The Function of The Curtain
The image is a spoof of an original screenshot and caption from the adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, in 1939. The original term being “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain”, referring to a figure revealed to be the controller of Oz The Great and Powerful. In its original context, it refers to this man, who is able to manipulate his appearance to project the power that comes with being an inconspicuous and large male dominating figure.
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The curtain becomes an integral centerpiece to the existence of this power. It is this obscurity that creates a false reality, and allows the fluidity of control, from behind physical and metaphorical barriers.
‘Pay No Attention To The Woman Behind The Curtain’ (2023), is a work that imagines a context where a woman could be the inconspicuous controller, one able to dictate through the phonetics of a powerful female voice. A powerful male voice that is loud, is enough to control the entirety of a civilization, from behind this curtain.
The curtain has become an integral tool in show business. Its main use is to obscure, and it does that very well. The curtain also tells you when something begins, and ends. The curtain does this, on the accord of who controls the curtain, the director, is not the ones who are pulling the strings, but the one who directs those to do so.
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The piece is layered with three different substances, that create moments of clarity, and as well as a hypervigilance, where you are forced to engage with the subject, that represents the hidden parts of the mechanism. The encaustic wax creates an opaque clarity of the image, revealing the acetate curtains, a barrier that is invisible, granting access to a view, but stopping one physically. It is this trick that allows the viewer to believe they have visibility into the inside, an open kitchen if you will. What we do not see is the deep foundations that have been laid to enable the seamless control that comes from the siege of power. The wax puckers at the edges of the figure, who controls Oz, The Great and Powerful. The viewer is forced to confront the one part of the piece that is unconcealed, when the identity is dependent on the antithesis, concealment.
When thinking further about the role of the curtain, one cannot help but imagine the danger that goes in being in front, rather than behind. This is more prominent as a woman who experiences the demise that goes from being in front of the curtain. It seems as though the curtain is a one edged sword, where you can find refuge behind, but not in front. Behind the curtain, there is control, literal strings that have a function as you pull them. The strings are a physical device as well as a psychological one. Often, the ‘man behind the curtain’ is a director, manager, partner, etc. It is the person pulling the ‘strings’. Instances of women in the limelight when the strings are broken is the moment in which we begin to classify them as ‘insane’. When the woman in front of the curtain defies those behind the curtain, she becomes dangerous, and her actions and words become weaponized. Examples of these cases are grouped into a category of female rage.
In 1992, at the height of her career, Sinead O’Connor performed on Saturday Live. In the performance's finale, singing Bob Marley’s ‘War’, she boasted a picture of Pope John Paul II, and tore it whilst starting “fight the real enemy”. O’Connor’s aim was to shed light on the history of abuse ingrained within the Catholic Church, before it was widely accepted. O’Connor was subsequently banned from performing on Saturday Night Live, and damaged her public image beyond repair. After this performance, O’Connor would rarely be in front of the curtain again. Those in front and in the back must have a synchronous relationship, where there is enough control coming from behind, instructing the performer. This reclamation of female rage comes from the contradictory ideas overlapping between modern-day femininity and its complicated relationship with postfeminism. Sinead demonstrates the societal views from this era of post feminism, where women are considered reckless and erratic.
However, women are a vessel used for entertainment, and therefore to take on the role of facing politically charged issues would seem unfavorable for the networks.
The term ‘To Be A Woman Is To Perform’, is the name of a recent work of mine that displays an image of the moment that O’Connor tears up the image of the Pope on Saturday Night Live. The image is coated in encaustic wax, and bordered with drain holes from the bottom of a sink. The statement ‘To Be A Woman Is To Perform’ was coined in Valerie Walkerdine’s academic journal 'Femininity as Performance’, published in 1989, at the height of the post feminist movement. Walkerdine explores the role of femininity through performance, acting as a reflection of what is expected by societal expectations. The woman then reflects these cultural norms within their own performance, therefore censoring themselves, conveniently.
After this performance on Saturday Night Live, O’Connor would rarely be in front of the curtain again. Those in front and in the back must have a synchronous relationship, one where the one in front reciprocates the demands given from the back. ‘To Be A Woman Is To Perform’, but under very particular circumstances, governed by a man in charge.
The curtain becomes an integral centerpiece to the existence of this power. It is this obscurity that creates a false reality, and allows the fluidity of control, from behind physical and metaphorical barriers.
