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Kristin Mitsu Shiga Shag Shaggy Chug P.O. Box 83191 Portland, OR 97283 tel: 503.329.2352 fax: 503.286.8679 Write to us 
E-mail
© Copyright 2001 Kristin Mitsu Shiga All Rights Reserved |
| THESIS: Made Art: Vol II |
The Pieces, continued
“Our Little Secret” - Box
We have all heard the horror stories told about sexual abuse. Until reading the accounts of an alarming number of my participants, however, I had always felt safely distant from such stories. “Our Little Secret” refers to the phrase we often think of as cliche in the case of father-daughter incest. But phrases like this one were common to each story of sexual abuse that I read.
The sterling silver box is a portrait of the little girl abused, as well as the woman she grows up to be. “I’m not sure if I saw it or just felt it rubbing against my cotton and flannel-covered vagina.” These words were enough to dictate the materials I should use. Clothed in rose-patterned pajamas on the outside, the box opens to reveal a torn interior and a soft, folded vulvic form. The box is locked, but the key lies mere inches away, waiting to penetrate and reveal the tender pink contents.
“Make Something of Yourself” - Bracelet
Several stories are depicted in this unwieldy, though technically wearable bracelet. Whether pushing their daughters academically or professionally, the fathers represented here were consistent. Many of the women who wrote credited their fathers for their success, recalling their fathers’ words as “encouraging, in retrospect,” and noting that they would not be where they are today if their fathers had not pushed them. A handful followed in their fathers’ footsteps when searching for their careers. Others felt enduring bitterness at being forced into pursuing goals that were not their own.
Sterling silver tracks, housed in a slickly-painted mahogany bangle, hold more than a thousand Rolodex cards to represent the avenues we pursue and the identities we assume as a result of fatherly persistence. Three categories of content appear on the individually-typed cards. Some host job listings, describing the qualities necessary to succeed in each field. Others sport the phrases many women have heard from their fathers, like, “You can do anything you put your mind to,” and “Make me proud.” The last group of cards is blank, to represent the countless possibilities not listed. The implication here, as in several of the pieces, is that each card, or the bracelet as a whole, can be replaced or removed entirely at the will of the wearer.
“Tears Won’t Help” - Brooch
These words can have very different connotations depending on the tone and the situation. I came across them several times in women’s stories. The common thread was that they were all referring to their father as the source of logic and reason in their young lives. Whether it was helping them with their math homework, teaching them decision-making skills, or simply attempting to stop their tears, their fathers’ role was well-defined. Again, the subjectivity of memory and the perspective gained with maturity have imbued the phrase with different meanings for each woman.
This palm-sized, domed copper and silver brooch is meant to depict the logic and reason so often identified with father figures. In the outside center of the locket-style brooch nestles a small glass vial, filled with “tears.” Access to the interior can’t be gained without first removing the vial and placing it aside. Inside the brooch is a chart of pros and cons, a classic tool of the rational mind. The relationship between these symbols signifies the opposition between logic and emotion that so often characterizes the rift between fathers and their daughters, as well as the appreciation of these differences that time has uncovered.
“Victim” - Sculpture
“They told my sister and me that my dad was in an accident and he had died. But that was not the case. It was not an accident at all. He had shot himself in the heart with a shotgun.” I was shocked at the number of women who relayed stories of their father’s suicide. In my small sample alone, I had five women who chose to share this information with me. Most of them stated it as a matter of fact. Others were more elusive or emotional. All of these accounts were laced with regret and wonder, and often bitterness at the selfishness of the act.
Entitled simply “Victim,” the piece shows the tintype body of a man, his hands grasping a shotgun, on one side of a palm-sized wooden form. The gun’s long barrel ends at a void where the man‘s face once appeared. On the reverse side of this miniature memorial are blurry headshots of five girls, ranging in age from infant to teenager. A gun sight glides on a track above the girls‘ faces, showing where the wounds from such crimes truly lie. The whole piece balances on the points of eight blackened nails, encased in a glass bell jar: a memory trapped, at once precious and disregarded.
IMAGES:
(See descriptions under "The Pieces," below left, for details)
"Our Little Secret" - Box: (3 1/2"L x 3 1/2"W x 3"D) Sterling, Cotton, Purpleheart, Steel, Brass, Rhodium.
"Our Little Secret" - Box (detail - open)
"Make Something of Yourself" - Bracelet: (4"L x 8 1/2"W x 8 1/2"D) Mahogany, Sterling, Rolodex Cards.
"Make Something of Yourself" - Bracelet (detail)
"Tears Won't Help" - Brooch: (3"L x 2 1/4"W x 2"D) Copper, Sterling, Brass, Glass, Steel, Charting Paper, Tears.
"Tears Won't Help" - Brooch (detail - open)
"Victim" - Sculpture (4 1/2"L x 2 1/2"W x 1 1/2"D) Purpleheart, Sterling, Acrylic, Tintype, Paper, Gel Medium Transfer, Reticle, Felt, Glass, Oak.
"Victim" - Sculpture (detail - back)
All photos of "Their Fathers' Daughters" work taken by Courtney Frisse.