Dawn Knight
Heterosexual Cultures, 2017 Plywood, petri dishes, laser prints, adhesive Dimensions variable |
Artist Statement:
In 1515, Albrecht Dürer created a woodcut of a rhinoceros. Although he had never actually seen one himself - and his rendering was wildly inaccurate – it was widely regarded as a true representation of the creature, and shaped public perceptions for more than two centuries. My grandmother read over 400 Harlequin Romance novels in the last 30 years of her life. Represented on these book covers are rituals of romantic attraction, desire, and courtship - particularly, acts of physical connection. These scenes are mesmerizing - part sensational performance and part meticulous didactic, reproducing and propagating notions of possession, control, and uncontrollable lust. I study these images with a pseudo-scientific curiosity. In this piece, I document a taxonomy of heterosexual expressions, gazes, and interactions. I detail an imagined beast. |
Dirty Laundry, 2007
Installation Harlequin book covers, paint, fabric, string, rag papers, clothespins, lint, mannequin Dimensions variable I have always found Harlequin Romance novels to be curious relics.The kitschy book covers, featuring men and woman in the throws of passion, represent the ultimate in sensationalized lust and desire. My grandmother, who had never presented herself as a sexual being, has read over 400 of these books. I used her collection of melodramatic, outlandish romance books as stimulation for my installation called "Dirty Laundry". It is a piece about lust, desire, and the conflict between a woman's dual roles as proper domestic matron and desirable sex object. For thirty days, everywhere I went, I carried cards cut from rag paper in my pockets. Every time I had a lusty daydream or 'impure' thought, I wrote it down in detail on one of the cards. I put each card, with a load of my dirty laundry, in the washing machine and through the dryer. I collected the lint from the dryer lint trap, and sewed myself a matronly nightdress, using the collection of 'tainted' dryer lint as stuffing in the large flowers which embellish the dress. I created a space to house the dress, by creating wallpaper which included a selection from the over 400 Harlequin covers, and hung my (laundered) dirty confessions on clotheslines overhead. This installation was featured at Cre8ery's After Hours show. |
Peepshow: How Lovely to Be a Woman, 2001
Performance / Installation Exercise bike, television, speakers, mirror, found photograph in frame, plastic plants, lipstick, candy, photographs, pantyliners Dimensions variable In this two-hour performance, I created a peepshow for the general public. I painted a small room pink, and used adhesive pantyliners to create a wallpaper pattern. I hung pink dollar-store frames on the walls (still featuring the stock photos of handsome men which came with the frames) and decorated the room with with a large mirror, pink doilies, flowerpots, and other found items. Rather than paying money to watch, viewers were asked to choose a piece of Valentine's candy from a dish in order to start the 'peepshow'. Peering through gauzy pink curtains, the audience could witness me riding an exercise bike in a pink dress and high heels, while watching an episode of the television sitcom Friends (where Chandler and Monica finally get married), on video. After each playing of the videocassette, I stopped to inspect myself in the mirror, smooth out my dress and reapply my lipstick. This performance was featured at the emergence show at 290 McDermot Ave (what is now Urban Shaman Gallery). |