#Rebecca Senf

[loudlylovingreview]

Rebecca Senf: Photographer Louis Carlos Bernal memorialized the barrios at the US-Mexican border

Louis Carlos Bernal, a Chicano photographer born in the Arizona border town of Douglas in 1941, invented a style of art photography that honored his Mexican American culture. In the process, he created an indelible record of life in Southwestern barrios – low-income, primarily Spanish-speaking neighborhoods – in the 1970s and 1980s.  He died tragically in 1993 when he was just 52 years old. With…

[fearsmagazine]

The 2022 Bram Stoker Awards® Final Ballot

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) announced the Final Ballot for the 2022 Bram Stoker Awards®, an award they’ve been presenting  in various categories since 1987 (see http://www.thebramstokerawards.com/)

Works appearing on this Ballot are Bram Stoker Award® Nominees for Superior Achievement in their Category, e.g., Novel.  Congratulations to all those appearing on the Final Ballot.

THE 2022 BRAM STOKER AWARDS® FINAL BALLOT

Superior Achievement in a Novel • Iglesias, Gabino – The Devil Takes You Home (Mullholland Press) • Katsu, Alma – The Fervor (G.P. Putnam’s Sons) • Kiste, Gwendolyn – Reluctant Immortals (Saga Press) • Malerman, Josh – Daphne (Del Rey) • Ward, Catriona – Sundial (Tor Nightfire)

Superior Achievement in a First Novel • Adams, Erin – Jackal (Bantam Books) • Cañas, Isabel – The Hacienda (Berkley) • Jones, KC – Black Tide (Tor Nightfire) • Nogle, Christi – Beulah (Cemetery Gates Media) • Wilkes, Ally – All the White Spaces (Emily Bestler Books/Atria/Titan Books)

Superior Achievement in a Middle Grade Novel • Dawson, Delilah S. – Camp Scare (Delacorte Press) • Kraus, Daniel – They Stole Our Hearts (Henry Holt and Co.) • Malinenko, Ally – This Appearing House (Katherine Tegen Books) • Senf, Lora – The Clackity (Atheneum Books for Young Readers) • Stringfellow, Lisa – A Comb of Wishes (Quill Tree Books)

Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel • Aquilone, James (editor) – Kolchak: The Night Stalker: 50th Anniversary (Moonstone Books) • Gailey, Sarah (author) and Bak, Pius (artist) – Eat the Rich (Boom! Studios) • Manzetti, Alessandro (author) and Cardoselli, Stefano (artist/author) – Kraken Inferno: The Last Hunt (Independent Legions Publishing) • Tynion IV, James (author) and Dell’Edera, Werther (artist) – Something is Killing the Children, Vol. 4 (Boom! Studios) • Young, Skottie (author) and Corona, Jorge (artist) – The Me You Love in the Dark (Image Comics)

Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel • Fraistat, Ann – What We Harvest (Delacorte Press) • Jackson, Tiffany D. – The Weight of Blood (Katherine Tegen Books) • Marshall, Kate Alice – These Fleeting Shadows (Viking) • Ottone, Robert P. – The Triangle (Raven Tale Publishing) • Schwab, V.E. – Gallant (Greenwillow Books) • Tirado, Vincent – Burn Down, Rise Up (Sourcebooks Fire)

Superior Achievement in Long Fiction • Allred, Rebecca J. and White, Gordon B. – And in Her Smile, the World (Trepidatio Publishing) • Carmen, Christa – “Through the Looking Glass and Straight into Hell” (Orphans of Bliss: Tales of Addiction Horror) (Wicked Run Press) • Hightower, Laurel – Below (Ghoulish Books) • Katsu, Alma – The Wehrwolf (Amazon Original Stories) • Knight, EV – Three Days in the Pink Tower (Creature Publishing)

Superior Achievement in Short Fiction • Dries, Aaron – “Nona Doesn't Dance” (Cut to Care: A Collection of Little Hurts) (IFWG Australia, IFWG International) • Gwilym, Douglas – “Poppy’s Poppy” (Penumbric Speculative Fiction Magazine, Vol. V, No. 6) • McCarthy, J.A.W.  – “The Only Thing Different Will Be the Body” (A Woman Built by Man) (Cemetery Gates Media) • Taborska, Anna – “A Song for Barnaby Jones” (Zagava) • Taborska, Anna – “The Star” (Great British Horror 7: Major Arcane) (Black Shuck Books) • Yardley, Mercedes M. – “Fracture” (Mother: Tales of Love and Terror) (Weird Little Worlds)

Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection • Ashe, Paula D. – We Are Here to Hurt Each Other (Nictitating Books) • Joseph, RJ – Hell Hath No Sorrow Like a Woman Haunted (The Seventh Terrace) • Khaw, Cassandra – Breakable Things (Undertow Publications) • Thomas, Richard – Spontaneous Human Combustion (Keylight Books) • Veres, Attila – The Black Maybe (Valancourt Books)

Superior Achievement in a Screenplay • Cooper, Scott – The Pale Blue Eye (Cross Creek Pictures, Grisbi Productions, Streamline Global Group) • Derrickson, Scott and Cargill, C. Robert – The Black Phone (Blumhouse Productions, Crooked Highway, Universal Pictures) • Duffer Brothers, The – Stranger Things: Episode 04.01 "Chapter One: The Hellfire Club" (21 Laps Entertainment, Monkey Massacre, Netflix, Upside Down Pictures) • Garland, Alex - Men (DNA Films) • Goth, Mia and West, Ti – Pearl (A24, Bron Creative, Little Lamb, New Zealand Film Commission)

Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection • Bailey, Michael and Simon, Marge – Sifting the Ashes (Crystal Lake Publishing) • Lynch, Donna – Girls from the County (Raw Dog Screaming Press) • Pelayo, Cynthia – Crime Scene (Raw Dog Screaming Press) • Saulson, Sumiko – The Rat King: A Book of Dark Poetry (Dooky Zines) • Sng, Christina – The Gravity of Existence (Interstellar Flight Press)

Superior Achievement in an Anthology • Datlow, Ellen – Screams from the Dark: 29 Tales of Monsters and the Monstrous (Tor Nightfire) • Hartmann, Sadie and Saywers, Ashley – Human Monsters: A Horror Anthology (Dark Matter Ink) • Nogle, Christi and Becker, Willow – Mother: Tales of Love and Terror (Weird Little Worlds) • Ryan, Lindy – Into the Forest: Tales of the Baba Yaga (Black Spot Books) • Tantlinger, Sara – Chromophobia: A Strangehouse Anthology by Women in Horror (Strangehouse Books)

Superior Achievement in Non–Fiction • Cisco, Michael – Weird Fiction: A Genre Study (Palgrave Macmillan) • Hieber, Leanna Renee and Janes, Andrea – A Haunted History of Invisible Women: True Stories of America's Ghosts (Citadel Press) • Kröger, Lisa and Anderson, Melanie R. – Toil and Trouble: A Women’s History of the Occult (Quirk Books) • Waggoner, Tim – Writing in the Dark: The Workbook (Guide Dog Books) • Wytovich, Stephanie M. – Writing Poetry in the Dark (Raw Dog Screaming Press)

Superior Achievement in Short Non–Fiction • Murray, Lee – “I Don’t Read Horror (& Other Weird Tales)” (Interstellar Flight Magazine) (Interstellar Flight Press) • Pelayo, Cynthia – “This is Not a Poem” (Writing Poetry in the Dark) (Raw Dog Screaming Press) • Wetmore, Jr., Kevin J. – “A Clown in the Living Room: The Sinister Clown on Television” (The Many Lives of Scary Clowns: Essays on Pennywise, Twisty, the Joker, Krusty and More) (McFarland and Company) • Wood, L. Marie – “African American Horror Authors and Their Craft: The Evolution of Horror Fiction from African Folklore” (Conjuring Worlds: An Afrofuturist Textbook for Middle and High School Students) (Conjure World) • Wood, L. Marie, “The H Word: The Horror of Hair” (Nightmare Magazine, No. 118) (Adamant Press)

