Suzanne Lacy, Three Weeks in May, 1977, paper, ink ©1977. Suzanne Lacy. Courtesy of the artist
“The Un-Heroic Act,” in its nuanced way, reflects a world in which sexual violence is simultaneously traumatic and ubiquitous, singular yet commonplace. It demonstrates what art can do so uniquely: move beyond the negotiation of facts to an embrace of deeper truths, and new conversations about them." - Jillian Steinahuer, The New York Times
THE UN-HEROIC ACT:
REPRESENTATIONS OF RAPE IN CONTEMPORARY WOMEN'S ART IN THE U.S.
curated by Monika Fabijanska
September 4 -November 3, 2018
opening reception: September 12, 2018, 5:30-8:30 PM
artists talk & gallery tour: September 26, 2018, 6-8 PM
symposium & gallery talk: October 3, 2018, 5-9 PM watch the recording
artists talk & gallery tour: October 24, 2018, 6-8 PM
Anya and Andrew Shiva Gallery
John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY
860 Eleventh Avenue (between 58th & 59th Street)
New York, NY 10019
tel. (212) 237-1439
gallery hours: Monday-Friday 10-6; Saturdays 12-6
This concentrated survey of works by a diverse roster of artists representing three generations, including Jenny Holzer, Suzanne Lacy, Ana Mendieta, Yoko Ono, Kara Walker, aims to demonstrate that rape constitutes one of central themes in women’s art and analyzes its rich iconography. The exhibition explores ways of depicting and narrating the subject in all visual art forms: drawing, painting, sculpture and installation, photography, video, film, new media, performance, and social practice.
The exhibition aims to fill a gap in the history of art, where the subject of rape has been represented by countless historical depictions by male artists. Its title refers to the phrase ‘heroic rape,’ which characterizes the male narrative of rape as a dramatic struggle culminating with romantic submission. It was coined by Susan Brownmiller in her groundbreaking book Against Our Will. Men, Women and Rape (1975). What makes works by women radically different is the focus not on the action or drama, but on the lasting psychological devastation of the victim: her suffering, shame, silence, and loneliness. Many emphasize regaining control over the victim’s sexuality and psyche and reclaiming the cultural narrative. Often strikingly beautiful, these works are rarely shown or their true meaning is obscured.
The exhibition explores various issues that inspired artists to treat the subject of rape: domestic violence, child abuse, college rape culture, rape in the military, rape as a war crime, slavery, rape epidemic on Indian reservations, women trafficking, rape in public and political discourse, the role of media, criminal trials, and visual and literary tradition, especially art history and fairy tales. The Un-Heroic Act examines remarkably varied visual languages artists employed – from figuration to abstraction to text – depending on their purpose, from shocking the audience, evoking empathy, to healing.
The Un-Heroic Act is not so much an exhibition about rape as about the iconography of rape. Recognizing the breadth of material, the curatorial selection takes into account five elements at the same time: 1) three generations of artists; 2) ethnic diversity (artists of American Indian, African American, and Asian origins, and Latinas); 3) all visual mediums (from drawing to social practice); 4) themes that inspired artists to address rape (from fairy tales to rape as a war crime); and finally, 5) varied visual languages they chose to tackle such sensitive subject (from symbolism to performative re-enactment).
PUBLIC PROGRAMMING
WED., SEPTEMBER 26, 6-8 PM
ARTIST TALK & GALLERY TOUR: Rape in the Social Context
Shiva Gallery (ground floor), John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 860 Eleventh Avenue (at 59th Street)
The evening starts with a gallery tour with curator Monika Fabijanska. Following Christen Clifford’s (New School) introduction to the history of rape, artist Jennifer Karady will discuss her Soldiers' Stories from Iraq and Afghanistan project - her exploration of combat trauma, military sexual trauma and her collaboration with U.S. veterans, while Ada Trillo will talk about her project How did I get here? in the context of women trafficking, rape and prostitution, and feminicidios – violent homicides of women on the U.S.-Mexican border. Moderated by professor Shonna Trinch (John Jay College).
WED., OCTOBER 3, 5-9 PM
SYMPOSIUM & GALLERY TOUR: Iconography of Rape in Contemporary Women's Art in the U.S.
Shiva Gallery (ground floor) and Moot Court (6th Floor), John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 860 Eleventh Avenue (at 59th Street)
5:00-5:30 PM – Tour of the exhibition with curator Monika Fabijanska, Shiva Gallery, ground floor
5:40-6:00 PM – Opening Remarks: prof. Katie Gentile (John Jay College), the Moot Court, 6th floor
6:00-6:30 PM – Introduction to the Iconography of Rape: curator Monika Fabijanska
6:30-7:30 PM – Panel I: The Social Dimension and Political Action: Guerrilla Girls, Bang Geul Han, and Sonya Kelliher-Combs, moderated by writer Nancy Princenthal
7:30-8:30 PM – Panel II: The Iconography of Rape, and History of Art, Literature and Film: Natalie Frank, Kathleen Gilje, Naima Ramos-Chapman, moderated by Carmen Hermo (Brooklyn Museum)
8:30-9:00 PM – Social time in the gallery
WED., OCTOBER 24, 6-8 PM
ARTIST TALK & GALLERY TOUR: The Personal Sphere
Shiva Gallery (ground floor), John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 860 Eleventh Avenue (at 59th Street)
A gallery tour with curator Monika Fabijanska followed by a discussion with artists Roya Amigh, Angela Fraleigh, and Lynn Hershman Leeson on what means artists employ to tell personal stories. Lynn Hershman Leeson’s Electronic Diary Part III: First Person Plural (1988, color, sound, 28 min), will be screened as part of the event.
