Robert Adanto’s documentary The F Word, a film about the fourth wave of feminism in contemporary art and its main players, will be screened by SVA’s Visual and Critical Studies department. This wave differentiates itself from its predecessors by encouraging the hyper-feminine and self-objectification in order to challenge patriarchal oppression or sexist ideals. The documentary presents and analyzes a group of artists and collectives that use their bodies as subject matter. Delving into female sexuality and the female form as a site of resistance, the film investigates why these artists remain marginalized by society.
The featured artists include Leah Schrager whose work plays with arousal, eroticism and the female shape by using her own, often barely covered, body in compromising poses. The artist takes charge of her self-image by taking on the role of the photographer, model and editor. Others such as Ann Hirsch and Kate Durbin use their self-imagery to question the representation of female identity in the digital realm while Narcissister and the collective Go! Push Pops focus on creating real life interventions that explore gender and sexuality.
The documentary is made up of artist interviews as well as interviews with experts like curator and author Dr. Kathy Battista, the director of Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in New York, and noted art critic and curator Nancy Princenthal. Other artists featured include Rebecca Goyette, Rachel Mason, Sadaf, Michelle Charles, Claudia Bitran, Rafia Santana, Faith Holland, and Damali Abrams.
The documentary will be screened this Friday, January 15th at the SVA Theatre and will be followed by a panel discussion. Click here to attend.
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