[talbottoresnick]

(continuation of Joyce's review)

Overall, I really enjoyed this exhibition because I like Rodney Smith’s photographic style.Without thinking too much about the staging and techniques, at first glance I can feel the comfort and aesthetic pleasure of looking at the photos. After reading more reviews on the photographer and this exhibition, I agree with the comments of Rebecca A. Senf, chief curator at the Center for Creative Photography at The University of Arizona, suggesting that Rodney Smith has “exacting technical precision” that allows him to freely express whatever he wants to communicate with the viewer without worrying about how the photographic techniques might block him. However,a limitation of this exhibition is that I believe it is not curated as well as most other exhibitions Ihave visited before. For example, the introduction of the exhibition and the photographer was not shown at the entrance of the gallery. Rather, I had to walk all the way to the end to learn about the photographer and the theme of this exhibition. Each piece of work also didn’t have a short description about when and why the work was produced. The photos were also arranged in an unthoughtful way. Some photos put together didn’t have a common theme, and other photos that clearly can have a conversation with each other were not placed together. While some photographs were displayed on a clear, white background, some photos were hung on walls that already had stylistic decorations, which didn’t match with the photographs and their themes.Overall, I like the works of Rodney Smith's but I feel like the entire exhibition can be curated with more thought and effort that matches with the preciseness of the artist’s photographic style.(↓ messy background)

[webionaire]

Debra Bloomfield: small room

lower case crossings fill the bay of photography as, and in, the service of art. Four Corners. “In 1989 photographer Debra Bloomfield got into her car and headed east from California. “ Wilderness,” 2014 University of New Mexico Press. Essays by Lauren E. Oakes, Rebecca A. Senf, and Terry Tempest Williams.[1] “Still: Oceanscapes by Debra Bloomfield,” 2008 Chronicle Books. Foreword by Terry…

[fashionbooksmilano]

Richard Avedon   Relastionships

a cura di Rebecca Senf

Skira, Milano 2022, 194 pagine,  25x 32.5 cm, ISBN 978-8857248608

euro 39,00

email if you want to buy :booksinprogressmilano@yahoo.it

“Richard Avedon – Relationships” è la mostra dedicata al maestro di fotografia americano che ha rivoluzionato il mondo della moda. Palazzo Reale, Milano  22/09/22 – 29/01/23

Oltre sessant'anni di carriera di uno dei grandi maestri della fotografia del Novecento Un omaggio a Richard Avedon (1923-2004), il fotografo statunitense che ha legato il suo nome e i suoi scatti a riviste iconiche come Harper's Bazaar, Vogue e The New Yorker. Celebre ritrattista, Avedon fu tra i primi padri della fotografia di moda di cui rivoluzionò lo stile quando, già dal 1945, tralasciò le pose statiche per collocare le modelle in ambientazioni reali. Quelle di Avedon sono immagini quasi cinematografiche che portano chi le osserva a immaginare i racconti e le storie che sembrano evocare. Davanti all'obiettivo di Avedon non sono transitate solo le modelle più famose dell'epoca, ma anche una ricca compagine di personaggi tra i quali attori, danzatori, celebrità, artisti, musicisti, scrittori, attivisti per i diritti civili, fino ai capi di stato. Inoltre, non di rado il medesimo soggetto veniva ritratto più volte e in periodi diversi, creando vere e proprie relazioni fotografiche che rivelano aspetti differenti sia della persona ritratta, sia del suo rapporto con il fotografo. Realizzato in collaborazione con il Center for Creative Photography e la Richard Avedon Foundation (con main partner Versace e media partner Vogue Italia), Richard Avedon. Relationships presenta oltre cento fotografie di moda e ritratti iconici, appartenenti alla vasta collezione del Center for Creative Photography: dagli artisti Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol e Louise Nevelson a Ezra Pound e Truman Capote, da John Ford e Michelangelo Antonioni a Humphrey Bogart e Marilyn Monroe, da Jimmy Carter e George Bush a Malcom X e Kofi Annan, da Bob Dylan, John Lennon e Paul McCartney alle modelle Dovima, Veruschka e Linda Evangelista. Da questi straordinari ritratti emerge la capacità di Avedon di catturare espressioni del volto, gesti del corpo, momenti, cambiamenti, stili e tensioni che hanno attraversato la nostra società. Qualità messe ancora più in evidenza dai ritratti in bianconero che lo hanno reso celebre. Queste foto, dove sono riprese personalità che hanno segnato la storia del Novecento, modelle o persone comuni, regalano emozioni a ogni sguardo curioso sull'uomo.

27/10/22

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[jimhair]

Ansel Adams is coming to Portland. The exhibition doesn’t open until Cinco de Mayo, but there is a Zoom conversation Thursday, March 25, (tomorrow) at 6pm Pacific with Dr. Rebecca Senf and Dr. Julia Dolan about the exhibition and Adams work 1. Go to portland art museum.org 2. Search for “Ansel Adams zoom” 3. Register A splendid time is guaranteed for all Ansel Adams in Portland, Cinco de Mayo 2021 @anseladams @portlandartmuseum #america #documentary #landscape #photography #rolleiflex #camera @japancamerahunter #jch #blancoynegro #blancinegre #bnw #infrared #film #blancetnoir #白黒 #Hēiyǔbái #siyahbeyaz #shirokuro #blackandwhite #filmisnotdead #istillshootfilm #pdx #portland #nw #northwest #leftcoast #oregon @curatorpdx @beckysenf https://www.instagram.com/p/CMzeEYUnAIS/?igshid=1tu1r16vjyr1c

[banterandwit]

Gothic Literature- Drawing on feminist readings of Gothic Literature analyse the way in which Gothic Literature has responded to the changing roles of women in society.

The Gothic genre has always been viewed through the lenses of psychological thriller or horror. The strange and uncanny of it all causes the unease that we as readers have come to love. But what is it that causes such unease and why do the writers of such a genre become so entranced by it? The stories of The Castle of Otranto, Carmilla, Rebecca and Twilight are excellent in their own right. Yet the path of most fruition in understanding these stories is through the lens of feminism. Through it one can begin to unravel the role of women throughout history and it’s ever changing presence. As such this essay will establish what each of the stories define as the roles of women beginning with The Castle of Otranto and how Hippolatia is depicted as Walpole’s ideal women as opposed to Isabella or Matilda who are naïve and do not understand their role in society. Next, the essay will look at Carmilla and how Le Fanu’s vampire is the embodiment of the threat of feminism in the era and the freedom to womanhood that Carmilla represents by removing the male from sexual relations. The story of Rebecca will look at the twentieth century woman and the breakdown of norms and Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight will look at how this breakdown has shaped the modern role of women.

