DEAR LADIES, THANK YOU 2011

Performance presented in Kapelica Gallery 2011
Idea and performance: Ana ?igon
Technical support: Vasja Progar

In the performance I speak out and write down the names and surnames of 126 female artists which I have learned by heart by a predefined order. The number of the names is the same as the number of male artists I came up with by “searching” in my memory for artists names I new by heart, prior to learning new female names. Only 20% of the artists I came up with were female. I decided to “balance” the knowledge of names, by learning as much names of women artists to balance it with male ones.

In the performance I present this act of learning and balancing, by speaking and writing down the learned names of women artists. I write them in the spaces between names of male artists that are, at the begining of the performance, already written on the floor (this are the names of 126 male artists that I came up with by “searching” my memory). At the end I bow with my body turned towards the written names and in this way say thank you to all the artists (female and male). Below is the text of the invitation to this performance:

“Dear Ladies, Thank You” is a multimedia performance - my thanks to female artists from the recent and more distant past who have (in spite of different obstacles) succeeded in becoming visible in the public and artistic world. It is an intervention in my own memory: I turned the questions about how well known are female artists onto myself and decided to attempt to balance that knowledge against the presence of male authors in my memory. I set out to affirm the presence of these authors in my mind while at the same time reflecting on their presence in the public arena.

PERSPECTIVE / PERSPEKTIVA

Video instalation, loop, 2010
Three projections (one on transparent canvas, two on nontransparent canvas).
Wall Performers: Ana ?igon & Blaž Šef

The video was structured into a loop; ceaselessly repeating itself, having no beginning and no end. The incessant repeating is deliberate. The video installation focuses on the limited ability of perception of personal problems of an individual. The understanding depends on the stand point where from one can as a spectator – an external observer – understand another or rather can identify with him/her. It is an atempt to question the borderline of our skin, our bodies. The performers in the video keep seemingly incessantly losing hope and repeatedly entering into a struggle. With the impossible struggle to be able to see both parts of the installation at once, we are – as spectators – as well thrown into the loop.

The structure of the video differs from the hierarchy that I have employed in my former short videos, bringing about a shift at the end. In the video installation “Perspective”, the story is constructed in a different way; the gradual intensification of the meaning does not happen only in time, but also through a premeditated placing of the projected videos and the ceaseless repetition of its parts.



The ideas I develop in my works have a broad thematic range. These many times include gender based issues, question themes such as the expectations on sexual behaviour, the struggle to achieve happiness, or the perception and reconsideration of social values in general. All are linked to the subject and its position in society. Being an artist I also question the attitude towards art itself and its value in social contexts.

In my work I many times use humorous, ironic or even sarcastic elements. I also take advantage of different types of media to present my ideas. They range from video and painting to including new media. Lately, however, I have been shifting my focus to the body and performance.