
Sara Greenberger Rafferty
Gloves Off
Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art (Publisher)
Published on 15. May 2017
Book
Paperback/Softback
83 pages
978-0-9982075-3-7 (ISBN)
Description
Presents recent work by the Brooklyn-based artist known for unsettling works that contend with such topics as domesticity, the body, consumer culture, fashion, and violence.
The boxing term "gloves off"-frequently used as a metaphor to characterize brutal political campaigns and post-9/11 military interrogation-aptly describes the subtle aggressions in American popular culture that Sara Greenberger Rafferty lays bare. Blurring the lines between two and three dimensions, Rafferty attaches her wall-mounted works using custom-painted screws that break up the images. She also deploys cracked paint resembling viscous bodily fluids, further "wounding" the objects. Over the past decade, Rafferty has referenced the language, gestures, and props associated with stand-up comedy. This exhibition includes a new large-scale work entitled "Jokes on You," featuring images of ephemera from the collections of the National Museum of American History, which was part of Rafferty's study during her Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship. Index cards from the Phyllis Diller "Gag File," scanned and recontextualized by Rafferty, underscore the trauma associated with cultural mores that assert control over women's bodies, such as marriage and consumerism.
The boxing term "gloves off"-frequently used as a metaphor to characterize brutal political campaigns and post-9/11 military interrogation-aptly describes the subtle aggressions in American popular culture that Sara Greenberger Rafferty lays bare. Blurring the lines between two and three dimensions, Rafferty attaches her wall-mounted works using custom-painted screws that break up the images. She also deploys cracked paint resembling viscous bodily fluids, further "wounding" the objects. Over the past decade, Rafferty has referenced the language, gestures, and props associated with stand-up comedy. This exhibition includes a new large-scale work entitled "Jokes on You," featuring images of ephemera from the collections of the National Museum of American History, which was part of Rafferty's study during her Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship. Index cards from the Phyllis Diller "Gag File," scanned and recontextualized by Rafferty, underscore the trauma associated with cultural mores that assert control over women's bodies, such as marriage and consumerism.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Albany
United States
Publishing group
State University of New York Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
US School Grade: College Graduate Student and over
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
70 Illustrations, color
Dimensions
Height: 254 mm
Width: 203 mm
Thickness: 4 mm
Weight
1000 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-9982075-3-7 (9780998207537)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Sara J. Pasti is the Neil C. Trager Director of the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at the State University of New York at New Paltz. Andrew Ingall is an independent curator, scholar, and producer. Corinna Ripps Schaming is Associate Director and Curator at the University at Albany, State University of New York, Art Museum. Jonathan Thomas is editor-in-chief of The Third Rail. Jeanne Finley is a fiction writer, poet, and freelance editor.
Content
Introduction
Sara J. Pasti
Power Grid Failure: The Shocks and Disruptions of Sara Greenberger Rafferty
Andrew Ingall
Jokes On Us
Corinna Ripps Schaming
First as Farce, Then as Tragedy: A Conversation with Sara Greenberger Rafferty
Jonathan Thomas
Exhibition Checklist
Selected Biography and Bibliography
Sara J. Pasti
Power Grid Failure: The Shocks and Disruptions of Sara Greenberger Rafferty
Andrew Ingall
Jokes On Us
Corinna Ripps Schaming
First as Farce, Then as Tragedy: A Conversation with Sara Greenberger Rafferty
Jonathan Thomas
Exhibition Checklist
Selected Biography and Bibliography