 The Castle of Otranto (Walpole, 2001) written in 1764, follows the story of Manfred, the lord of the Castle and his family. Walpole’s novel indicates the dominant, infallibility of men as opposed to their “damsel in distress” (Siddiqui, 2016) counterparts. In the nineteenth century, women had no rights and were considered second class citizens, and received “unworthy inheritance, such as bible, books and household goods” (Gilbert and Gubar, 2006). Hippolita, Manfred’s wife, is a prime example of this since she is so willing to accept divorce from her spouse simply because he said so. Walpole (2001) explains in the novel that “a bad husband is better than no husband” and without pleading or begging, Hippolita accepted the fate her husband wrote for her. In fact, she has no place to argue- she has submitted herself to her husband “physically, economically, psychologically and mentally” (Siddiqui, 2016). Due to this, Hippolita is the exemplary form of womanhood in The Castle of Otranto. She accepts her divorce and, in the novel, explains that she will “withdraw into the neighbouring monastery and the remainder of life in prayers and tears for my child and –the Prince’’ (p.90-91). She does not fight for her rights and gives herself to God because that is what is expected of her, something she tries to pass on to Matilda and Isabella when she explains, ‘’It is not ours to make election for ourselves; heaven, our father and husband must decide for us’’ (Walpole, 2001). This further highlights Hippolita’s ideology that the men of the family and in the lives of the women have priority in life, being dependent and subservient on these men is what is expected of women and hence the role of women should be of servitude to their husbands and fathers.

 Matilda and Isabella are younger than Hippolita and have less of an understanding of how they should be dependent. Although Hippolita tries to explain to them, Matilda only understands through her own experiences. As a female child of Manfred, she is introduced as “a most beautiful virgin, aged eighteen” (Walpole, 2001) as if to say those are her only qualities- she is good looking and at the age to marry. However, she is still a woman and therefore “equally dismissed since under the prevailing system of primogeniture only males could be heirs” (Ellis, 2010). She is neglected by her father and even when she tries to comfort him after Conrad’s death she is met with “cruel emotional attitude” (Putri, 2012). Walpole (2001, p.21) writes:

“She was however just going to beg admittance when Manfred suddenly opened his door; and it was now twilight, concurring with the disorder of his mind, he did not distinguish the person, but asked angrily, who it was? Matilda replied trembling, “my dearest father, it is I, your daughter”. Manfred stepping back hastily, cried “Begone, I do not want a daughter”, and flinging back abrupty, clapped the door against the terrified Matilda”

 Due to this, Matilda must accept that due to her gender she is expected to be treated in such a manner and her father will not give her any affection. Putri (2012) writes that for Manfred- “it would be better that Matilda be neither seen nor heard.” (p.7). Isabella who is Conrad’s fiancée is forced by her father to marry Manfred after Conrad’s death. She too is a victim of the patriarchal society in which she lives. She must marry Manfred even if there is no love there and only after Matilda’s death does Theodore accept her, and she becomes Lady of the castle. Even after this, the assumption would be that she becomes subservient to Theodore as opposed to her father. Therefore, the role of women in The Castle of Otranto is subservience to the men in their lives and this is their calling.

In contrast, Le Fanu’s Carmilla (2005) originally written in 1897 is the story of Laura and Carmilla, two young women who do not obey such a patriarchy and are in a lesbian relationship. Before Carmilla, vampires were predominantly male such as Lord Ruthven from John William Polidori's The Vampyre (2017). Signorotti (1996) argues that Le Fanu’s choice of creating a powerful female vampire was because it “marks the growing concern about the power of female relationships in the nineteenth century” since this was the time “feminists began to petition for additional rights for women. Concerned with women's power and influence, writers . . . often responded by creating powerful women characters, the vampire being one of the most powerful negative images” (Senf, 1988). It is for this reason that Carmilla is depicted in such a frightening and sensual way by Laura. She represents the allure of women as sexual beings with fangs dangerous enough to topple the patriarchy that the women in Walpole’s novel held to such esteem. Laura recounts one night that:

“I saw a solemn, but very pretty face looking at me from the side of the bed. It was that of a young lady who was kneeling, with her hands under the coverlet. I looked at her with a kind of pleased wonder and ceased whimpering. She caressed me with her hands, and lay down beside me on the bed, and drew me towards her, smiling; I felt immediately delightfully soothed, and fell asleep again. I was wakened by a sensation as if two needles ran into my breast very deep at the same moment, and I cried loudly. The lady started back, with her eyes fixed on me, and then slipped down upon the floor, and, as I thought, hid herself.” (Le Fanu, 2005)

Carmilla is liberating her fellow woman from the grip of a male dominated life and the needles of freedom cause her pain from the familiarity she initially grew up with into an unknown but free world where their union without a male partner gives them liberation from male authority.

 The exclusion of the man is further shown by General Spielsdorf’s recount of when he tried to catch the vampire that was causing his niece, Bertha, to become ill. He watches from the door as he saw “a large black object, very ill-defined, crawl, as it seemed to me, over the foot of the bed, and swiftly spread itself up to the poor girl's throat.” (Le Fanu, 2005). Carmilla takes away the male inclusion and leaves him a voyeur to a union that is beyond the heterosexual norm. This is a freedom from the patriarchal society that has ruled over women for centuries into a freedom over their own lives both physically and psychologically. Signorotti (1996) explains that “Le Fanu allows Laura and Carmilla to usurp male authority and to be stow themselves on whom they please, completely excluding male participation in the exchange of women.” (p.607). This exchange symbolises the change in normality. Not only are women becoming independent from males for their living needs, they are also becoming free in their sexual needs. Where The Castle of Otranto focused on the ideal women being subservient and dependent on the male in one’s life, Carmilla focuses on the threat of women to oppose Walpole’s standard of servitude to the patriarch that controlled their lives and of their bodies as factories for new male heirs. Carmilla is the free women that Walpole’s characters never dreamed of.

 Rebecca (Du Maurier, 2007) was written in in the twentieth century (1938) and is the story of the narrator’s marriage to Maxim de Winter and the subsequent flashbacks to her time in Manderley where she learnt about her husband’s first wife Rebecca and her lingering presence even after her death. Nigro (2000) argues that although the common assumption about Rebecca is that she is manipulative and convinced everyone she is flawless, she was justifiably murdered according to the second Mrs. de Winter. “What if, however, Maxim is the one who is lying, and Rebecca was as good as reputation held her, if his jealousy was the true motive for her murder?” (p. 144). Furthermore, Wisker (1999) points out that Du Maurier is known to have unreliable narrators. Therefore, finding the truth behind Rebecca’s character, flawed or perfect, becomes difficult. This difficulty blurs the lines between gender roles and conformity. The superiority of men is shown by Mrs. Danvers’ comparison of Rebecca as a man, “"She had all the courage and spirit of a boy, had my Mrs. de Winter. She ought to have been a boy, I often told her that. I had the care of her as a child. You knew that, did you?" (Du Maurier, 2007) showing the importance of being a “man” at the time and how they were seen to be superior. When the audience finds out about Rebecca’s imperfect character, one of her detrimental features is that she is promiscuous and why Maxim killed her. Maxim’s murder could therefore be because he was constrained by what people would think if his wife was expose to be a “harlot” and murdered her to uphold the principles that Walpole emphasised- something he cannot go against in his social circle, whilst Rebecca herself was trying to be as free as Carmilla and trying her best to live a happy life unconstrained by social norms and patriarchal glances. The role of gender and women becomes blurred in Rebecca as these roles begin to breakdown and become synonymous to both genders.