PRAISE FOR The Un-Heroic Act
no. 5 on Hyperallergic’s Best of 2018: Our Top 20 NYC Art Shows
no. 3 on VOGUE Poland 2018 Summary: Art
Few exhibitions offer a new way of looking at contemporary art, but this exhibition, curated by Monika Fabijanska, is one of them. Her thesis is that sexual violence has been a central theme of women’s contemporary art, unifying disparate artists and bodies of work in a way few other things can. And here’s the reality: she makes the case convincingly. — Hrag Vartanian, Hyperallergic
“The Un-Heroic Act,” in its nuanced way, reflects a world in which sexual violence is simultaneously traumatic and ubiquitous, singular yet commonplace. It demonstrates what art can do so uniquely: move beyond the negotiation of facts to an embrace of deeper truths, and new conversations about them. — Jillian Steinhauer, The New York Times
A piece called “Guarded Secrets,” by Sonya Kelliher-Combs, is a menacing, vulnerable collection of paper-thin membranes studded with porcupine quills. What we do to ourselves in order to weather trauma often feels similarly abstract, silent: a patch of skin becoming barklike, a former softness growing spikes.
On the day I went to “The Un-Heroic Act,” it was cold outside, and I stayed for a long time. I tried to stop thinking about changing myself to better meet our era; I tried to remember that I’ve already been changed. — Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker
Mounted with amazing timing, although it was several years in the making, curator Monika Fabijanska’s “The Un-Heroic Act” […] shed light on a dark subject and exposed the need for a more comprehensive show. — Eleanor Heartney, Art in America
Abstract sculptures on view, created by women of color, offered alternative methods of materializing the trauma of sexual assault. — Wendy Vogel, Art Forum
The Un-Heroic Act presents an alternative canon, investigating the seismic aftereffects of rape as a physical, emotional, and cultural trauma.
What makes The Un-Heroic Act groundbreaking is Fabijanska’s iconographic formula, her focus on the lasting psychological devastation experienced by survivors, and her selection of works by such well-known artists as Ana Mendieta that have not been shown, that have been censored, or that have suffered from bland curatorial frameworks that avoided directly referencing rape.
The Un-Heroic Act is an exhibition with motivation, and its motivation is infectious. […] The Un-Heroic Act is staggering in its ambition and its seemingly clairvoyant timing. […] this exhibition is unparalleled. — Kristen Racaniello, ART PAPERS
…ambitious and challenging show
The exhibition recaptures the experience of rape from art historical romanticizing, presenting work by twenty female artists from the past forty years on its decidedly “un-heroic” nature.
…it manages to represent a heterogeneous mix of viewpoints. The prevalence of rape in the military and amongst American Indian and indigenous populations is addressed. So is the theme of slavery and rape—both in contemporary human trafficking and the historical rape of African American slaves in America’s antebellum years. — Jessica Holmes, The Brooklyn Rail
…the project is extraordinary in its scope and ambition
The exhibition aims at no less than a comprehensive view of the iconography of rape as it has existed in American life […]. There could not be a timelier moment for this show, which is obviously a call to action […]: to rethink how this most unheroic act acts within ourselves, our imaginations, and our culture.
The show sets up a powerful parallel between the invisibility of rape in society and the invisibility of rape in art. — Alissa Valles, BOMB
Broadly conceived and explanatory in its narrative design, this was a powerful show that rewarded repeat visits. — Erik La Prade, Art Critical
The works upend traditional representations of assault throughout art history… — The Art Newspaper
One of the most commented exhibitions of this year — Anna Sanczuk, VOGUE (Poland)
Generous funding for the exhibition is provided by the Affirmation Arts Fund and Sarah Peter.
Public Programming Artists’ Fees are made possible by the Elizabeth A. Sackler Museum Educational Trust.
The catalog is made possible, in part, by the Barbara Lee Family Foundation.
Special thanks to Masterpiece International for critical coordination and making shipping of several works possible.
Additional support was provided by Sigmund A. Rolat, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Ruthie Rosenberg and Francis J. Greenburger.
John Jay College Cultural and Visual Arts productions are made possible in part with funds allocated by NYC Council Member Helen Rosenthal and the New York City Council.
The Un-Heroic Act is a sponsored project of the New York Foundation for the Arts.
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The Un-Heroic Act is a sponsored project of
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