This Tuesday, Oberlin community members joined Curatorial Assistant in Education Ellis Lane for a guided exploration of artwork and bodymapping — an art form that visualizes bodily experiences — at the Allen Memorial Art Museum.
The event took on a three-part schedule. First, Lane guided attendees through a tour of two artworks: “Do you want us here or not (MHR) – Bench” by Finnegan Shannon and “Nest Egg for Transient Childhoods” by Sharona Franklin. By discussing Shannon’s bench and Franklin’s multimedia sculpture, Lane laid the groundwork for how to view bodies in a space and what it means to represent those bodies and spaces through artwork. After the tour, attendees created their own body maps using drawing and collage techniques. The event culminated in a lunch and a reflection on the experience.
In honor of October being National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Lane wanted to center disabled artists and activists. This is why he chose to start the tour with Shannon, an artist and activist who aims to expand accessibility in museums. “Do you want us here or not?” is a navy blue bench with white text that reads, “This exhibition has asked me to stand for too long. Sit if you agree.” The bench is part of a series of artwork that museum visitors can sit on, providing additional seating to accommodate more people — disabled or not.
“It opens up this conversation about how the body can interact with objects … intentionally creating space not just for disabled people, but [for] everyone to be more comfortable in a museum,” Lane said.
Aesthetics are a significant focus for museums, but sometimes visual pleasure comes at the expense of accessibility. Lane discussed an exhibit he co-curated with the Blind and Low Vision Focus Group. Working with people who have different experiences with seeing revealed some issues with traditional museum practices.
“A standard practice is that the background of a wall label matches the wall color because it’s supposed to be seamless,” Lane said. “Where are all the small aspects … that exhibitions should have? One is making sure we have really good contrast on our labels. … These small little interventions that might not be our traditional aesthetic are considered accessible or a disability aesthetic.”
“Nest Egg for Transient Childhoods” also brought attention to the need for space for disabled bodies in traditionally ableist institutions. Franklin has Still’s disease, a degenerative kind of juvenile arthritis. This condition makes it incredibly difficult to carry out her day-to-day life; as a result, she was unable to graduate high school until the age of 27. “Nest Egg for Transient Childhoods” takes the form of a quilted, patchwork egg that portrays the difficulties of living with her condition.
The quilt draws on traditional images of femininity, adorned with pink colors and soft, natural elements. Upon closer inspection, however, the egg betrays darker undertones, covered in the syringes and medical tools that Franklin uses to manage her chronic pain.
“Franklin is more of a direct connection to bodymapping,” Lane said. “She is very literally mapping a daily process and necessary element of her body survival onto this nest egg, which is this quilted, very soft, very fragile shape.”
With these two artworks in mind, event attendees headed to the East Gallery to start their body maps. People could pick through a stack of magazines and a box of markers to create their designs. Art Librarian Eugénie Fortier found the workshop to be a peaceful form of meditation which she had not previously engaged in.
“The decisions that you’re making to be kind of limited to this one rectangle in front of you is really liberating,” Fortier said. “It keeps your thoughts from wandering. It almost encourages a flow state, which is really nice. … You don’t realize that you’re calmer, but you really might be moving slower or breathing … more deeply.”
Bodymapping can take many forms. It can be a literal outline of a body, or a more abstract expression of experiences and emotions. AMAM Communications Director Stacie Ross reflected on the value of the event.
“I think it’s very good for people to be a little bit more aware of their own bodies, but especially a little bit more aware of other people and challenges they may have … that you might not have any idea about,” Ross said.
Lane hopes to host more bodymapping workshops in the spring and summer as a tool for connection and self-reflection.
“I think where we are in this political climate, everyone’s feeling sort of emotionally detached, which, of course, makes sense,” Lane said. “These are very scary and stressful times … I personally found bodymapping [to be] a good way of slowing down and connecting to your emotions.”