 Maxim’s attitude towards his new wife is almost paternalistic, treating her like an immature girl referring to her as “my child” and “my poor lamb” (Du Maurier, 2007). Where Mrs de Winter wants to become more mature, Maxim tries to keep her away calling it "not the right sort of knowledge" (p. 223) and telling her “it’s a pity you have to grow up” to block her from gaining the maturity that she craves. As a result, Mrs de Winter becomes trapped in a purgatory between maturity and upper-class standards and immaturity and the life she has come from. This entrapment is what the patriarchal norms establish, the damsel that must be guided by a firm male hand because of her ignorance as opposed to the woman being on equal footing to the man and someone who can take care of themselves. It is this standard that the narrator is held to and is also the standard Maxim held Rebecca to and subsequently murdered her because of. The shame from having a free woman as a wife is what led him to his crime. It is for this reason that the ultimate villain of Rebecca is in fact the patriarchal system in which the characters are confined. Wisker (2003) argues that the aristocratic setting of Rebecca “was to represent an unease at the configurations of power and gendered relations of the time.” Pons (2013) furthers this argument and explains that “the ultimate gothic villain is the haunting presence of an old-fashioned, strict patriarchal system, represented by Maxims mansion, Manderley, and understood as a hierarchical system.” This configuration of patriarchy established in the eighteenth century by Walpole is that of servitude for women and dominance for men. However, in an era where women have more power and have freedom as expressed in Carmilla suggests that these roles are becoming unfulfillable and it is because of this system that the characters are led to “hypocrisy, hysteria and crime.” (Pons, 2013). Thus, the role of women as a strict social etiquette breaks down and although they are treated still as subjects, the shift in power to give women their freedom is evident.

 Twilight (Meyer, 2012) written in 2005, follows the story of Bella Swan who falls in love with a vampire and the subsequent life they have together. However, it is subject to great controversy especially because of Bella herself. She seems to conform to female roles that are more akin to Hippolita than Carmilla. Rocha (2011) argues that “Bella illustrates female submission in a male dominated world; disempowering herself and symbolically disempowering women.” She sees herself in a negative light that is incapable of doing anything herself and is totally submissive in nature becoming a pawn in the life of the men of her life. Mann (2009) argues “When Bella falls in love, then, a girl in love is all she is. By page 139 she has concluded that her mundane life is a small price to pay for the gift of being with Edward, and by the second book she’s willing to trade her soul for that privilege” (p.133) and hence has a Hippolitaian quality of sacrifice for the pleasure of men and hence develops nothing about herself. Mann (2009) continues to say that “Other than her penchant for self-sacrifice and the capacity to attract the attention of boys, Bella isn’t really anyone special. She has no identifiable interests or talents; she is incompetent in the face of almost every challenge...When she needs something done, especially mechanical, she finds a boy to do it and watches him. (p.133) This leaves Bella as a “damsel-in-distress” (Rocha, 2011) where Edward becomes her saviour. Thus, the role of women in Twilight seems to be that of a possession to enhance the male being.

 It could however be argued that Twilight contains a relationship that female readers can relate to in its ability to show the “women’s powerlessness and their desire for revenge and appropriation.” (Jarvis, 2014) and how the heroine proves to the hero ‘‘their infinite preciousness’’ (Modleski, 1982) bringing the hero to contemplate, worry and obsess over the heroine in a way that the female reader can share “the heroines’ powerlessness and accompanying frustration.” (Jarvis, 2013). This leads to what Nicol (2011) explains is the ‘‘complexities of female sexuality for women in the twenty-first century’’ in so far as it provides a ‘‘socially sanctioned space in which to explore their sexual desires.” These desires are evident in Bella and Edward’s first kiss, that Bella describes:

 “His cold, marble lips pressed very softly against mine. Blood boiled under my skin, burned in my lips. My breath came in a wild gasp. My fingers knotted in his hair, clutching him to me. My lips parted as I breathed in his heady scent.” (Meyer, 2005, p. 282)

 This sexual tension is introduced earlier in the book where Bella is told that ‘‘Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him’’ (Meyer, 2005 p. 19). Jarvis (2014) explains that because of this any “female who secures the inaccessible Edward will rise in the esteem of her community” and since she is claiming him, someone who thinks of herself as “ordinary” (p. 210) the excitement for both Bella and the reader who is caught in this sexual act- almost participating in it- is why the sexual nature of the book is so enticing. Therefore, although Bella can be seen as holding the values of Hippolita, the Twilight saga speaks volumes in its showing of the complexities of the social code that twenty-first century women must abide by. They are expected to be as obedient as Hippolita whilst being as sexual desirable as Carmilla or Rebecca. Bella’s metamorphosis from the ordinary human to the alluring vampire symbolises this. Women’s roles therefore have changed to give them more freedom, but they are still expected to behave like Hippolita when the “freedom” they have been given.  

In conclusion, the role of women and their identities have changed over the centuries. Walpole’s eighteenth-century idealism was that of the subservient woman that belonged to the patriarchal figure in their life in order to produce a good heir. The nineteenth century however became the start of the empowerment of women and much of the anxiety in Carmilla is her powerful nature as a woman to do as she pleases, removing the man and the patriarchy from Le Fanu’s world. She is thus depicted as a vampire- alluring and deadly- much like giving freedom to women who cannot control nor be trusted with the power they could be given. Rebecca leads to the twentieth century where the woman has been given some freedom to do as she pleases so long as it is under the watch of a man. Maxim’s murder and subsequent second marriage where because he could not control his first wife. The twenty-first century culmination of these roles comes in the form of Twilight where the heroin seems bland on the surface but actually shows the metamorphosis of womanhood through the centuries from that of a second-class servant to the ultimate freedom away from the patriarchy that Le Fanu’s Carmilla started centuries ago. As a result, the role of women has been fluid through the years. The ultimate goal of feminism is to have equality and the books that have been mentioned show that equality can only be achieved if any form of patriarchal culture is removed- a feat that has yet to be conquered.

[craftcrit]

Gothic Literature- Drawing on feminist readings of Gothic Literature analyse the way in which Gothic Literature has responded to the changing roles of women in society.

The Gothic genre has always been viewed through the lenses of psychological thriller or horror. The strange and uncanny of it all causes the unease that we as readers have come to love. But what is it that causes such unease and why do the writers of such a genre become so entranced by it? The stories of The Castle of Otranto, Carmilla, Rebecca and Twilight are excellent in their own right. Yet the path of most fruition in understanding these stories is through the lens of feminism. Through it one can begin to unravel the role of women throughout history and it’s ever changing presence. As such this essay will establish what each of the stories define as the roles of women beginning with The Castle of Otranto and how Hippolatia is depicted as Walpole’s ideal women as opposed to Isabella or Matilda who are naïve and do not understand their role in society. Next, the essay will look at Carmilla and how Le Fanu’s vampire is the embodiment of the threat of feminism in the era and the freedom to womanhood that Carmilla represents by removing the male from sexual relations. The story of Rebecca will look at the twentieth century woman and the breakdown of norms and Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight will look at how this breakdown has shaped the modern role of women.

 The Castle of Otranto (Walpole, 2001) written in 1764, follows the story of Manfred, the lord of the Castle and his family. Walpole’s novel indicates the dominant, infallibility of men as opposed to their “damsel in distress” (Siddiqui, 2016) counterparts. In the nineteenth century, women had no rights and were considered second class citizens, and received “unworthy inheritance, such as bible, books and household goods” (Gilbert and Gubar, 2006). Hippolita, Manfred’s wife, is a prime example of this since she is so willing to accept divorce from her spouse simply because he said so. Walpole (2001) explains in the novel that “a bad husband is better than no husband” and without pleading or begging, Hippolita accepted the fate her husband wrote for her. In fact, she has no place to argue- she has submitted herself to her husband “physically, economically, psychologically and mentally” (Siddiqui, 2016). Due to this, Hippolita is the exemplary form of womanhood in The Castle of Otranto. She accepts her divorce and, in the novel, explains that she will “withdraw into the neighbouring monastery and the remainder of life in prayers and tears for my child and –the Prince’’ (p.90-91). She does not fight for her rights and gives herself to God because that is what is expected of her, something she tries to pass on to Matilda and Isabella when she explains, ‘’It is not ours to make election for ourselves; heaven, our father and husband must decide for us’’ (Walpole, 2001). This further highlights Hippolita’s ideology that the men of the family and in the lives of the women have priority in life, being dependent and subservient on these men is what is expected of women and hence the role of women should be of servitude to their husbands and fathers.

