Last weekend I had a chance to see Olivia Huffman's solo show Now We Are The Advertisment, Adorn Yourself at Gamma Gamma. Olivia is currently studying Fine Art at UNLV, she took some time out of her schedule to answer a few questions about her practice and the images in her show.
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| 1eyefuck |
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| As We Roam |
Lolita: Do you consider yourself to be a feminist?
Olivia: This is a tricky question; the word feminist has taken on so many different connotations. I believe in aspects, such as female empowerment, not being limited by gender, and not being limited by appearance.
Lolita: Are we not in an era where there is an equal playing field for both men and women?
Olivia: No, we definitely are not. During my first job I trained as a sushi chef, this was the only trade I had acquired fresh out of high school. When the owner “let me go” claiming it was due to “lack of business” she had a meeting shortly after telling the sushi chefs it was never in her vision to have females behind the sushi bar. I set out naive, applying to numerous sushi restaurants. The chefs would ask me to demonstrate, and then mock me.
The other occupations, retail at Victoria’s Secret, tutor, hostess, and bartender. These are all gender specific, these all require I dress and behave a specific way. Even when I worked the “masculine” job, I was treated very differently, paid differently, and given specific shifts.
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| Hairy Lipstick |
Lolita: Why do you think it is still important to be addressing issues of feminism in our culture today?
Olivia: Right now our feminine generation is out of whack, majority are boy crazy and promiscuous. Women need to focus more on educating themselves, not just going through the motions of basic schooling, but challenging themselves.
Lolita: Do you feel women are party to their continued sexual objectification?
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| Who Wears the Pants |
Olivia: We are conditioned through media, toys, clothing, food labels, television shows, everything we absorb through experiences is gender specific. We do have a choice to stop fueling the fire; we have the option of turning off the television, not purchasing the magazines, stopping ourselves from purchasing $200 of make-up, or even lengthening the skirt.
We all have our choices, the prominent choices for my generation are be sexy, be slutty, consume, shop, shop, shop, and party, party, party! There is no push for intelligence; do you think anything on NatGeo will ever get higher ratings than MTV? Do you think it will ever be trendy for women to be a history buff over learning to pole dance? What is more appealing to the opposite sex, having a conversation or knowing how to fuck?
And honestly, one without the other could not fulfill anyone. It is about a balance, currently our culture has peaked in sexuality but there is no education for it. Sex is still taboo, people love to overindulge in things that are “naughty”.
Lolita: How do you think women can gain power over their own sexuality as it is represented in Mass Media?
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| Adversexsexsex |
Olivia: For centuries women were not allowed to display themselves sexually. Some women posed nude before 1900’s but it is in that century our desire to be sexy established itself.
Currently America has surpassed sexy in advertising and is now in the deep-end. The only difference from current pornography and couture models is, no nip, no lip, and no dick. The poses are reminiscent and the expressions are undoubtedly orgasmic. These women are following suite with the “Third wave feminist movement” they believe that they are in control of their sexuality and are liberated by showing their bodies.
NOW, this movement was not meant to create a divide between sexuality and intelligence, but it definitely contributed. I believe the only way to counteract this movement is maintain self-respect.
Lolita: Some of your works are images appropriated from magazines others are photographs staged to confront the viewer with preconceived ideas about gender and sexuality. How do you determine in which media your works will be produced?
Photography on the other hand is meditative, thorough, and meticulous. It is a mystery that I ponder constantly. The shoot of course is totally random, characters develop, mostly improve, its magical.
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| How Am I Not Myself (1) |
Lolita: How does Las Vegas factor into your work?
Olivia: Since I was five years old I remember the Jubilee billboard in front of Bally’s. When I was in first grade I wanted to be a cocktail waitress. When I was nine my babysitter would bring her boyfriend over smoke pot and fuck on my mothers bed. When I was thirteen I gave my virginity away without a thought. I began binge drinking at fifteen because I thought that’s what boys liked. I began stealing AGAIN at 17 because my mother couldn’t afford to buy me clothes, at nineteen I rejected dressing sexy, at 21 I rejected shaving, and at 22 I became engaged, every experience has inspired another.
Every mistake; Every choice; Every situation has effected my perspective of this city and art is how I chose express it.
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| How Am I Not Myself (2) |
Olivia: Only in Las Vegas you are forced to sign a modeling contract to be a cocktail waitress, hostess, bartender, and countless other jobs available on the strip.
Only in Las Vegas do employees throw away glasses people leave around the various casinos, because it is cheaper to purchase more glasses than to pay labor.
Only in America are we conditioned to be promiscuous without Sex education.
Lolita: The struggle for equal rights began years ago, and some people feel the issues have been settled. Do you think you will see gender equality realized in your lifetime?
Olivia: Along with everything else that needs to happen in our society, I fucking hope so.
