Kunst - Forschung - Geschlecht: Jessica Karlsen

Objects of Intervention: The Conflicts of Performing Feminism in the Museum Space

Veranstaltungsort: Hörsaal 4, Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien (Altbau, 1. Stock)

This lecture will present an analysis of the ways that the female form has been, and continues to be objectified within the museum. Using performative representations of gender in museology, this research aims to expand current scholarship on the impact of feminist interventions in art museums. To consider the impact of the emerging fourth wave of feminism on visual culture, it is necessary to shift the focus of critique from a feminist analysis of art history to an analysis of the institutions that house the artworks themselves and contemporary curatorial practices.
Karlsen will consider the museum?s representative function with regards to three areas in which museological and feminist theory converge: narrative representation, Gaze theory and female participation in the gallery. The resultant conflicts are essential to understanding the position of feminism in the museum. By taking feminist practice within the institution as a platform from which critical analyses, engagements and discourses can commence, Karlsen will engage with the concept of woman as both a destructive and constructive force within the museum.

Jessica Karlsen is an early career researcher with a particular interest in female cultural narratives and gender performance. She has a BA (Hons.) from King?s College London and a MA (distinction) from UCL in Museum Studies. She has explored the role of female narratives in occupying space in art and literature. Karlsen is currently working as a content researcher for an exhibition design company, and pursuing several curatorial projects based on feminist performance art.