 Matilda and Isabella are younger than Hippolita and have less of an understanding of how they should be dependent. Although Hippolita tries to explain to them, Matilda only understands through her own experiences. As a female child of Manfred, she is introduced as “a most beautiful virgin, aged eighteen” (Walpole, 2001) as if to say those are her only qualities- she is good looking and at the age to marry. However, she is still a woman and therefore “equally dismissed since under the prevailing system of primogeniture only males could be heirs” (Ellis, 2010). She is neglected by her father and even when she tries to comfort him after Conrad’s death she is met with “cruel emotional attitude” (Putri, 2012). Walpole (2001, p.21) writes:

“She was however just going to beg admittance when Manfred suddenly opened his door; and it was now twilight, concurring with the disorder of his mind, he did not distinguish the person, but asked angrily, who it was? Matilda replied trembling, “my dearest father, it is I, your daughter”. Manfred stepping back hastily, cried “Begone, I do not want a daughter”, and flinging back abrupty, clapped the door against the terrified Matilda”

 Due to this, Matilda must accept that due to her gender she is expected to be treated in such a manner and her father will not give her any affection. Putri (2012) writes that for Manfred- “it would be better that Matilda be neither seen nor heard.” (p.7). Isabella who is Conrad’s fiancée is forced by her father to marry Manfred after Conrad’s death. She too is a victim of the patriarchal society in which she lives. She must marry Manfred even if there is no love there and only after Matilda’s death does Theodore accept her, and she becomes Lady of the castle. Even after this, the assumption would be that she becomes subservient to Theodore as opposed to her father. Therefore, the role of women in The Castle of Otranto is subservience to the men in their lives and this is their calling.

In contrast, Le Fanu’s Carmilla (2005) originally written in 1897 is the story of Laura and Carmilla, two young women who do not obey such a patriarchy and are in a lesbian relationship. Before Carmilla, vampires were predominantly male such as Lord Ruthven from John William Polidori's The Vampyre (2017). Signorotti (1996) argues that Le Fanu’s choice of creating a powerful female vampire was because it “marks the growing concern about the power of female relationships in the nineteenth century” since this was the time “feminists began to petition for additional rights for women. Concerned with women's power and influence, writers . . . often responded by creating powerful women characters, the vampire being one of the most powerful negative images” (Senf, 1988). It is for this reason that Carmilla is depicted in such a frightening and sensual way by Laura. She represents the allure of women as sexual beings with fangs dangerous enough to topple the patriarchy that the women in Walpole’s novel held to such esteem. Laura recounts one night that:

“I saw a solemn, but very pretty face looking at me from the side of the bed. It was that of a young lady who was kneeling, with her hands under the coverlet. I looked at her with a kind of pleased wonder and ceased whimpering. She caressed me with her hands, and lay down beside me on the bed, and drew me towards her, smiling; I felt immediately delightfully soothed, and fell asleep again. I was wakened by a sensation as if two needles ran into my breast very deep at the same moment, and I cried loudly. The lady started back, with her eyes fixed on me, and then slipped down upon the floor, and, as I thought, hid herself.” (Le Fanu, 2005)

Carmilla is liberating her fellow woman from the grip of a male dominated life and the needles of freedom cause her pain from the familiarity she initially grew up with into an unknown but free world where their union without a male partner gives them liberation from male authority.

 The exclusion of the man is further shown by General Spielsdorf’s recount of when he tried to catch the vampire that was causing his niece, Bertha, to become ill. He watches from the door as he saw “a large black object, very ill-defined, crawl, as it seemed to me, over the foot of the bed, and swiftly spread itself up to the poor girl's throat.” (Le Fanu, 2005). Carmilla takes away the male inclusion and leaves him a voyeur to a union that is beyond the heterosexual norm. This is a freedom from the patriarchal society that has ruled over women for centuries into a freedom over their own lives both physically and psychologically. Signorotti (1996) explains that “Le Fanu allows Laura and Carmilla to usurp male authority and to be stow themselves on whom they please, completely excluding male participation in the exchange of women.” (p.607). This exchange symbolises the change in normality. Not only are women becoming independent from males for their living needs, they are also becoming free in their sexual needs. Where The Castle of Otranto focused on the ideal women being subservient and dependent on the male in one’s life, Carmilla focuses on the threat of women to oppose Walpole’s standard of servitude to the patriarch that controlled their lives and of their bodies as factories for new male heirs. Carmilla is the free women that Walpole’s characters never dreamed of.

 Rebecca (Du Maurier, 2007) was written in in the twentieth century (1938) and is the story of the narrator’s marriage to Maxim de Winter and the subsequent flashbacks to her time in Manderley where she learnt about her husband’s first wife Rebecca and her lingering presence even after her death. Nigro (2000) argues that although the common assumption about Rebecca is that she is manipulative and convinced everyone she is flawless, she was justifiably murdered according to the second Mrs. de Winter. “What if, however, Maxim is the one who is lying, and Rebecca was as good as reputation held her, if his jealousy was the true motive for her murder?” (p. 144). Furthermore, Wisker (1999) points out that Du Maurier is known to have unreliable narrators. Therefore, finding the truth behind Rebecca’s character, flawed or perfect, becomes difficult. This difficulty blurs the lines between gender roles and conformity. The superiority of men is shown by Mrs. Danvers’ comparison of Rebecca as a man, “"She had all the courage and spirit of a boy, had my Mrs. de Winter. She ought to have been a boy, I often told her that. I had the care of her as a child. You knew that, did you?" (Du Maurier, 2007) showing the importance of being a “man” at the time and how they were seen to be superior. When the audience finds out about Rebecca’s imperfect character, one of her detrimental features is that she is promiscuous and why Maxim killed her. Maxim’s murder could therefore be because he was constrained by what people would think if his wife was expose to be a “harlot” and murdered her to uphold the principles that Walpole emphasised- something he cannot go against in his social circle, whilst Rebecca herself was trying to be as free as Carmilla and trying her best to live a happy life unconstrained by social norms and patriarchal glances. The role of gender and women becomes blurred in Rebecca as these roles begin to breakdown and become synonymous to both genders.

 Maxim’s attitude towards his new wife is almost paternalistic, treating her like an immature girl referring to her as “my child” and “my poor lamb” (Du Maurier, 2007). Where Mrs de Winter wants to become more mature, Maxim tries to keep her away calling it "not the right sort of knowledge" (p. 223) and telling her “it’s a pity you have to grow up” to block her from gaining the maturity that she craves. As a result, Mrs de Winter becomes trapped in a purgatory between maturity and upper-class standards and immaturity and the life she has come from. This entrapment is what the patriarchal norms establish, the damsel that must be guided by a firm male hand because of her ignorance as opposed to the woman being on equal footing to the man and someone who can take care of themselves. It is this standard that the narrator is held to and is also the standard Maxim held Rebecca to and subsequently murdered her because of. The shame from having a free woman as a wife is what led him to his crime. It is for this reason that the ultimate villain of Rebecca is in fact the patriarchal system in which the characters are confined. Wisker (2003) argues that the aristocratic setting of Rebecca “was to represent an unease at the configurations of power and gendered relations of the time.” Pons (2013) furthers this argument and explains that “the ultimate gothic villain is the haunting presence of an old-fashioned, strict patriarchal system, represented by Maxims mansion, Manderley, and understood as a hierarchical system.” This configuration of patriarchy established in the eighteenth century by Walpole is that of servitude for women and dominance for men. However, in an era where women have more power and have freedom as expressed in Carmilla suggests that these roles are becoming unfulfillable and it is because of this system that the characters are led to “hypocrisy, hysteria and crime.” (Pons, 2013). Thus, the role of women as a strict social etiquette breaks down and although they are treated still as subjects, the shift in power to give women their freedom is evident.

