Project 1

I'm reminded of our guest speaker talking about pencils, I think I sort of figured out basketballs. I used air as my variable, limited myself to not using anything else to bind but gravity (speaking to fragility). I don't have complete control over the outcome (I can not stack 5 on top of eachother like a monolithe) and that is true of all art. I did try to push what could be done within gravity. I really enjoy the different qualities of surface from ball to ball. Yes this is a peice invovling sports equiptment and balls, but it is about women. I did not want to do this in a hit you over the head kind of way, but it is evident. Even if the viewer is not familiar immediately with the size difference they say WNBA  or NCAA  women's official size. Various also have names on them either as a label of ownership or to remember their camp friends. Today camps like this, play, sport, running around outside with neighbors is rare. Maybe someday that will be a thing of the past entirely. I hope not.  I have done some other work touching upon women and sports. I often think about what is a women's worth, place in sports in our culture. I screenprinted a series of sportsbras with x's and o's. These particular xs and os happen to be the play called a "hail mary". This is probably particularly interesting to me because I was for a time a "professional cheerleader" ( quote it because there is no way to live on this profession). The role of women is to look as perfect as possible, be as fit as humanly possible, and to toss your hair on the sidelines for less than minimum wage. Meanwhile male athletes, whom everyone male and female want to be make so much more for their efforts. Why did noone care about women's soccor untill Mia threw her shirt off? What does a woman get for being an amazing forward on the professional level? Does anyone know her? Does anyone want to be her? Not to say this is true of all sports, but more than not in our society. Why aren't there women refs in professional sports? Nick Mangold's sister was a collegiate center and could bench 500 lbs in high school and noone knows her name (Holley). She has given up on football and turned to powerlifting to try to make a name for herself.