Friday, February 08, 2008

New Semester for iMOCA 101


Well, it is that time of year again. IMOCA's new semester of 101 study sessions. Free to the public. So this semester, if you are interested sexuality in contemporary art, performance and gender roles in art or you are just curious, be sure to check out the lineup.

Sexual Performance: Gender Roles in Art will discuss such ideas as the power of the “goddess” or feminine spirit invoked and represented in Ana Mendieta’s photographs; the history of androgyny and cross-dressing from 19th-century “dandies” to The Rocky Horror Picture Show; and the expression of masculinity in Matthew Barney’s Cremaster Cycle—named after the muscles responsible for what Seinfeld called “shrinkage.”


Led by Butler University Professor Elizabeth K. Mix, each iMOCA 101 session includes historical context and a look at notable movements and influential figures in each field. iMOCA 101 was developed to educate the public on today’s contemporary art trends.


The four-part series will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays on Feb. 20, March 19, April 16 and May 21 at the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art galleries, 340 N. Senate Ave.

The classes include:

Feb. 20—Femininity and Feminism
Take a look at “the gaze” theory of Laura Mulvey, who introduced the concept that a film audience is forced to regard the action and characters through the viewpoint of a heterosexual male, thus reducing the women to objects. This session includes feminist reactions to the “gaze in the work of Cindy Sherman, as well as Mendieta’s invocation of the goddess through sculpturally posed photographs and Orlan’s attempts to make herself look like a computer-generated ideal through numerous plastic surgeries.


March 19—Masculinity
Explore how Barney’s Cremaster film series expresses masculinity through allusions to reproductive organs and the process of sexual differentiation. Other artists discussed will include Bruce Nauman, David Politzer and Vito Acconci, whose most notorious performance, Seedbed, involved him fantasizing aloud and masturbating as gallery visitors walked over him.


April 16—Homosexuality
Why did art historians place homosexual art and artists back in the closet? Find out in this survey of work from Ancient Greece through the Renaissance and 19th-Century Neoclassicism up through today. Discussion will include the frankly erotic work of Robert Mapplethorpe, Catherine Opie’s photographs of transgendered people and Paris is Burning, a 1990 documentary on New York City drag balls.


May 21—Androgyny, Transgender and “Drag”
Who’s got gender trouble? The session looks at Judith Butler’s theory that sexuality and gender are culturally constructed through the repetition of stylized acts in time. We also explore cross-dressing, the development of Queer Theory and Marcel Duchamps’ alter-ego Rrose Selavy.

6 Responses to “New Semester for iMOCA 101”

Anonymous said...
February 10, 2008 at 12:58 PM

iMOCA 101 or is it The Jerry Springer Show.
Indianapolis, You'll be OK.


Anonymous said...
February 11, 2008 at 11:33 PM

Are you for real, iMOCA?


Anonymous said...
February 15, 2008 at 10:11 AM

Yes, IMOCA is for real and I am glad Elizabeth Mix is offering this series. Perhaps the person who referenced Jerry Springer needs to take a good look at his/her own heterosexism. The series isn't a Springer side-show. It is an attempt to address significant, relevant, creative endeavors. I hope the previous writer will take a look at what he/she is so afraid of. No one is threatening your identity, so why be so sarcastic about a series that will be enlightening. What are you so angry about? I am looking forward to attending and hope to see you there.


rilokatie said...
February 21, 2008 at 8:07 PM

What's up with all the anonymity? Apparently Anonymous 1 isn't the only one suffering from an identity crisis...


Anonymous said...
February 21, 2008 at 10:37 PM

rilokatie,
When I said "Indianapolis, you will be OK" That means quit worrying about your identity sexualy and get on with your life.


Anonymous said...
February 22, 2008 at 7:35 PM

Professor Mix's presentation was excellent. I am looking forward to her next talk. Thank you, IMOCA, for hosting this series.


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