Kat Chamberlin

C-O-N-T-E-M-P-T

As part of Serious Play: Translating Form, Subverting Meaning at BRIC, curated by Jennifer Gerow & Elizabeth Ferrow.

C-O-N-T-E-M-P-T is a durational performance culminating out of observations of the training methods of competitive college cheerleaders. Using minimalist stainless steel armature and pedestals, the artist creates equipment that accommodates the female form to enact movements that instinctually elicit pain. The sculptures highlight how this response, either erotic or violent, is inherently connected to the drive to compete. For the performance five uniformed cheerleaders will alternate between spotting for each other, stretching, and balancing on the sculptures. The work as the artist states, “examines the impossible space between the feminist embrace of fragility and the hyper-feminine viewed as threat.”

photo credit: Nicholas Cueva

cheerleader: Tiffany Galbo