 Twilight (Meyer, 2012) written in 2005, follows the story of Bella Swan who falls in love with a vampire and the subsequent life they have together. However, it is subject to great controversy especially because of Bella herself. She seems to conform to female roles that are more akin to Hippolita than Carmilla. Rocha (2011) argues that “Bella illustrates female submission in a male dominated world; disempowering herself and symbolically disempowering women.” She sees herself in a negative light that is incapable of doing anything herself and is totally submissive in nature becoming a pawn in the life of the men of her life. Mann (2009) argues “When Bella falls in love, then, a girl in love is all she is. By page 139 she has concluded that her mundane life is a small price to pay for the gift of being with Edward, and by the second book she’s willing to trade her soul for that privilege” (p.133) and hence has a Hippolitaian quality of sacrifice for the pleasure of men and hence develops nothing about herself. Mann (2009) continues to say that “Other than her penchant for self-sacrifice and the capacity to attract the attention of boys, Bella isn’t really anyone special. She has no identifiable interests or talents; she is incompetent in the face of almost every challenge...When she needs something done, especially mechanical, she finds a boy to do it and watches him. (p.133) This leaves Bella as a “damsel-in-distress” (Rocha, 2011) where Edward becomes her saviour. Thus, the role of women in Twilight seems to be that of a possession to enhance the male being.

 It could however be argued that Twilight contains a relationship that female readers can relate to in its ability to show the “women’s powerlessness and their desire for revenge and appropriation.” (Jarvis, 2014) and how the heroine proves to the hero ‘‘their infinite preciousness’’ (Modleski, 1982) bringing the hero to contemplate, worry and obsess over the heroine in a way that the female reader can share “the heroines’ powerlessness and accompanying frustration.” (Jarvis, 2013). This leads to what Nicol (2011) explains is the ‘‘complexities of female sexuality for women in the twenty-first century’’ in so far as it provides a ‘‘socially sanctioned space in which to explore their sexual desires.” These desires are evident in Bella and Edward’s first kiss, that Bella describes:

 “His cold, marble lips pressed very softly against mine. Blood boiled under my skin, burned in my lips. My breath came in a wild gasp. My fingers knotted in his hair, clutching him to me. My lips parted as I breathed in his heady scent.” (Meyer, 2005, p. 282)

 This sexual tension is introduced earlier in the book where Bella is told that ‘‘Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him’’ (Meyer, 2005 p. 19). Jarvis (2014) explains that because of this any “female who secures the inaccessible Edward will rise in the esteem of her community” and since she is claiming him, someone who thinks of herself as “ordinary” (p. 210) the excitement for both Bella and the reader who is caught in this sexual act- almost participating in it- is why the sexual nature of the book is so enticing. Therefore, although Bella can be seen as holding the values of Hippolita, the Twilight saga speaks volumes in its showing of the complexities of the social code that twenty-first century women must abide by. They are expected to be as obedient as Hippolita whilst being as sexual desirable as Carmilla or Rebecca. Bella’s metamorphosis from the ordinary human to the alluring vampire symbolises this. Women’s roles therefore have changed to give them more freedom, but they are still expected to behave like Hippolita when the “freedom” they have been given.  

 In conclusion, the role of women and their identities have changed over the centuries. Walpole’s eighteenth-century idealism was that of the subservient woman that belonged to the patriarchal figure in their life in order to produce a good heir. The nineteenth century however became the start of the empowerment of women and much of the anxiety in Carmilla is her powerful nature as a woman to do as she pleases, removing the man and the patriarchy from Le Fanu’s world. She is thus depicted as a vampire- alluring and deadly- much like giving freedom to women who cannot control nor be trusted with the power they could be given. Rebecca leads to the twentieth century where the woman has been given some freedom to do as she pleases so long as it is under the watch of a man. Maxim’s murder and subsequent second marriage where because he could not control his first wife. The twenty-first century culmination of these roles comes in the form of Twilight where the heroin seems bland on the surface but actually shows the metamorphosis of womanhood through the centuries from that of a second-class servant to the ultimate freedom away from the patriarchy that Le Fanu’s Carmilla started centuries ago. As a result, the role of women has been fluid through the years. The ultimate goal of feminism is to have equality and the books that have been mentioned show that equality can only be achieved if any form of patriarchal culture is removed- a feat that has yet to be conquered.

[delimitationsblog]

DeLIMITations is in NYC exhibiting at AIPAD Booth 1010 and at Rick Wester Fine Art on West 26th Street.

Marcos Ramírez ERRE and David Taylor will be speaking about the project in conversation with Rebecca Senf, Chief Curator of the Center for Creative Photography, on Friday, April 5 at 12:30PM.

[darinboville]

My review of Rebecca Senf’s early Ansel Adams biography is out! Read it for free at my blog A Bigger Camera (link in bio). #anseladams #rebeccasenf #centerforcreativephotography #artphotography #parmelianprints #sierraclub https://www.instagram.com/p/CGEWLI_lD-Y/?igshid=1vmfpz7k1dd46

[novoodoo]

Zweiter Eintrag

Heute morgen wache ich plötzlich auf. Mein Kopf ist ganz leer. Mir wird bewusst, dass der Wecker nicht geklingelt hat. Ich greife zum Handy neben dem Bett, es ist ungefähr 10:30 Uhr. Ich hab noch Zeit. Trotzdem bleibe ich nicht lange liegen, denn in meinem Kopf manifestiert sich das Bild von einem Sandwich, mit Salat, Gurken, Tomaten, Remoulade. Ich weiß, dass ich davon höchstens die Remoulade im Kühlschrank habe, trotzdem zwingt mich der Hunger aus dem Bett. Benommen gehe ich ins Bad.

Gestern Abend habe ich noch lange an dem ersten Tagebucheintrag gesessen. Mit dem Laptop auf dem Schoß habe ich auf der Couch im Wohnzimmer geschrieben und Bier getrunken. Dann ein Glas von dem Hibiki, dem japanischen Whisky den mein Bruder mir geschenkt hatte, dann noch ein Glas, dann noch eins. Die Flasche ist bald leer. Dazu Zigaretten aus dem plötzlich fast leeren Tabak. Ich weiß das muss irgendwann wieder aufhören. Plötzlich eine Nachricht von Rebecca. Den Song den ich ihr geschickt hatte findet sie mega! Und sie fragt ob ich gut nachhause gekommen bin. Sie schreibt von ihrem neuen MacBook und ich bin schon wieder verwirrt. Sie empfiehlt mir noch eine Netflix-Serie deren Trailer mich nicht grade umhaut (”After Life”), dann: keine Antwort mehr. Als ich den Eintrag fertig geschrieben habe sitze ich noch lange im Wohnzimmer, trinke und denke über den Tag nach. Um kurz nach 3:30 Uhr wanke ich schwerfällig ins Schlafzimmer und schlafe schnell ein.

