“Monitor” in FeministFuturist: Liminal Lab exhibition

work about surveillance for the feminist futurist collective exhibition at pine manor college in chestnut hill, ma

Monitor, 2022
Christina Balch
10:00 minutes
Baby monitor casing, electronics, video

Christina Balch’s “Monitor” draws attention to the ways that humans use surveillance technology to monitor things that are important to them - in this case, children and land. There’s a feeling of discomfort and tension seeing the baby and land together on the same monitor as if they are equals. Normally, baby monitors and home security cameras are viewed as different tools, but both surveillance systems use the same technology to do the same task. Domestic surveillance cameras, now ubiquitous in middle class households, offer a sense of security and control. Parents feel they are protecting their children by keeping an eye on them, and homeowners feel that they protect their property and families by setting up surveillance cameras around their homes to keep out unwanted people. The artist explores the similarities and differences in the way land and children are monitored, but also questions the need for such surveillance at all.

Questions to discuss:

• How is the conversation about surveillance framed when the artist uses a baby monitor instead of a standard surveillance camera?

• What is the relationship between land/environment and human being surveilled? How are they similar and different?

• Surveillance systems offer a sense of control and security. Is this a false sense of security? Are people really more safe because of surveillance cameras?

• What are the down sides to constant surveillance of the things that we love?

Phones, 2022
Christina Balch
Marker on paper (returned mail)

“Phones” features two drawings of phones. One is the artist’s current smartphone in 2022. The other phone is a wooden toy rotary phone that the artist’s mother gifted to the artist’s daughter for her 2nd birthday. The drawings were created on the backs of returned mail envelopes.

Questions to discuss:

• How many different modes of communication are present in this drawing?

• What time frame do these modes of communication span?

• What sort of communication will be prevalent when the artist’s child is an adult?

Exhibition Info

On view: March 15 - May 25, 2022
Artist Reception: Saturday, April 2 @ 2:00 - 5:00pm ET (let’s hang out IRL!)
Artist Talk w/ Christina Balch on Instagram Live: Thursday, April 7 @ 12:00 - 1:00pm ET
Pine Manor Journey Quilting Thursday evenings in March and April, 5:30-8pm with Freedom Baird

Hess Gallery
Pine Manor College
400 Heath Street
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
On the first floor of the Annenberg Library

ARTISTS

AK Liesenfeld
Carolyn Wirth
Christina Balch
Freedom Baird
Karen Meninno
Linda Price-Sneddon
Liz Helfer
Marjorie Kaye
Nancy Hayes

EXHIBITION PRESS RELEASE

The Hess Gallery is pleased to present its final show, FeministFuturist: Liminal Lab. In its newest iteration, the collective FeministFuturist--with special guests--provides participatory installations, sculpture, painting, and digital experiences.

The collective began in 2020 as the show “FeministFuturist” at the Boston Center for the Arts. States Hess Gallery Director and collective member Carolyn Wirth, “We felt a need to continue the spirit of the BCA exhibit in a collective endeavor. One of the first things we did was write a manifesto to state our purposes as artists, feminists, and futurists. We choose “FeministFuturist” to describe a point of view which embraces a future of equality intersecting across gender, race, sexual orientation, class, creed, and species.”

Interdisciplinary artist Freedom Baird begins the exhibit with the creation of a community Journey Quilt, made from fabric and mementos contributed by Pine Manor students, staff, faculty, and alumnae. Baird’s wide-ranging art practice extends to many different public art projects held in a participatory setting. Her Journey Quilt celebrates and marks the passing of Pine Manor College as it closes and becomes a part of Boston College. Says Freedom: “Quilting is a communal activity that takes place over time. Thread is the physical and metaphorical tie connecting past and future. This quilt commemorates the journey of Pine Manor College, from an all-women’s college to a place of learning and community for first-generation college students.”

AK Liesenfeld’s digital portrait of Helen Temple Cooke highlights the Pine Manor College founder. New painting by Nancy Hayes, Linda Price-Sneddon and Marjorie Kaye brings kaleidoscopic and colorful visions of feminine empowerment. Christina Balch’s mesmerizing new video and Liz Helfer’s mashup of the handmade and the digital ask questions about the role of technology in American society. Karen Meninno and Carolyn Wirth, original FeministFuturist curators, bring their signature sculptures and installation work.

Stay tuned for news about Instagram Live talks, the closing reception and ongoing participatory events! Other participating artists and guest artists include: Christina Balch, Karen Meninno, Marjorie Kaye, Linda Price-Sneddon, Liz Helfer, Nancy Hayes, AK Liesenfeld, Heather Hobler and Carolyn Wirth.

This exhibit is funded in part by a grant from the Collective Futures Fund. The Collective Futures Fund is administered by the Tufts University Art Galleries and is a part of the Regional Regranting Program of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Regional Regranting Program supports the creation of independent, nontraditional, public-facing artists’ projects by partnering with leading cultural institutions in communities across the country. Tufts University Art Galleries is part of a national network in thirty-two cities.