About Geri Hart
My Name is Geri Hart, Im currently a Freshman at SMFA at TUFTS University in Boston, MA.
I work mainly in the mediums of film and photography though a feminist lens.
This is my artist statement.
Feminity is the name of my ego. She is my guilt, my expression, my beauty, my pain. She is more me than I am myself, so I wonder if she is my becoming, If I am feminine or if being feminine is me. She is my friend, yet we often bicker, mainly because I disagree with her roots and upbringing. I have yet to understand her or have a healthy relationship with her ultimately. But that’s where my fascination comes from because she is mine and I am hers; we can define and change each other.
Womanhood is a journey of sacrifice and celebration, starting from when the veil of innocence lifts from your eyes, and no, you do not get to choose when that happens. My art is a hyper-feminized celebration of womanhood’s beauty and the ugly consequences and emotions attached.
Through the loss and person my father was, I began to reject patriarchal ideals with the perception that the lack of a male figure would become the most powerful negative force in my life. I needed to reclaim my identity and become more powerful than his impact on me.
My work challenges patriarchal ideals because I redefine my identity, perspective, and life experiences without restraint from the male gaze. I centre around universal yet unspoken experiences that a vulnerable population of young women undergo alone, without the comfort or support that comes with knowing that these strives are collective. The categories and stereotypes created to keep us divided are still withheld under the guise of mainstream feminism. We do not deserve to feel shame because of isolation from each other. I am trying to create connections with my art, begin releasing that deep-rooted guilt, and build support networks to have meaningful conversations.
I make art for a world where we are free to celebrate and be assertive in claiming womanhood. And when I started doing that, it gave me the strength to push boundaries and express my femininity without fear of rejection. I saw I could be at the forefront of harnessing the power of femininity. But not without hesitation and judgment for breaking down the layers of shame we accept as part of being a woman.
I feel as though often, when calling yourself a feminist artist or labelling your work as feminist, it has to live up to certain expectations or fit within a box. But feminism, just like women, does not exist in a vacuum. Unfortunately, twenty-first-century ideals tend to neglect that women are people with wants, needs, and desires; raised and programmed within the patriarchy. Internalized misogyny (disguised as feminism) too often comes out in the form of competition among your fellow women. A desperation to be validated has you critique other women to have them fit into the box that is your prison. Out of envy, jealousy, rage or resentment, all fueled by the same patriarchal system. My work often is based on forgiving this by acknowledging the yearning for male validation and the blinding male gaze within your head.
So many young girls go through a phase of loving pink and then hating it and everything it stands for. This is born in that same place of internalized misogyny; I’m not trying to shame anyone based on their choice of favourite colour or define what it means to them, but I refuse to desaturate myself. So the world of my art is highly colourful and warm; it features hot pinks and overwhelming reds to wrap up the viewer in the intoxicating yet overwhelming sense of femininity I feel translates through the pallet.
I feature almost exclusively women in my art, and I carefully curate the scenes and characters they become. I’m meticulous in the setting; I strive for a seemingly natural, candid, and un-staged picture, yet even the smallest detail has meaning and purpose.
I can precisely create or replicate a scene through film and photography, but more importantly, an emotion or feeling. If my images can conjure even a simple thought about a person or their life experiences, I have accomplished my goal.
I work mainly in the mediums of film and photography though a feminist lens.
This is my artist statement.
Feminity is the name of my ego. She is my guilt, my expression, my beauty, my pain. She is more me than I am myself, so I wonder if she is my becoming, If I am feminine or if being feminine is me. She is my friend, yet we often bicker, mainly because I disagree with her roots and upbringing. I have yet to understand her or have a healthy relationship with her ultimately. But that’s where my fascination comes from because she is mine and I am hers; we can define and change each other.
Womanhood is a journey of sacrifice and celebration, starting from when the veil of innocence lifts from your eyes, and no, you do not get to choose when that happens. My art is a hyper-feminized celebration of womanhood’s beauty and the ugly consequences and emotions attached.
Through the loss and person my father was, I began to reject patriarchal ideals with the perception that the lack of a male figure would become the most powerful negative force in my life. I needed to reclaim my identity and become more powerful than his impact on me.
My work challenges patriarchal ideals because I redefine my identity, perspective, and life experiences without restraint from the male gaze. I centre around universal yet unspoken experiences that a vulnerable population of young women undergo alone, without the comfort or support that comes with knowing that these strives are collective. The categories and stereotypes created to keep us divided are still withheld under the guise of mainstream feminism. We do not deserve to feel shame because of isolation from each other. I am trying to create connections with my art, begin releasing that deep-rooted guilt, and build support networks to have meaningful conversations.
I make art for a world where we are free to celebrate and be assertive in claiming womanhood. And when I started doing that, it gave me the strength to push boundaries and express my femininity without fear of rejection. I saw I could be at the forefront of harnessing the power of femininity. But not without hesitation and judgment for breaking down the layers of shame we accept as part of being a woman.
I feel as though often, when calling yourself a feminist artist or labelling your work as feminist, it has to live up to certain expectations or fit within a box. But feminism, just like women, does not exist in a vacuum. Unfortunately, twenty-first-century ideals tend to neglect that women are people with wants, needs, and desires; raised and programmed within the patriarchy. Internalized misogyny (disguised as feminism) too often comes out in the form of competition among your fellow women. A desperation to be validated has you critique other women to have them fit into the box that is your prison. Out of envy, jealousy, rage or resentment, all fueled by the same patriarchal system. My work often is based on forgiving this by acknowledging the yearning for male validation and the blinding male gaze within your head.
So many young girls go through a phase of loving pink and then hating it and everything it stands for. This is born in that same place of internalized misogyny; I’m not trying to shame anyone based on their choice of favourite colour or define what it means to them, but I refuse to desaturate myself. So the world of my art is highly colourful and warm; it features hot pinks and overwhelming reds to wrap up the viewer in the intoxicating yet overwhelming sense of femininity I feel translates through the pallet.
I feature almost exclusively women in my art, and I carefully curate the scenes and characters they become. I’m meticulous in the setting; I strive for a seemingly natural, candid, and un-staged picture, yet even the smallest detail has meaning and purpose.
I can precisely create or replicate a scene through film and photography, but more importantly, an emotion or feeling. If my images can conjure even a simple thought about a person or their life experiences, I have accomplished my goal.