Ich bereite mein Frühstück zu, immerhin mit Remoulade und Senf auf dem Käsebrot. Schwarzer Tee. Plötzlich klingelt mein Wecker. Dann schnell duschen und Sachen packen, zumindest komme ich nicht so spät ins Büro. Ich schaue kurz, gedankenverloren aus dem großen Wohnzimmerfenster runter auf die Straße und mir wird bewusst wie stark die Spuren sind die der letzte Tag hinterlassen hat, mein Kopf ist Brei. Ich entscheide mich zu Fuß zur Uni zu gehen und höre dabei Four Tet, das Album von 2012. Luki hat den früher gerne gehört aber an mir ist er irgendwie immer vorbeigegangen. Am Kiosk kaufe ich neuen Tabak, den billigen „Piel Roja“ und erwähne dem Kioskverkäufer gegenüber, dass ich keine Ahnung habe wie man das ausspricht. Das hab ich vor kurzem erst im Rewe gesagt und die Verkäuferin meinte darauf das hieße „Rote Haut“. Der Kioskverkäufer sagt irgendwas davon, dass das ja Spanisch sei und das es keinen Sinn machen würde weil das ja Süd-Amerikanisch sei und der Tabak aber aus Amerika stammen müsse. Ich verstehe es nicht so ganz, lache und verabschiede mich. In der Uni ist richtig was los. Im Foyer ist irgendeine Ausstellung von den Designern. Ich nehme das kleine Treppenhaus hoch in den zweiten Stock und gehe ins Büro. Bob ist im Nebenraum im Gespräch mit zwei Studierenden die ich vage kenne. Ich setze mich an meinen Schreibtisch und versuche mich auf die Dinge zu konzentrieren die ich erledigen muss. Bald verabschieden sich die Studenten und Bob begrüßt mich. Er geht in die Mensa zum Mittagessen, ich habe keinen Hunger, erwähne aber nicht, dass ich eben erst gefrühstückt habe. Als er wieder kommt besprechen wir einige Dinge. Er ist nicht so gestresst davon gewesen, dass ich letzte Woche nicht bei der Arbeit war wie ich dachte. Er sagt er wolle es positiv formulieren: Er hat mich vermisst. Danach fragt er mich dann wie es mir geht und schaut mich wissend an. Ich merke, dass er auf die Probleme anspielt, die ich erwähnt habe als wir uns zum letzten Mal gesehen haben. Ich erkläre ihm knapp, dass meine Freundin und ich uns getrennt haben, sie ein Jahr bei mir gewohnt hat und jetzt ausgezogen ist. Ich füge dann noch hinzu, dass wir 8 Jahre zusammen gewesen waren. Er ist offensichtlich überrascht von dieser Zahl und fragt mich mit anscheinend aufrichtigem Interesse wie es mir damit geht. Ich sage was ich allen sage: es ist scheisse aber es ist das Richtige. Dann zitiert er in seinem breiten Amerikanisch eines seiner geliebten Sprichwörter: „There are a million fish in the sea!“. Wir müssen beide grinsen. Er fügt an, dass er, wenn er in meinem Alter wäre verrückt werden würde bei all den hübschen Mädchen hier an der Hochschule. Mir gefällt der obszöne Unterton. Wir kommen wieder auf die Arbeit zu sprechen und sind bald beide an unseren Computern beschäftigt. Ich schreibe kurz mit Isabell, der Austauschstudentin aus Griechenland und bemerke dabei, dass sie jetzt einen Kurs bei Bob hat. Der bittet mich mit ihm in den Seminarraum zu kommen um ihm mit dem Beamer zu helfen. Ich halte dabei Ausschau nach Isabell um sie zu grüßen aber sehe sie nicht. Zurück im Büro schreibe ich grade eine Mail als ich bemerke, dass ich eine Mail von der Hanyang Universität in Korea bekommen habe. Meine Nominierung wurde zugelassen und sie schicken mir die Bewerbungsunterlagen!

Ich schreibe mit Anika und erzähle ihr davon. Sie lädt mich ein, sie abends in Köln zu besuchen, ich sage zu. Als ich gerade mit meiner Schlüsselkarte die Bürotür abschließe um meine Wasserflasche am Wasserspender aufzufüllen höre ich von der Seite auf einmal eine Stimme: Na, wen haben wir denn da! Ich sehe mich um und brauche eine Sekunde um Rebecca auf dem Gang zu erkennen. Wir begrüßen uns kurz und sie lacht und sagt zu mir ich sei ja ganz Rot geworden. Ich bemerke davon nichts. Sie fügt amüsiert hinzu, dass sie ja jetzt auch wisse wo ich mich so rumtreibe. Ich grinse sie nur an und schon verschwindet sie wieder in einem der Arbeitsräume. Nicht viel später packe ich meine Sachen und hoffe mal wieder das Bob möglichst lange im Seminar ist, damit er nicht merkt wie früh ich gegangen bin. Durch den Regen gehe ich zur Straßenbahn und sehe sie gerade noch wegfahren. Ich warte auf die nächste. In dem Moment als ich in die Bahn steige, eine Nachricht von Rebecca. Sie hat Hunger. Was heißt das jetzt? Ich stecke schnell mein Handy ein und hoffe, dass sie nicht gesehen hat, dass ich kurz online war um ihre Nachricht zu lesen. Ich weiß überhaupt nicht was ich antworten soll und habe auch keine Lust mich damit auseinander zu setzen. Muss ich aber. Anscheinend will sie sich treffen? Das lässt den gestrigen Abend wieder etwas anders aussehen. Ich freue mich darauf abends Anika in Köln zu sehen und habe keine Lust wieder einen Abend voller Kommunikationsprobleme mit Rebecca zu verbringen. Ich fahre zum Rewe bei mir an der Ecke und kaufe Tomaten, Gurken und Salat. Zuhause schreibe ich Rebecca, dass ich auch Hunger habe (was die Wahrheit ist) aber, dass ich gerade nach Hause gefahren sei und später noch in Köln verabredet. Ich füge die Frage an, ob sie morgen in der Uni sei um vage ein potentielles Treffen anzudeuten. Sie ist arbeiten, fragt was ich morgen mache, ich sage ich bin in der Uni. Keine Antwort. Ich frage mich ob sie wieder eine vom Typ „Wohnt alleine und ist oft einsam“ ist.

[gsucarolinerumley-blog]

Audrey’s Dog Dixie Waits was chosen by Rebecca Senf of the @hcponline Houston Center for Photography to be in a show this summer. The photograph is from a series addressing domesticity, nested-ness and sheltered-ness. In Houston from July 14th through August 27, 2017. 

[channelopenpod]

Dr. Becky Senf is the Chief Curator at the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona, and the Norton Family Curator of Photography, a joint appointment between the Center and the Phoenix Art Museum. In our conversation, Dr. Senf and I talked about her work at the Center, and what the breadth and depth of the Center's archival collection enables in terms of researching and understanding the artists whose work is housed there. We also talked about a deeply personal exhibition she curated for Art Photo Index, entitled "Not MY Family Values," which is a favorite of mine. For the second segment, we talked about the #BuyArtFriday hashtag that she started, and what her hopes are for the initiative in the future.

(Conversation recorded April 4, 2017.)

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Show Notes:

Center for Creative Photography - Rebecca Senf

Center for Creative Photography

Mary Virginia Swanson

Society for Photographic Education

Prison Photography - Oracle, the Annual International Conference for Photography Curators Nobody Knows About

Bill Jay

LA Times - Robert Sobieszek (obituary)

Ansel Adams - Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico

Mark Klett

AIPAD

Phoenix Art Museum

Tina Modotti

Zach Weston

Keep the Channel Open - Lindsay Hatton

Lindsay Hatton - Monterey Bay

Art Photo Index - Not MY Family Values

Center for Creative Photography - Wynn Bullock: Revelations

Phoenix Art Museum - Longer Ways to Go

[webionaire]

Senf is among a handful of museum professionals who saw a lack of networking opportunities for mid-level curators and, in 2011, founded FOCUS, an organization for mid-career museum curators, academics, and non-profit executive directors. Senf, Paul Martineau, Julia Dolan, Kate Albers, Joshua Chuang, Russell Lord, Todd Tubutis, and Erin O’Toole founded the group as a way to share ideas, compare notes, and work through problems. “I’m so proud of my colleagues and the work that they’re doing,” she says. “We talk about ideas, and we’re supportive of one another.”

