Report - Artist Talk - Kayla Massey

Artist Talk - Kayla Massey 
by Lainey Koch 

Kayla Massey's artist talk (presented by Focus Photography Club) was a great way to further my understanding of this graduate student and instructor's thesis project. Her work has a strong focus on the personal and it's intersection with the political. At the age of 21, Massey was diagnosed with a serious illness that required a lengthy hospitalization. She used her time  to create a series about the "unspoken nature of death in the United States".

The work she is making as a graduate student uses the wet plate collodion process to create portraits of women. The conceptual focus on this work is based in sexual assault, and how survivors face erasure in the media and their daily lives. All of her subjects are covered in flour, and photographed in a studio setting.  These portraits are then enlarged onto a bronze mirror utilizing the wet plate collodion process. A total of over fifty photographs will be produced for her final exhibition.

Massey's work explores themes that I am also interested in and I was inspired to see such an unique use of a historical process involved with her concept. To see the process of conceptual development she followed was an inspiring look into an artist's process.

Artist Talk- Guerrilla Girls

The Guerrilla Girls

by: Allison Krenz

On February 22nd The famous Guerrilla Girls visited MIAD to talk about their movement. In a hot, crowded room, the Guerrilla Girls emerged, masks and bananas included, to talk about intersectional Feminism, and why now, more than ever, they need to be making work. 

While carefully avoiding his name, and instead replacing it with "45" The Guerrilla Girls addressed how we are living in a time where politically, women are not in a safe place. Most of the Guerrilla girls' work has focused around museums, and the wage gap, which is what defines most conventional feminist arguments; but the Guerrilla Girls should also be recognized as artists who expand their work to include every issue. Women need to pay attention to the political climate right now, as our reproductive rights and in the case of women of color, civil rights, are currently in the hands of conservative men.

Women have the power to be heard, and with recent Women's marches across the country, now is the time to spread Feminism as far as it can go, because Feminism is an issue of rights for everyone. The more we work to make that understood, the closer we get to true equality.

Feminism is too often criticized as "shouty" by those who shout the loudest about overreach of feminists' issues. By remaining anonymous, and making work for every woman on every issue, the Guerrilla Girls embrace intersectional feminism and are role models for all Feminists. 

Report - Artist Talk- Joseph Mougel

Joseph Mougel

by: Allison Krenz

On February 15th at UW Milwaukee, Milwaukee resident and artist Joseph Mougel shared a part of his process and his story. Having enlisted in the Marines, Mougel spent his time in the Marines looking for moments of humor. The humor he found carries itself into his other work, such as Yello-Cake, a project in which he actually made, canned, and marketed his own special brand of Uranium. The most interesting thing about Mougel's work is that the process that goes into making his work is almost always a part of the final piece. No one piece stands alone as one final image (despite his being a photographer) but rather each body of work can be viewed as a performance from start to finish. 

Joseph Mougel in the kitchen for Yello-Cake

Joseph Mougel stitches together art, photography, performance, science, and media, which makes him an artist worth watching for a large audience. The biggest take away from Mougel's presentaton is to never ignore any part of your process. Living and performing your work is the best way to explore every facet of it, and make the best experience possible.

Event Review: Guerrilla Girls

Guerrilla Girls at MIAD
Lainey Koch

Since 1985, there have been over 55 women that represent the Guerrilla Girls. Some members hang around for years, other for only a week or two. When speaking on behalf of the Guerrilla Girls, members keep their faces and identities hidden behind gorilla masks in order to keep all the focus on the issues the group speaks about.

Above all else, the Guerrilla Girls spoke of the importance of intersectionality and intersectional feminism within the art world. Misrepresentation isn't a new idea, and the Guerrilla Girls are here to make a difference. Throughout their talk at MIAD, the Guerrilla Girls spoke about how they use bold graphics and statistics to bring attention to the corruption and injustices in the art world, the realm of film, and even the government. I was inspired to hear about their tireless fight against oppression and have always been in awe of their cleverness when it comes to the way they present their work. I try to keep strong intersectional feminist themes in my own artwork, so I loved hearing them talk about their focus on the issues at hand. It was powerful for me to see issues that I'm passionate about represented in a way so different from my own.

Another important point for me to see was how they responded to questions at the end. The floor was open to any questions for the Guerrilla Girls anything, a couple white men responded with frustration. The ability to remain calm and meet the inquirer with additional facts and statistics was a great demonstration of standing true to their beliefs in a way that their opponent can still understand and respect.