Funny Or Die

Its been a while since my last post! So much has happened in the past few months personally, but I'll stick to the topic!

Did you know that more anti-choice legislation has been pushed into Congress in the 2011 than in the past 15 years combined?! Why are we moving backwards?! It's 2012, for the love of all that is holy!

Here is a clip from Funny or Die, featuring actors like Judd Nelson, Tim Meadows, Kurtwood Smith and Nick Offerman ,which gives such a tongue in cheek response to how many men in Congress are having their say on what women should and should not be doing with their bodies for their own health.

And most importantly, why male politicians are not the greatest experts on women's health.

THESIS EXHIBITION

CLICK ON THE IMAGE FOR THE FACEBOOK EVENT POSTING

Date: Wed, Nov. 16th
Location: 144 W14th St. Floor #7
Time: 3PM - 9PM
Cost: FREE!

Please join me as I open up my exhibition and exploration to the world and hopefully, gain some essential feedback for my final thesis paper.

Thank you! Bring a friend!

Let Women Die Bill

Find out how your representative voted on this bill. This should encourage you to either thank your rep, or retract your support next election.

Exhibition date has been set!

Date:
Wednesday, November 16, 2011


Location: 
144 West 14th St (between 6th & 7th Ave)
Pratt Manhattan Campus 
Communications Design Gallery 
7th Floor


Time: 
TBD, but probably somewhere between 3PM-9PM

Thanks for reading! I'll post some more information about my progress!

Help needed, readers!

If anyone has any leads on exhibition spaces (galleries, studios, lofts, etc.) or other spots that could serve the purpose of an exhibition space please let me know! I need a space for my thesis exhibition. Ideally Williamsburg, Greenpoint or possibly Manhattan. Thanks!

hillaryjscott@gmail.com

Women are the Animals in the Government's Zoo

Recently I was at the Bronx Zoo with some friends. I began thinking about this concept of a zoo, and what it means for these animals. Here are some photos (and please excuse the ones that are clearly not that great as a result of a) me not having brought my baller Nikon, and b) having to take it with glass between us):

GORGEOUS!

Amazing!

Just hanging out, NBD.

first date, maybe?

This dude has an iridescent butt - no lie!

It was actually upon seeing the gorillas (above) that my friend, Amy, had sat down with my partner and started talking to him. I came in during the middle of the conversation and she mentioned that there was a vote taken on some of the animals and whether or not they could/should reproduce. Admittedly, I need to find out more details about this topic, but my interest was peaked and I immediately jotted down a note about it. 

I then started thinking about how it's really very similar that these animals have humans vote on their reproductive system. It's ridiculous that this does not stop at animals: many Congress members in the United States want this to be the case for female humans.

In all fairness, I'm not about to get into a discussion as to whether this is right or wrong for the animals, nor am I going to speculate on how the animals are treated in zoos. I would hope that what I see (which are relatively normal and happy animals) is what it is. Animals rights is an issue for another day for this vegetarian...

Another point I wanted to make is that in these displays (for lack of a better word) the viewers and the animals are given the impression that they are free in their natural habitats. Scenery in the background is created to give viewers and animals the feeling of really being out in the wild. In many cases (especially for the animals who can climb or fly to greater heights) some sort of net ceiling is present so they cannot ascend more than the zoo wants them to and ultimately, they will remain contained. This exactly correlates with the constant power struggle from the conservatives in the United States to keep women and their bodies under the government's control. 

I'm wondering if this is a starting point for me and an exhibition I can create...

Robbie Conal - Guerilla Postering

For those who are not familiar with Robbie Conal, he's a guerilla artist (and from the tips he gives on his website, quite the pro at it, too!) Originally from NYC, Conal always had a love for art and had a reputation for causing trouble and being escorted out of art museums and public libraries. An undergraduate student of San Francisco State University and graduate student of Stanford University, Conal used his education, social concerns and personality to begin making images that expressed his interest in "politics, power and the abuses of both."

He felt that art institutions were frequently unreceptive to this point of view, and therefore took it upon himself to being guerilla postering all over Los Angeles, where he now lives.

On his website he gives great advice about guerilla postering, titled "Guerilla Etiquette and Postering Techniques." Here, he very succinctly states what he finds to be the purpose of guerilla art:

"A surprise for people on their way to work in the morning. Critical ideas where people least expect them. To tickle the general public into thinking along with us about issues we think are important to the health of American democracy, the Constitution, our First Amendment rights, and the future of Hip-Hop Nation."

I especially appreciate the fact that in his advice for people who want to pursue guerilla postering that they do NOT cause trouble with/for the police. He explains that they are only doing their job and that it really behooves the artist to be compliant and not cause a ruckus.

Here are some examples of his work:

One point he makes that struck me particularly because this is the goal of my thesis:

"Empowerment: To take direct cooperative action on an issue that concerns us. For the general public who feel they have no avenues of resistance to the dominant power structure, no community support system, no ability to change their situation. To change apathy and cynicism to optimism."


For my first blog entry which describes the purpose of my blog, please click here.