You, Me, We: Encountering Art, Autobiography and ‘Potential Space’ in the Present
You, Me, We: Encountering Art, Autobiography and ‘Potential Space’ in the Present
Author(s): Joanne MorraSubject(s): Visual Arts
Published by: Widok. Fundacja Kultury Wizualnej
Keywords: Maria Lassnig; autobiography; feminist theory; feminist resistance
Summary/Abstract: In order to critically interrogate the conditions in which we live, and the world around us, feminists have turned to the complexity of their own experience. As we have learned, the time of autobiography is key to its political function: the occasional is the time of prefatory critical reflection (Nancy K. Miller); the belated is the time of the anecdotal (Jane Gallop); the after-effect is the time of belated surprise (Shoshana Felman). But what of the present moment? In this article, Morra proposes that the representation of the temporal, spatial and historical present is a powerful form of critique. Bringing to bear Maria Lassnig’s art practice onto feminist theories of autobiography, Morra suggests that the potential space of the present (D.W. Winnicott) is fundamental to autobiography’s ability to provide us with a form of individual and collective feminist resistance.
Journal: Widok. Teorie i Praktyki Kultury Wizualnej
- Issue Year: 2018
- Issue No: 23
- Page Range: 58-97
- Page Count: 40
- Language: English