some words for barry

So, went back to the Pompidou a few days ago. My experience was much improved. Had enough sleep. Enough food, enough everything. If I had to suggest one piece that related to the theme of the Process & Evidence it would be, Maja Bajevic's video installation. In a small, maybe 10 ft x 12 ft room a video screen about 4 ft wide was stretched diagonally in the middle with video projected on both sides. you walk into the room. the doorway is set to the left side. on the wall facing inwards and also on the wall to the right are a few framed pieces of tattered fabric embroidered with quotes. the first video seen from the doorway is of middle aged crab women in traditional dress, washing cloths in wooden tubs. the natural fabric colored clothes are scrubbed and dunked in the tubs of water. they are then hung on clothes lines to dry and then get washed again the next day. this seems to go on for q uite a while. on the other side, the video projected is another project of Bajevic's. It is of the same or similarly representative women embroidering symbolic imagery on the mesh covering a building in construction. we see the women sewing flowers and teapots in bright colors day and night. there are views from the inside, the women's side and also from the ground up. we see the urban environment, the parking lot and the passerbys. It is obviously a strange and poetic juxtaposition that Bajevic is producing.
I did not know of her name before I saw this piece at the Pompidou. a quote from her statement in the gallery: "...works of art are always sociopolitical because they reflect the society and times in which we live. The artist is a witness and not a warrior." I felt compelled to copy this down because I found it to be true. It made me realize that all the work that is being produced in terms of contemporary art should be aware of the 'current events' and etc. Because those are the things that we or I am thinking about each day. What is happening in the world. What is my status in the world? where am I and why am I. Those are all questions that arise. and Why? why am I making this? and etc. Everything must have a reason and as artists we take in what we see. we are witnesses to the world. What we are doing is a kind of documentation. Documentary or journalistic photography is just about the only kind of photography that i can think of at this moment that makes any sense to me. I stepped into art class taking photographs. Cameras are so highly accessible to young people today it is almost impossible to think of a child who has not handled a camera.
Bajevic's work is a sort of documentary. It is documenting a staged event. Both of the videos projected are performances. They are repetitive and unexciting. Yet compelled me to devote more time to than any other piece i was seeing for the second time.
Bajevic is aware that everything her work is sending some sort of social poltical message to her audience. She understands her role as a messenger and recorder of events. She recognizes the domestic quality that a woman holds in society. and she is challenging our role in a way that still allows women to assume the same responsibilities as before; washing, sewing, etc. She is taking these duties of the interior and placing them in places dominated by masculinity. The construction zone. Powertools and hardhats are a must here. Soft vulnerable thread is not welcome. Bajevic uses the woman's needle and thread to penetrate the outdoor world of man.