I was curated to present my own work at The Feminist Art Project at College Art Association conference. I thought it would be more politicly effective in this instance if I showed MTF images instead. These are the excerpts I edited together from Mirha's and Raafat's work. Below is the script of what i will say: Thank you very much to the feminist art project. I would like to dedicate my presentation today in memory of our friend and colleague Flo McGarell, inspired activist artist, a non-passing transman, who gave his soul and body to Haiti and was killed in the earthquake one month ago today. In the spirit of feminist intervention, rather than speak about my own work, i will present video clips of the work of two performance artists on the MTF spectrum, Mirha Soleil Ross (Quebec) and Arouse Falastine, the performance persona of Raafat Haatab (a Palestinian artist living in Jaffa). I do not speak for these two people, but invite those in attendance today to consider the use of trans in the work of these two artists as transfeminism, as method of political analysis, a vital part of contemporary feminist art and political strategies, and lastly to consider my intervention as a feminist gesture in and of itself. I interviewed both of the artists about these two tapes and transcribed our conversations in order to relay to you their feminist intentions, as best I can, in the time allowed. I'm not trying to suggest that I am just a neutral conduit, I wanted to find a strategy to relay as faithfully as I can the artists' intentions, in light of the fact that prohibitive costs, visas, and various xenophobic policies make it impossible for either of them to attend such a conference. Allo Performance is part of a 9-month long "pregnancy performance project," This installment features Ross splashing in the waves beneath Golden Gate Bridge as a mother's voice remembers a difficult pregnancy and an unusual, charming child. For 9 months, everytime Mirha appeared in public, she appeared pregnant. Of this tape, Mirha said she was dressed to look like Shulamit Firestone, and edited the video to look like early feminist performance documents of the 1960s. The following quotes are transcribed from my conversation with Mirha. "we were trying to make it look like an old film, so it could look alike a film a rich husband could have done of his pregnant wife. You look at the end of the video, i fall in the water, so its a faliure, i fail in an attempt to reach that state of respectability." -----PLAY-----TAPE----- "(we recorded my mother's voice over the phone) for a reason, and that is to show we didnt have the ability to be in the presence of our mother on an everyday basis. and alot of that dealt with tongue, and mother tongue and conflicts with language. .... important to us was always to show or to force a second language, on the image itself." "i have made a decision that whatever video i will do from now on, whether it is in french or english, i will not have no less than iroqouis language and an algonkin language on the video, otherwise i will not put out any video at all" "I think not giving a translation is wonderful....but we want to force people to at least visually to be exposed to, and force themselves to be challenged at least a little bit, to learn a second or third or fourth language, like so many of us have had to do. " I study post-colonial translation. I feel we should go to the so called subject, ask the subject how they would want to be represented. my mom, because she's proud of speaking in an inelegant way, (she swears a lot) in quebequois joual.... she will use words that are considered very vulgar. in the translations, we would add a swear words, to translate the power she is throwing back, her strength with her words. It's her own right to be represented that way. white anglophone, non jewish, non arabic, non native, will see this as a working class or "white trash" speech. Most audiences will see the tape as related to class. its not just related to class. my mother never used the word "god"/ "bon dieu". my mother never used spiritual terms relted to christianity, In this video she uses words that to me, go across culutre and are related to aborginial culutre, and come from 500 years of old, converted anusian religion (Anushim are crypto-Jews forced to convert in Portugal and Spain who escaped to be early settlers of New France.) Her spirituality is in terms of 'destiny' and that is very aboriginal. those are things that most people wouldnt understand, but we didnt care. so much of the content is to render and recodify a sense of who the woman is. "At the end of the video i fall in the water, i collapse, i fail in the water, to be a woman who can reproduce, can reproduce either jewishness or aboriginalness, on forgein terriory" ------PAUSE------TAPE------ Next is the work of rafaat Hataab, emerging artist who is palestinian and genderqueer, living in jaffa. -----PL

• published: 10 Feb 2010
• views: 0

Local news; Howard Brown Health Center has started a new project that allows gay and bisexual couples to get tested for HIV in a new way, together. The project called, Testing Together allows couples to get tested and receive their HIV test results with one another. In the past, due to confidentiality restrictions, significant others were not allowed to be present when someone got their test results, but in the new research project started by researchers at Emory university, couples are allowed to not only receive their test results but to work with a counselor to talk about sexual health in a relationship and work out a strategic prevention plan. I spoke to Beau Gratzer, the researcher overseeing the project, who said that having this option allows couples to open a dialogue about their sexual relationship that is often avoided. To find out more about the project go to Testingtogether.org or go to Howard Browns walk in clinic at 4025 N. Sheridan Road to get tested, together. Equality Illinois appointed its first communications liaison last week according to Chicago Phoenix. Illinois largest LGBT rights advocacy group brought Chicago Native Mitchell Locin (Low-sin) into the position. A former White House correspondent and an editor at Chicago Tribune, he will assume the role in a move to signal the organizations efforts to share the challenges they face in expanding LGBT equality. Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois. Said He will help carry our advocacy for LGBT equality to all media in print and broadcasting, on the Internet and through social media. We are pleased that he is coming out of retirement for this important mission. Illinois Representative Greg Harris introduced a bill Wednesday that would allow same-sex marriage in Illinois. The Religious Freedom and marriage Fairness act also co-sponsored by Rep. Deb Mell and Kelly Cassidy is the latest of Harris' attempts to introduce a bill for marriage equality in the state. If passed, the new law would amend the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act, allowing the voluntary conversion of a civil union to a marriage. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional serving no purpose other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians. The ruling was made by a three-judge panel on a 2-1 decision and reaffirms the now-retired U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walkers 2010 decision to strike down the ban. Proposition 8 is the 2008 measure banning same-sex marriage in California. The decision, while great news in California, limits the chances that the case will see the U.S. Supreme court who may wait until a more sweeping case comes along. The decision comes more than a year after the appeals court panel heard arguments in the case. In Cleveland Ohio two men are suing the city, saying they were punched and pinned to the ground by an off-duty police officer before being called offensive names and jailed without pants. Steven Ondo and Jonathan Simcox were reportedly attacked by an off-duty officer- who was also a neighbor-who had them arrested after he complained about an argument in the street. A week later the men were arrested by a SWAT team in their home who denied them the chance to get dressed, using derogatory terms and telling the men that gays dont get to wear pants to jail. Ondo, 22, and Simcox, 25, filed the U.S. District Court lawsuit against the city and its police last month and asked for unspecified damages. They said their goal was to deter biased treatment by police. With Washington State poised to legalize same-sex marriage, one well-known US business icon has publicly endorsed the legislation. Coffee giant Starbucks announced at the end of last month that it supports the same-sex marriage legislation. Executive Vice president, Kalen Holmes made a statement that the company is proud to join other leading Northwest employers in support of equality for same sex couples. Not everyone is excited about the company’s announcement. Pastor Steven Andrew of USA Christian Ministries has called for a boycott of the company by all Christians according to King Five News, in Seattle. In a letter on the ministries website the pastor calls for all churches to cease carrying the brand and for Christians to stop supporting stores as the company has quote turned against god with the support. Starbucks is one of more than 100 Washington businesses, including Microsoft and Nike, who pledged support of the legislation. One of Wall Street's most high-profile executives has joined the ranks of those speaking out in favor of same-sex marriage. Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, released a new video for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocacy group, According to HRC the rare public display of support on a highly controversial issue. is further proof that a diversity of Americans are coming to the same concl

• published: 09 Feb 2012
• views: 221