This content was published: December 1, 2002. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Diane Jacobs – Names Will Never Hurt Me
Rock Creek Helzer Gallery
December 2002
In this body of work I intend to expose the tenacious, white, patriarchal power structure by using language as my witness. During the past three years, I have collected slang and derogatory words that exploit women. The exhaustive list has come from friends, family, and several dictionaries on slang. Strangers also contributed by writing on anonymous pink and blue cards their answer to the question what are the worst names you have ever been called? In my first projects, I sculpted hats, bras, and underwear made of letterpress-printed woven paper. This series of work makes feminist references to craft, the body, and a misogynist culture. The paper wig series continues to investigate language, broadening the scope of degrading and offensive terms to include words of hatred and violence. Printed in red, white, and blue ink are tiny words whose mere existence is testimony to our intolerance towards difference.
In the series of ten women, I used the process of photo-lithography to print the face. First, I had a large negative made using a mezzotint screen to create the grey scale. I developed the aluminum litho-plates using a light box, and then, printed them applying the technique of water repelling oil. Next, I letterpress-printed the words over each face. After printing the face and text, I cut one print into vertical strips and one print into horizontal strips. Then, I wove them together, starting with the eyes as the focal point and continuing out to where the edges begin to pixilate. I illustrate in this work how these objectifying and degrading words are embedded in our speech and consciousness.
By hand-setting and printing these words on a powerful woman’s face I challenge the viewer to question why these words exist and how we use them.