‘Pay No Attention To The Woman Behind The Curtain’ (2023), is a work that imagines a context where a woman could be the inconspicuous controller, one able to dictate through the phonetics of a powerful female voice. A powerful male voice that is loud, is enough to control the entirety of a civilization, from behind this curtain.
The curtain has become an integral tool in show business. Its main use is to obscure, and it does that very well. The curtain also tells you when something begins, and ends. The curtain does this, on the accord of who controls the curtain, the director, is not the ones who are pulling the strings, but the one who directs those to do so.
The piece is layered with three different substances, that create moments of clarity, and as well as a hypervigilance, where you are forced to engage with the subject, that represents the hidden parts of the mechanism. The encaustic wax creates an opaque clarity of the image, revealing the acetate curtains, a barrier that is invisible, granting access to a view, but stopping one physically. It is this trick that allows the viewer to believe they have visibility into the inside, an open kitchen if you will. What we do not see is the deep foundations that have been laid to enable the seamless control that comes from the siege of power. The wax puckers at the edges of the figure, who controls Oz, The Great and Powerful. The viewer is forced to confront the one part of the piece that is unconcealed, when the identity is dependent on the antithesis, concealment.
When thinking further about the role of the curtain, one cannot help but imagine the danger that goes in being in front, rather than behind. This is more prominent as a woman who experiences the demise that goes from being in front of the curtain. It seems as though the curtain is a one edged sword, where you can find refuge behind, but not in front. Behind the curtain, there is control, literal strings that have a function as you pull them. The strings are a physical device as well as a psychological one. Often, the ‘man behind the curtain’ is a director, manager, partner, etc. It is the person pulling the ‘strings’. Instances of women in the limelight when the strings are broken is the moment in which we begin to classify them as ‘insane’. When the woman in front of the curtain defies those behind the curtain, she becomes dangerous, and her actions and words become weaponized. Examples of these cases are grouped into a category of female rage.
In 1992, at the height of her career, Sinead O’Connor performed on Saturday Live. In the performance's finale, singing Bob Marley’s ‘War’, she boasted a picture of Pope John Paul II, and tore it whilst starting “fight the real enemy”. O’Connor’s aim was to shed light on the history of abuse ingrained within the Catholic Church, before it was widely accepted. O’Connor was subsequently banned from performing on Saturday Night Live, and damaged her public image beyond repair. After this performance, O’Connor would rarely be in front of the curtain again. Those in front and in the back must have a synchronous relationship, where there is enough control coming from behind, instructing the performer. This reclamation of female rage comes from the contradictory ideas overlapping between modern-day femininity and its complicated relationship with postfeminism. Sinead demonstrates the societal views from this era of post feminism, where women are considered reckless and erratic.
However, women are a vessel used for entertainment, and therefore to take on the role of facing politically charged issues would seem unfavorable for the networks.
The term ‘To Be A Woman Is To Perform’, is the name of a recent work of mine that displays an image of the moment that O’Connor tears up the image of the Pope on Saturday Night Live. The image is coated in encaustic wax, and bordered with drain holes from the bottom of a sink. The statement ‘To Be A Woman Is To Perform’ was coined in Valerie Walkerdine’s academic journal 'Femininity as Performance’, published in 1989, at the height of the post feminist movement. Walkerdine explores the role of femininity through performance, acting as a reflection of what is expected by societal expectations. The woman then reflects these cultural norms within their own performance, therefore censoring themselves, conveniently.
After this performance on Saturday Night Live, O’Connor would rarely be in front of the curtain again. Those in front and in the back must have a synchronous relationship, one where the one in front reciprocates the demands given from the back. ‘To Be A Woman Is To Perform’, but under very particular circumstances, governed by a man in charge.
To be a Woman is to Perform
18x24
Inkjet, cardstock, encaustic wax, wood panel
2023
To be a Woman is to Perform
18x24
Inkjet, cardstock, encaustic wax, wood panel
2023
To be a Woman is to Perform
To be a Woman is to Perform
18x24
Inkjet, cardstock, encaustic wax, wood panel
2023
The Woman Behind The Curtain
20x24
Inkjet, acetate, cardstock, encaustic wax, wood panel
2023
The Woman Behind The Curtain