The Second Sex – a visual footnote
May 25–July 13, 2013
Opening: Friday, May 24, 6–9pm
La Galerie, Contemporary Art Centre
1, rue Jean Jaurès
93130 Noisy-le-Sec, France
Hours: Tuesday–Friday 2–6pm
Saturday 2–7pm and by appointment
Admission is free
T 33 (0)1 49 42 67 17
lagalerie [at] noisylesec.fr
Anne-Mie van Kerckhoven, Marianne Wex, Ilene Segalove and Travelling Féministe with the Centre audiovisuel Simone de Beauvoir
A proposal by Tobi Maier, curator in residency
The exhibition The Second Sex – a visual footnote is a visual essay inspired by the book of the same name by French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir, whose existentialist take on many of the issues of feminism first emerged with the publication of Le Deuxième Sexe in 1949. One of de Beauvoir’s principal challenges was to foster women’s emancipation and the recognition of their working force. Through a close reading of de Beauvoir’s seminal book, the exhibition introduces a number of works that lean towards ideas highlighted in her texts, such as representations of women in myths and the descriptions of their lived situations.
The Second Sex – a visual footnote presents installations by three woman artists spanning a variety of media, from film, sculpture, and photography to collage. Originating in the 1970s, Anne-Mie van Kerckhoven, Marianne Wex and Ilene Segalove’s work can be considered a visual articulation of the intrinsic ideas of second-wave feminism. Launched during the late 1960s, critiques of patriarchy, capitalism, the woman’s role as wife and mother as well as the relations between race, class, and gender oppression were major topics. Active until the present day however, the concepts in the artists work selected for The Second Sex – a visual footnote also relate to a more inclusive third-wave feminism, which began in the mid-1990s and deconstructed notions of the body, gender, sexuality and hetero-normativity.
In collaboration with Travelling Féministe and the Centre audiovisuel Simone de Beauvoir in Paris, the exhibition at La Galerie is presenting a collection of titles sourced from the centre’s archives, which consists of activist—feminist, gay and lesbian—videos from the 1970s, but also more recent works, documentaries, video art, fiction and experimental films produced in France and abroad.
The exhibition is accompanied by a public program, including a workshop led by Marianne Wex on May 25, 3pm at La Galerie; a roundtable discussion with Nicole Fernández Ferrer (Centre audiovisuel Simone de Beauvoir), Elisabeth Lebovici and Giovanna Zapperi (Travelling Féministe) on Saturday June 15, 3pm at La Galerie; and a seminar in collaboration with Travelling Féministe at Forum des images, Paris on June 21 at 6pm.
For the opening, free shuttle from Paris, departure Place de la Bastille at 7pm
Annual residency programme for curators at Noisy-le-Sec / Paris, France
Since 2006, La Galerie has hosted foreign curators for an annual three-month residency, in order to support an exhibition in a French contemporary art centre and allowing a discovery of the Île-de-France contemporary art scene. The annual residency for curators at La Galerie is supported by DRAC Île-de-France (Ministry of Culture).
Forthcoming programme at La Galerie:
Bonjour tristesse, désir, ennui, appétit, plaisir
Hello Sadness, Desire, Lassitude, Appetite, Pleasure
September 21–November 16, 2013
Opening: Friday September 20, 6–9pm
Laura Lamiel
November 30–February 8, 2014
Opening: Friday November 29, 2013
Access by train in ten minutes from Paris: RER line E from Saint-Lazare/Haussmann or Gare du Nord, then ten-minute walk
The exhibition The Second Sex – a visual footnote has received additional support from the Goethe-Institut.
La Galerie Contemporary Art Centre is financed by the city of Noisy-le-Sec, with the support of the Ile-de-France/Ministry of Culture and Communications Regional Cultural Affairs Board, the Seine-Saint-Denis Département and the Ile-de-France Region.
La Galerie is a member of:
tram, Paris/Île de France contemporary art network: www.tram-idf.fr
d.c.a, French association for the development of art centres: www.dca-art.com
