Question: Iris is a well-known contemporary artist whose work typically involves exploration of the objectification of the female form by the male gaze in modern culture.
- Iris is a well-known contemporary artist whose work typically involves exploration of the objectification of the female form by the male gaze in modern culture. A recent piece, entitled, The Subject Stands, involves a sculpture of a human form engaged in vocal debate with an unseen other, alongside recorded vocal expressions made by Iris herself.
The piece is created and exhibited in an informal group show in London for an arts collective. Eric, a curator at a publicly funded arts institution in Manchester, contacts Iris about purchasing the piece for the institutions collection.
During discussions around the purchase, Iris asks that the piece never be displayed in the presence of any artistic representation of male figures and that for any display new vocal recordings must be made by herself and given new, separate attribution. Eric agrees to these requirements and the purchase goes ahead.
One year later Iris receives notification from a friend based in Manchester that The Subject Stands is part of an exhibition at Erics institution entitled Relationships and is displayed in a room full of sculptures of the male form. In addition, while the sculpture is presented with her title and name, the full exhibition uses the original recordings from London the year before and there is no mention of who created the recordings nor attribution of them to that person.
Iris has also since legally changed her name to Ike to reflect her gender orientation; she contacts the Institution asking if they can respect her initial requests regarding display obligations, give proper attribution to the (new) recordings, and reflect her name change in respect of all attributions. They reply that the exhibition is underway and that therefore no changes can be made and that retitling to give proper attribution would negatively affect audience awareness.
Advise Ike/Iris.
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