Laureen Griffin » Modern Iconography

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Social and Moral Deviance

Things I am thinking about as I prepare my proposal for Eastern State Penitentiary

Standards are set and norm is created - anything outside the norm is deviance - downfall of Catholic control in general resulting from Darwinism, Positivism and the birth of Sociology create new categories of social hierarchy based on morality and male dominance within civilized society….ramblings on…

Positivism as religion satisfies the need to normalize through both science and mythology - comparing empirical knowledge with a higher world order understood through creationism - not necessarily Christian but the belief of the supernatural such as Comte’s declaration that “all phenomena [is] produced by the immediate action of supernatural beings”

This leads Lombroso to use Aryan physiological characteristics as a base model and Anglo/European civilization as basis for social and moral norms.
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posted by laureen at 2:16 pm

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Saturday, March 14, 2009

The Normal Woman

The normal woman as studied and put forth by Cesare Lombroso in the 1890’s. The notes below are based on Criminal Woman, the Prostitute, and the Normal Woman by Cesare Lombroso and Guglielmo Ferrero translated and with a new introduction and feminist commentary by Nicole Hahn Rafter and Mary Gibson.

The Normal Woman is proven to be more primitive than man:

Measurements of the head
- cranial capacity in weight - smaller in women
- brachycephaly or broad-headedness in size - greater in women
- dolichocephaly or long-headedness in size - greater in men
- jaw size - greater in men
- Measurements of thoracic cavity, cervical and lumbar parts, arms comparing body shape
- Body hair length in relation to age
- Weight and Height
- Viscera, Fat and Blood
- Measurements of white hair and baldness of middle class Europeans
Differences of sensitivity

(more…)

posted by laureen at 2:01 pm

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Thursday, October 23, 2008

Questioning Positivism

I am conducting an independent research project in preparation for a proposal submission, to Eastern State Penitentiary, for an art installation - my proposal looks at phrenology and female criminology of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.Reaching back in time, as I so often do, looking for the origins of particular societal phenomena that baffle me… I have come across a philosophy coined by Auguste Comte - Positivism. My question is: How does the concept of ‘universality’ cause systematic oppression through the creation of deviance? (more…)

posted by laureen at 8:33 am

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Monday, January 21, 2008

EVIDENCE in the PGN

Jen Coletta wrote a well described article in the Philadelphia Gay News. The article showcases photos from each artist along with exhibit information and direct quotes. In order to read the article you will need Adobe Reader.

download evidence_pgn.pdf

posted by laureen at 2:19 pm

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Wednesday, January 9, 2008

EVIDENCE

EVIDENCE: New Photographs by McDonald, Rosenberg, & Smith

William Way Art Gallery,
1315 Spruce Street, Philadelphia PA 19107
January 7th – Feb. 29th, 2008

Opening Reception: Friday, January 11th, 6-8 pm

William Way Art Gallery is pleased to present, EVIDENCE: New photographs by Natalie Hope McDonald, Ellen Rosenberg, & Rachelle Lee Smith a photography exhibit by three female Philadelphia photographers.

The exhibit is open to the public in the lobby of the William Way Community Center, Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m., Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 7 p.m., Sunday 10:30 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Natalie Hope McDonald photographs urban and small town landscapes and its people, relying
on natural light, shadow and graffiti to capture lonely, pensive scenes of modern American life. McDonald is a writer and photographer based in Philadelphia. She has exhibited her paintings in group and solo shows. In recent years, the artist began exploring photography as a way to document urban life.

Ellen Rosenberg’s photographs examine a relatively invisible subculture, bodybuilding. The audience is exposed to a world of highly defined muscles, and gender bending ambiguity. Body builders blur the lines of gender. Rosenberg shoots on black and white negative film. To maintain the natural aspect of her work, she pushes 400 speed film to allow the required light to reflect on the muscles and enhance the contrast. The photographs are taken during competitions on stage and do not involve any formal posing or special lighting.

The photos exhibited by Rachelle Lee Smith are from her series - Pride/Prejudice: Voices of GLBT Youth. Youth from across the country were photographed and asked to share their voice, opinions and comments about their experience as GLBT. Each subject handwrites, in permanent marker, directly on Smith’s carefully crafted photographs. In their own words and handwriting, the youth share their stories creating a very intimate and personal view on what it’s like to be a GLBT person today.

The William Way Community Center is a non-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization serving the LGBT Communities of Greater Philadelphia. www.waygay.org

posted by laureen at 4:08 pm

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Monday, August 6, 2007

Mantra by Martina Plag

I set certain parameters for this piece; that it be in a medium new to me, that it be in and of this workshop, with the workshop’s participants being integral to its formation, lending their voices both physically and figuratively. I also challenged myself to be self-referential. These pieces are a personal documentation of process and dialogue, a means not necessarily an end.

No video? Get the DivX Web Player for Windows or Mac

posted by laureen at 3:01 pm

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Monday, August 6, 2007

Workshop

The initial workshop the inspired my gender based art can be found at my old website - Modern Iconography

posted by laureen at 1:14 pm

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