The letters were from those pregnant women, but the some were written by boyfriends, family, and other loved ones, searching for help and support. Since these letters were prior to Roe v. Wade (the Supreme Court’s decision on legalizing abortion), the letters were a secretive form of written communication. I began rewriting the letters in the format of dada poetry in order to unite the originals. Using paper, string, and lace, I have sewn the words of these brave women and loved ones into a massive letter/paper quilt to share their experiences as a public message.

The Drawings toThree Botanical Specimens

Spring Exhibition at the Queens Museum of Art, Flushing Medows Park, Queens NY

The Male Gaze

The concept of women as objects to be merely gazed at was criticized in many of Cindy Sherman’s works. Inspired by her critique I illustrated this concept in my piece, "The Male Gaze." In this piece, I visually analyzed how women altered their bodies into the ideal hourglass shape seeking men’s approval. This strive for “beauty” can have adverse effects. Extreme corseting used during the Victorian era, cinched waistlines into wasp waists (a waistline that is or is close to hand span). Deforming the waistline line however can misplace vital organs and even endanger a woman’s life, or a man’s if he were to use one extensively. During this time, women craved for the ideal bodily image in order to attract a man for marriage and financial support. Both in and outside of marriage, women were to remain innocent and completely unaware of their own sexual desires. The wilting orchids at the top of the hourglass embody the concept of suppressing natural sexual desires and the slow withering away of life.

Pregnancy & Fertility

This work was inspired by the history of women working under feudalism in medieval time. I created a quilt, which symbolizes pregnancy and fertility. In this piece, I reversed the texture of a quilt from soft and plushy to hard and solid, representing a woman’s strength. The opening the grapes create when peeking through the hay in the center represents a woman’s vagina. The grapes themselves are a symbol of fertility. There are twelve circular patches for each month of the year. Within nine of the patches are images of bluegrass seeds germinating and maturing into grasses. The growth of the grass in the first nine patches represents a woman’s 9 months of pregnancy and is followed by three blank patches to represent a women’s empty womb after giving birth and completing the year. The circular shape of the quilt epitomizes the general history of women’s inability to advance due to social and political obstacles.

Womankind

This concept is presented through the creation of a quilt that traditionally may be viewed as women’s work. Each patch represents an individual woman and sewn together illustrates unity among women with the overall symmetry of the piece representing equality. The white rose at the center depicts purity at birth. The triangle enclosing the rose is the progression of time. Clockwise from the bottom, youth progresses to maturity.

A Public Cervix Message

In the 1950’s, Post-War America experienced a period economic dominance. A wartime economy was transformed to a civilian economy to meet the soaring consumer demand. Appliances were one of the most popular consumer products advertised and purchased. Advertisements promoted the idea that women were the ones that were going to stay at home and use these products. Hence, I mocked the idea by depicting women as merely appliances in the home. I created appliance sculptures with legs and female genitals. I then set them up in a kitchen environment. In the center of the kitchen, I set the table serving mini vaginas instead of food, inviting my female viewers to come and dine (inspired by Judy Chicago’s Dinner Party).

Stasis

In basic engineering principles, building columns distribute the upward and downward forces on a structure. Relating this concept to feminism, I illustrated a series of female columns on the bottom of the structure thrusting upward. Meanwhile the top male columns are thrusting downward into the ground. This tension creates a static condition, which is a form of stasis.

Menstruation

The menstruation cycle is a natural function of a woman’s body. I represented this concept by making a quilt that traditionally is considered women’s work, in the form of a calendar. On each square patch, I drew a different image of the cells in the uterus lining on various days of the menstrual cycle. The last two patches are the beginning of the next cycle. These last two were left blank to emphasize the pervious 28 patches in one full cycle.

A view of an inaccessible landscape with an articulated foreground/background

Prior to the first wave of feminism, with few exceptions, women were not able to enter the general workforce. When America became involved in World War II, however, men abandoned their jobs in the factories, farms, and businesses in order to fight in the war. Meanwhile, women replaced men in those positions and were encouraged to work in fields that traditionally were closed to them. Thus, women were able to overcome the obstacle of discrimination. Because of their hard work, I now have the opportunity to enter any career field of my choosing.

Freedom Trashcan

During the second wave of feminism, a group of female protesters threw their “implements of torturer” (bras) into the “Freedom Trash Can of 1968.” This action was a way of releasing themselves from the social constraints on women during that time. Their peaceful protest is remembered today as a feminist tradition of bra burning. The action is now considered a symbol of liberation. Therefore, like other feminist before me, I recreated my own “Freedom Trash Can of 1968” and brunt four of my bras to represent my perception of myself as a strong liberated woman. My documentation of this action is meant to set an example for my female viewers because there are no boundaries that should ever prevent women from being equal to their male counterparts.

Three Botanical Specimens

Most cosmetics have plant extracts added in the manufacturing process. Women use these products to enhance their appearance and some to attract male interest. This interest encourages the male gaze, a Cindy Sherman concept, the perception of women as nothing more than a sexual object. The selling of cosmetics becomes nothing more than the selling of sex. I drew three different sections of a rose, the reproductive part, the stem, and the pedals to symbolize a vagina. I then packaged a vagina sculpture as a stab of meat. On the package, I placed a label. However, the label does not contain nutritional information but it contains estimations of what women can get from sex.