here’s why this is especially bullshit, okay- because Segue (and I feel like using that name isn’t enough, because he has a real name because he is a real person and I could be using that real name instead but I won’t, I’m kind of a sort of nice guy myself) didn’t just passingly uphold some gross patriarchal bullshit by like, yelling “nice tits” at me on the street at night or something.
Segue the real person actively decided to actively participate in enforcing a culture that is oppressive to women, oppressive to sexual assault survivors, and oppressive to queer people. Segue the real person sat down, thought of clever quips in response to my stickers, got them professionally printed, and put them up. All of this is actively calculated to uphold a culture that congratulates Segue the real person on being born a straight white dude with a dick who’s never been sexually assaulted and wants the rest of us who don’t fit those parameters to not exist.
I have another blog post for you to make into a sticker, Segue: Rehtaeh Parsons was my daughter. I don’t expect you’ve kept up with the news, but it’s being called Canada’s Steubenville (google’s there if you need it for that reference).
Do you get it yet, dude. Has it maybe sunk into that pretty white boy head of yours. The real question isn’t why am I so angry all the time about this- it’s why are you so not angry, so completely not fazed, that you feel comfortable making jokes about it.
Okay, so I’m gonna write about Segue’s stuff:
Basically- hey, you’re a good guy (/self-described “sort of nice guy”), I get it! You’re cool and you’re independent and you make stickers and you take photographs and you’re more successful in your chosen creative field than most folks in their mid-twenties. Good for you, seriously.
You also like clever word play, we know this, and you’re just having some fun, making some shit that riffs off my shit. Because having fun is fun!
And like, obviously if I take offence it’s because I’m just a killjoy who can’t take a joke, right? I take everything too seriously, I’m the bitch. And anyways who am I to put stuff on the streets, right, it’s not my space.
I can’t control what people do or say to my stuff, I get that. I also get that my stickers are speaking to experiences you’ve never had (Segue never been raped. Who dies instead?), an identity you’ve never lived within (Segue is afraid of no queer), and oppression you don’t have to face (Segue won’t bash back ‘cuz he doesn’t hit women). Apparently you don’t get that, though.
This shit isn’t for you. For once in your life- a life you live as a straight white cis guy who’s never been sexually assaulted- you are being faced with things that weren’t made with you in mind. And your reaction should have been to grow the actual fuck up and just keep walking.
You saw a conversation that wasn’t about you, and you had to make it about you. Repeatedly. You saw a conversation that was by, about, and for sexual assault survivors, and queer folk, and women, and you still decided it needed your voice. Because you’re such a sort of nice guy.
Maybe instead of making a sticker out of this blog post, you could sell t-shirts and that way everyone wearing one would be advertising they’re as much a fucking manchild as you are. Hey! If you want, I can even write some posts about my assaults and you can make shirts with those too, wouldn’t that be fucking hilarious?
F.A.Q./Interview
i receive a lot of questions concerning starchild stela and i don’t always have time to answer… but here a swell interview at The Art of Getting Ovaries that overlap with the questions I receive!
:)
http://artofgettingovaries.wordpress.com/2013/03/21/interview-with-stela/
Is there anything more hard femme than wearing that fabulous outfit, spraypainting the shit out of a racist add (with magenta spray paint) and then getting arrested? Fuck yeah, Mona Eltahawy.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/video_exclusive_woman_defaces_anti_3xZ5mGVAGc1b6KUMFKGseK
(Source: catsandgraffitis)
(Source: weheartit.com)
(Source: catsandgraffitis)
Three sets of Love More stencils with gold background along the ribbon of steel pathway.
love more <3
Feature Segment: The Garneau Sisterhood
Posters from the first Garneau Sisterhood campaign in the fall and summer of 2008.
What this weeks feature is going to show is that Edmonton has an active femminist community that is willing to take to the streets with the tools of art to confront problems and build solutions. There are many more examples than what we are going to feature this week and trying to even encompass it all would be daunting task so we are going to focus specifically on the Garneau Sisterhood. Here is a description of the Garneau Sisterhood in their own words in a VUE article from June 11 2008.
