"Shaving" film still, video, 2001 Artist’s Statement
“Shaving”
30'0", Video, 2001.
In
“Shaving” a woman shaves her legs and underarms. The framing is clinical and
matter-of-fact and the camera is stationary. A high-angle shot shows only her
legs and feet and then a straight-on long-take shot shows only her arms,
breasts and stomach. Finally, she gets out of the bathtub and the water with
shaving cream remains.
In
“Shaving” I show the viewer something that, at first, seems innocuous and
routine but, at closer look, has serious cultural implications. Like a
performance being videotaped, she shaves but the video is played twice. In the
first sequence she shaves and the viewer hears the sound of shaving, the water
and The Bangles’ 80s pop song “Manic Monday.” The song sets the tone of
something mundane, a perfunctory task that women must do as part of their
routine. Taking an inordinate amount of time to shave invites the viewer to
focus on something normally not given much thought to, and think more about
what shaving is and why people shave. It’s kind-of a bizarre thing to do. By
taking so long to shave the intent still shots transform the action into a
woman “performing” her gender.
While
it’s a choice to shave, there is a lot of pressure from society for women to
perfect their bodies and put them on display. Sexism isn’t as overt as it used
to be and attitudes towards women and their roles in society are changing.
However, when things are subtle, sometimes they become ignored because it’s not
in your face or even noticeable.
In
the second half of the video, the sequence is played again but with riot-grrrl
band Heavens to Betsey’s song “Axeman.” With the reference to feminism cued by
the music, I invite the viewer to now think about the act of shaving in a
different way. Instead of thinking about it as a short, annoying task, I invite
viewers to question and challenge why women shave and the significance behind
that cultural norm.
The
video becomes boring after a while as it progresses slowly and nothing seems to
happen. The camera doesn’t move so all attention is spent on the repetitive action.
The head is left out of the frame to highlight the action of shaving and avoid facial
expressions that can distract. It’s not so much about this individual shaving,
but about the act of shaving as a collective action.
Also
in the second half of the video, text is interjected into the long shot. Some
of the text reads: “What scares me the most is how normal it all is.” “How can
there be change if no one thinks there’s a problem?” “It’s hard to fight
against subtleties.” “And everything’s in favor of staying the same.” “Have
womyn been conditioned to want to be submissive?” “The sad thing is that
intellectually I know how I think I should think and feel … but my thoughts and
feeling deviate from that.”
Ultimately,
I invite the viewer to question cultural norms and how they serve as a
framework in modern society.
