K8 Hardy is a major name in the less than major queer and new feminist movements. She co-founded LTTR, “a feminist genderqueer artist collective” which produces a yearly journal; she has ties to the music world, having often worked with Wynne Greenwood (Tracy + the Plastics) and JD Samson (Le Tigre, MEN); and she is an active visual artist.
Hardy's current show, “To All the G#%$! I've Loved Before,” at Reena Spaulings Fine Art no doubt speaks to her involvement in and influence by these movements. Her photographs consist of her (or sometimes her sister as her stand-in) and her multiple identities in our society—feminine, masculine, stereotypical, conformist. She plays with the concepts of beauty, gender, and sexuality in, what is to me, a very gritty way. Some of her photographs are out of focus. She makes use of the photogram technique, adding a ghostly image of her bra or middle finger to some of her prints during developing. Her two photos behind the wall at the left side of the gallery were bent and unframed making them more difficult to view for reasons other than their awkward positioning. Additionally, a few of the framed photographs from a prior series in the corral to the rear of the gallery were covered with coffee stains and paint splatters.
“To All the G#%$! I've Loved Before” is a success if humor is Hardy's goal. Many of her poses and costumes are reminiscent of characters one would see Amy Sedaris portray. However, if this show is meant to convey Hardy's role as activist in the queer and new feminist movements, she did not succeed. No one not already involved in those movements (or highly knowledgeable of the art world) would read much cultural criticism in this specific body of work.
I found the show while indeed humorous made some potent cultural statements. Her outfits were at once outrageous but also recognizable. It seemed to parody the conformity of the very people trying to be non-conformists. She is pointing out the kind of uniforms or costumes that people wear that identify them as queer activists or artists. Beyond that she impersonates both high and low, trailer trash and hipster, blurring the lines that make people comfortable in their identity. As regards to if her picture’s cultural criticisms are too esoteric, I think that may be true to an extent, however there are much more vague and hard to interpret art being shown. Hardy’s humor allows this show to have a wider appeal.
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