Following the recent string of sexual assaults in the Garneau area perpetrated by a man breaking into women’s homes when they are alone at night, women in the area are being warned to “lock their doors and windows” to stay safe. Not only will tips like this not keep us safe, they perpetuate a culture of fear. Women in the area would like to issue their own warning … to the perpetrator: we are organizing and we are channeling our fear.
You can read more about the Garneau Sisterhood here. We have received permission to use these posters but have been asked to make it known that they are no longer active. The pictures posted this week span from 2008 to 2010. These few pictures will not accuratley represent how they impacted the street level visual culture of that area with a commanding prescen for such a sustained time. When they first emerged thier presence was bold thus both comforting and shocking to many but by 2010 thier prescene, and the message associated to it, felt normal in that area. But it cant be denied that these posters were often attacked whether by buffing crews or those who felt uncomfortable with them, but many sustained those attacks in high visibility areas and demonstrated a beautiful form a resilient protest or solidarity. The Garneau Sisterhood has been credited in a Chapter by Lise Gotell in the book ‘The Story of Jane Doe: A Book About Rape‘
The Garneau Sisterhood’s campaign, conducted anonymously and without links to established organizations, interrupts these neoliberal technologies by calling upon women to actively reject their assigned role as safety-conscious victims-in-waiting. This campaign was marked by great irreverence and a DIY (“do it yourself”) style of direct activism that is characteristic of third wave feminism. In its creative and edgy challenge to risk management discourses, the Garneau Sisterhood demonstrates the strategic importance of extra-legal feminist struggles within the difficult context of neoliberal governance.
This weeks feature post is meant to remind or introduce you to this feminist action that existed in our city and had a substantive impact on those living here and to comment that it is very possible for small groups of people to have substantive influence over our communities, for both good and bad, through our shared space and visual culture.
I was living in McKernan when these posters went up and was so inspired and comforted by them. It felt really powerful to know that women in the city were coming together to do this. I had only recently moved to Edmonton and didn’t really know anyone, but it made me feel like this was a place I could make a home.
Four years later I have made Edmonton my home and am in awe of the powerful responses to rape culture in this city.
From The Revolution Starts at Home (resource list here!) to SAVE’s ‘Don’t be that guy’ campaign, this is an evolving conversation in the city.
The fucked up posters that went up this week are a part of this conversation. It’s importation to know that there is still work to be done and to respond in a way that makes people feel comfortable in the spaces of the city, while challenging perpetrators.
The GS posters changed my life. I am forever grateful to the brave people who took risks to put up these powerful messages and let people know they were not alone. That they weren’t the only one feeling like things were fucked up and the messaging we were hearing from everyone else was wrong. Their powerful statements gave me strength to claim my voice in so many ways.
Fuck yeah GS!
Feature Segment: The Garneau Sisterhood
Posters from the first Garneau Sisterhood campaign in the fall and summer of 2008.
What this weeks feature is going to show is that Edmonton has an active femminist community that is willing to take to the streets with the tools of art to confront problems and build solutions. There are many more examples than what we are going to feature this week and trying to even encompass it all would be daunting task so we are going to focus specifically on the Garneau Sisterhood. Here is a description of the Garneau Sisterhood in their own words in a VUE article from June 11 2008.
Following the recent string of sexual assaults in the Garneau area perpetrated by a man breaking into women’s homes when they are alone at night, women in the area are being warned to “lock their doors and windows” to stay safe. Not only will tips like this not keep us safe, they perpetuate a culture of fear. Women in the area would like to issue their own warning … to the perpetrator: we are organizing and we are channeling our fear.
You can read more about the Garneau Sisterhood here. We have received permission to use these posters but have been asked to make it known that they are no longer active. The pictures posted this week span from 2008 to 2010. These few pictures will not accuratley represent how they impacted the street level visual culture of that area with a commanding prescen for such a sustained time. When they first emerged thier presence was bold and thus both comforting and shocking to many but by 2010 thier prescene and the message associated to it, felt normal in that area. But it cant be denied that these posters were often attacked whether by buffing crews or those who felt uncomfortable with them, but many sustained those attacks in high visibility areas and demonstrated a beautiful form a resilient protest or solidarity. The Garneau Sisterhood has been credited in a Chapter by Lise Gotell in the book ‘The Story of Jane Doe: A Book About Rape‘
The Garneau Sisterhood’s campaign, conducted anonymously and without links to established organizations, interrupts these neoliberal technologies by calling upon women to actively reject their assigned role as safety-conscious victims-in-waiting. This campaign was marked by great irreverence and a DIY (“do it yourself”) style of direct activism that is characteristic of third wave feminism. In its creative and edgy challenge to risk management discourses, the Garneau Sisterhood demonstrates the strategic importance of extra-legal feminist struggles within the difficult context of neoliberal governance.
