skip to main |
skip to sidebar
The gleaming jet-black, six metre tall statues make up the Angels-Demons. Parade. As part of the Melbourne Festival, the outdoor exhibition is the brainchild of the Russian art collective AES+F. The group is made up of artists Tatiana Arzamasova, Lev Evzovich, Evgeny Svyatsky, in collaboration with (+) photographer Vladimir Fridkes.
The Angels-Demons. Parade. is AES+F’s version of the Apocalypse. “We present an apocalyptic parade, which does not constitute the end of the old world. It's the beginning of a new one”, they describe on their website.
The statues are modelled on new born babies. They have wings and tails, which aim to blur the lines between angels and demons. “The clear difference between angels and demons, which is common to all cultures, does not exist here. Evil may look like good and vice versa”, AES+F explain further.
The Angels-Demons. Parade. was premiered at the Lille Festival in Lille, France in 2009. Its inclusion in the Melbourne Festival is the second time the art work has been shown.
It also marks the first time the Melbourne Festival has brought one of its exhibitions to the streets.
The Melbourne International Arts Festival, or the Melbourne Festival as it’s now known, has been running for the last 15 years. It showcases unique Australian and international dance, theatre, music, visual arts and multimedia in free and outdoor events over 17 days in October.
The Melbourne Festival runs from 6-22 October, visit the website for more details.
She also goes on to say:
“Because the larger issue is that it is a lot easier for men —or even guys or bros—to demean us, if we’re girls. It’s much harder to bring down a woman, or to call her a moron, when she’s not in pigtails and Ring Pops”.
Interesting.
Zooey Deschanel’s reply highlights my thoughts exactly as I too am struggling to understand what is so wrong with being a girly girl.
In this day and age, when so many women before us fought for equality, I feel like it’s a rather archaic view to believe that being girly somehow makes a woman seem weak or even that men look for opportunities to ‘demean’ women.
Maybe it’s a generational thing. Being on the cusp and Gen Y and Gen X, I see the new generation of men who have respect for women and view them as their equals. On the flip side, I have also seen men of the older generation who have a very different view on what a women’s role is and how she should be treated. Girly or not, it’s going to take more than not wearing a headband or sparkly lip gloss to change their attitudes.
To be a strong woman doesn’t necessarily we have to act more like men. Nor does it mean that we have to become defensive and aggressive when dealing with men. I know women who have felt the need to fight for their position at work, in social circles, in the world in general and they just end up stressed, angry and alone.
I would classify myself as a girly girl. I like to wear pretty skirts and dresses, subscribe to several fashion magazines and hardly ever leave the house without some makeup on. I don’t do it to attract men (I am in a committed long term relationship), I do it for me. The only time I do things like dance around the house to 80s music or try on different outfits that I haven’t worn in a while, is when my boyfriend isn’t home (well, most of the time anyways…). Yet I feel like I am respected by the males in my life and I don’t believe that the pencil skirts and cardigans I wear to the office give men the impression that I don’t take my job seriously.
Being yourself is the best thing anyone can do. When a person is comfortable and confident in themselves and the image they are projecting to the world, that’s when they can achieve anything. Just because a girl is wearing pink and likes to bake cupcakes, doesn’t mean there isn’t a Marlene Dietrich, Marie Curie or Amelia Earhart lurking underneath…