Senf has curated more than 30 exhibitions at the Phoenix Art Museum, including shows on Richard Avedon, Barbara Bosworth, Edward Weston, and of course, Ansel Adams, and she is the author of Reconstructing the View: The Grand Canyon Photographs of Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe (2012). But like many curators of her generation, she is also active on social media and online: last year, photo-eye’s Rixon Reed invited her to curate an online exhibition on the Art Photo Index website. She curated a slide show with text, called Not MY Family Values, about the challenges and rewards of parenting. “It became very personal about my own parenting experience,” she says. “It had this movement online through Facebook that physical shows don’t have, and it got a huge reaction. People saw me as a whole person; it was a powerful experience that has interesting implications for museums.”

[pflanzenmuemmeln]

Kein Thunfisch

Das Rezept für diesen “Thunfischsalat” habe ich auf YouTube gefunden. (Bonny Rebecca ist eine große Inspirationsquelle für mich, und ich verbringe fast mehr Zeit auf ihrem Kanal, als mir lieb ist.) Ob sein Geschmack dem Original Konkurrenz macht, kann ich nicht sagen, da ich selbst in meinen Fleischessertagen nie eine große Fischliebhaberin war, doch ich habe die Kichererbsenvariante für gut befunden und möchte sie euch deshalb hier empfehlen. 

Wer es etwas schärfer mag, kann noch eine halbe rote Zwiebel hinzufügen. Ich bin leider nicht so der Typ dafür... Mir persönlich schmeckt der Salat auf Brot sehr gut, man kann ihn aber natürlich auch pur genießen oder als Nebengericht servieren. Lässt man ihn über Nacht im Kühlschrank, entfalten sich die Aromen besonders gut.

Ein Dankeschön geht an dieser Stelle an meinen Papa, der mir seinen Lieblingssenf aus Bautzen mitgegeben hat, und an Lidl, weil diese Supermarktkette mir netter Weise auch hier in Schottland die Möglichkeit gibt, die guten Freshona Gewürzgurken zu kaufen.

Kichererbsensalat mit cremigem Dressing

zwei Portionen

Vorbereitungszeit: 10 Minuten

1 Dose Kichererbsen

4 Gewürzgürkchen

1 Stange Sellerie

1 Möhre

1 Fleischtomate

1 EL mittelscharfer Senf

1 EL Tahini

1 EL Flüssigzucker (z.B. Ahornsirup, Agavendicksaft)

(1/2 rote Zwiebel)

Salz / Pfeffer

Es ist ganz simpel; ich müsste dafür eigentlich keine Anleitung schreiben. Zuerst müssen die Kichererbsen kurz abgespült und dann mit einer Gabel etwas zermatscht werden. Das klein geschnippelte Gemüse kommt dazu, danach werden die Dressingzutaten untergerührt und zum Schluss wird alles nach Belieben abgeschmeckt. Und keine Seekreatur kommt dabei zu Schaden!

[houstonlocalus-blog]

Changing Perspectives: The Hidden Agenda

Abhidnya Ghuge, “Our Lives are Green.” Courtesy of Galveston Arts Center

  This week presents a number of unique arts events, including a live music and dance performance at Nicole Longnecker Gallery and opening receptions at the Houston Center for Photography, Samara Gallery and the Galveston Arts Center.

  Wednesday, July 12

  Artist Town Hall: How to Get Your $#!+ Together at MECA Houston

From 6:30 to 9 pm, Art Takes Action Houston will host an artist town hall meeting at MECA (1900 Kane) that will feature a panel of organizers from the activist community. Panelists, which include Maria Jimenez, Daniel Cohen, Elle Church and Andrea Greer, will discuss ideas, strategies and their experiences with community activism and protests. The event will also feature a performance by Stephen Wilson and Matthew Ramirez of local zine Found Me and beer from Saint Arnold’s Brewery.

  Thursday, July 13

  Performance — Group Acorde at Nicole Longnecker Gallery

At 7 pm, Nicole Longnecker Gallery (2625 Colquitt) presents a collaboration with Group Acorde to present a live music and dance performance in the gallery space. Performers Roberta Paixao Cortes, Thomas Helton, Lindsey McGill and Seth Paynter will draw inspiration from the setting and audience to produce an intimate performance for all in attendance. Tickets are $20 at the door and there is an additional performance on Friday at 7 pm.

  Friday, July 14

  Elysia Crampton

Elysia Crampton Lecture and Paraspace Books Event at Private Eye Gallery

From 5 to 8 pm, Private Eye Gallery (1540 Telephone) is hosting an event featuring an exhibition curated by Paraspace Books, as well as a lecture at 6 pm by experimental electronic musician Elysia Crampton. Crampton, who is known for exploring Latinx culture, queer identity and South American spirituality, will speak on the “legacies of abolitionist feeling and resistance through an elaboration of Andean notions of spacetime, specifically from an Aymara cosmopraxis.” The exhibition from Paraspace Books will feature works by Ángel Lartigue, Maureen Penders, S Rodriguez El x Shopnonhuman, and syncletica.

  Opening Reception — 35th Annual Juried Membership Exhibition at the Houston Center for Photography

From 5:30 to 8 pm, the Houston Center for Photography (1441 West Alabama) will host the opening reception for the institution’s 35th Annual Juried Membership Exhibition. Juror Dr. Rebecca Senf, Chief Curator at the Center for Creative Photography in Tuscon, selected 50 artists from 210 entries submitted from across the globe. Juror remarks begin at 6 pm, and there will also be an artist talk on Saturday at 11 am as part of the programming for the exhibition, which will be on view through August 27.

  Maria Bordelon-Nelson, “Mixed Couple”

Opening Reception —  Maria Bordelon-Nelson: Carved and Woven Souls at Samara Gallery

From 6 to 8 pm, Samara Gallery (3911 Main) presents the opening reception for Carved and Woven Souls, a solo exhibition from Houston-based artist Maria Bordelon-Nelson. The exhibition features many of her sculptural works, which incorporate delicate movements with textural finishes and color. The exhibition will be on view through August 12.

  Performance — Improvised Music featuring Joe Hertenstein at Vinyl Edge

From 7 to 9 pm, Vinyl Edge (239 W 19th) is hosting an evening of improvised music with a performance by New York-based percussionist Joe Hertenstein, who will be accompanied by Danny Kamins on saxophone and Victor Hernandez on bass. The performance is free to attend and beer will be provided.

  Saturday, July 15

  Artist Talk — Current Residents Vivian Chiu and Jenna Wright at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft

At 3 pm, the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (4848 Main) will host talks with the institution’s current resident artists Vivian Chiu and Jenna Wright, who will discuss the artistic process of working as craft artists and will explore the artists’ works of art, influences, processes, and materials. After the talks, patrons are encouraged to speak with the artists and explore their studios.

  Eric Pearce. Courtesy of Galveston Arts Center

Opening Reception — Abhidnya Ghuge: Changing Perspectives and Burning Bones Press: Collective Pulse at Galveston Arts Center

From 6 to 9 pm, Galveston Arts Center (2127 Strand) is hosting the opening reception for two exhibitions in conjunction with PrintHouston. Abhidnya Ghuge’s exhibition Changing Perspectives  transforms disposable paper plates into immersive installations using wood-block printed patterns inspired by Indian henna designs, the microscopic world, and the current cultural landscape. Burning Bones Press, a printmaking studio in the Heights, presents Collective Pulse, a cross-section of many of the members of the artist collective featuring a variety of print media, including etchings, lithographs, woodcuts, screen prints and monoprints. The exhibitions will be on view through August 20.

Changing Perspectives: The Hidden Agenda this is a repost