This weeks feature post is meant to remind or introduce you to this feminist action that existed in our city and had a substantive impact on those living here and to comment that it is very possible for small groups of people to have substantive influence over our communities, for both good and bad, through our shared space and visual culture.
Yeah! GS forever! <3
lisa frankly my dear: laceninja asked me why I hate yarn-bombing
and a couple of other people asked me to make my answer rebloggable, so:
In brief: Public art is essentially a reclamation of public space. That means you need to think carefully about who you’re reclaiming it for and from, and why.
Interventions into public space that have a cute, indie aesthetic (like yarn-bombing, seed-bombing, paste-ups, and to a lesser extent stencil graffiti) are primarily carried out by white middle-class art student types. They are tolerated, seen as tourist attractions, and often sponsored by government art bodies. They’re also sure signs of gentrification.
Compare the reaction to tagging and traditional graf. They’re also forms of public art, but are criminalised, heavily policed, and widely perceived to bring down the tone and property values of an area. I’d say this is because they are reclamations of public space primarily by people of colour and working class people.
Yarn-bombing is inane and serves literally no purpose other than to mark an area as the property of twee white kids.
(via tahlalaliaaa)
Today, we reiceived a formal statement from DP in response to the confiscation of DP paintings from the The Paint Spot last week:
“First I would like to take the opportunity to thank Kim, Kelly, and all the Paintspot girls for everything. The love, kindness and support has been huge. All this hassle was never my intention; all I wanted was a low-key art show and fundraiser for Kids with Cancer.
If the city of Edmonton or the EPS wanted to talk to us before, during of after the showwe would have co operated fully. There was no need to raid the art show/fundraiser.This was a legitimate art show with good intentions. DP is not a gang. DP is not a criminal. Taking the paintings will not reveal the true identity of DP.
By having a legitimate art show, I thought I was making a positive transition. Now I fear other artists will be reluctant to do so for fear of being prosecuted. This is why I think the freewall discussion needs to start. Not just in our city, but in cities across Canada. By giving freewalls to our community, we are giving artists young and old a place to develop their skills and challenge their imaginations. Murals are a nice gesture, but a freewall is just that, it’s FREE. It evolves, transforms and is constantly maintained by those who use it for free. No buff required, and will even save Capital City Clean Up a few bucks in the end.
Giving people a space to paint is like giving skateboarders a skate park to ride in. People may still skate on sidewalks but the skate parks get used. The same can be said about street art and graffiti. It won’t necessarily keep it off the streets, but I guarantee you people will use the freewalls. I know I would, if it were in a safe environment. To all the DP fans and fans of the street art and graffiti culture I say thank you for the love and support. When it all comes down to it, we are all DP. I’d like to encourage fans and artists alike to come drop of a piece or two at the Paintspot gallery (10032 81 Ave) to show your support. Let’s fill the gallery walls back up. This time it can be all of our art show.
To the city of Edmonton, I hope we can come to a compromise. We are open to talking about paying any fines DP may be facing and we would like to ask you the price of a freewall, so that we may fundraise the money and hopefully get the ball rolling in this city for some positive change.
My personal proposal to the city would be to raise the money and to turn the Southside High Level Bridge wall into a freewall as a centennial gift to the High Level Bridge. If we were to lay a little grass, add a bench, picnic table, and a few waste receptacles for used paint cans, I’m sure we can make this Freewall Park area a city destination to visit. The best part would be that we wouldn’t have to paint in the dark anymore, and others could come watch and learn. Instead of being dictators keeping a wall grey for no reason, we could be mentors in teaching kids to be colorful and express themselves.
The city needs a positive change, and the time is now.
DP hearts you.”
- Daft Punks Tin Tin & Asterix characters & ” D/P (Heart’s) U, Ya I Do ” near a park on 81 ave.
Papillon by Pole Ka, Passage Saint Sébastien, Paris, 08-06-2012
