4B - Thursday, March 13, 2014
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
4B - Thursday, March 13, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
centered on a multimedia
performance blending film,
dance, textiles, music and
photography. In the show,
she enters wearing a heavy
overcoat and a fake beard and
mustache. She begins to empty
the contents of her coat - doz-
ens of small, black "creatures"
made of cuts of fabric - and
then slowly undresses, reveal-
ing a Pagliaci-inspired clown
outfit before stripping down
to just a bikini. As Louis Arm-
strong's "The Whiffenpoof
Song" plays over a speaker,
Bledsoe moves between focus-
ing on her wardrobe and look-
ing intently into the eyes of
individual audience members.
The performance is funny
at times while serious and
probing at others, which
seems to have been Bledsoe's
intention.
"I definitely think that
there's a provocative compo-
nent to what I'm Akiientinig.
I definitely feel like I intend
for people to leave and have
conversations and to revisit
images that I create, because
I don't speak at all in the work
that I'm making," she said.
The imagery of the show
and of much of Bledse's work
touches on issues of race, gen-
der and sexuality, but, as she
is quick to point out, the social
commentary present in her
pieces is the result of a long
process of artistic and per-
sonal growth during her time
at the University.
"Initially, I had a lot of
qualms with the Art School
in terms of its diversity," she
said. "The professors were
very whitewashed and the
student population was very
whitewashed. And I felt like
being a Black queer woman
in class was just kind of this
perspective that ... you know
I would make a piece of work
and the commentary, before
anybody would say anything
about the technical aspects
of the piece, it would be about
I'm presenting it and I'm
Black and I'm a lesbian.'"
Over time, however, Bled-
soe has come to realize that
the way her audience views
her identity is essential to the
way her work is viewed.
"My work has evolved
to become something that's
much more conscious of the
implications that my identity
as an artist carries," she said.
And, ultimately, she hopes
that her work can provide oth-
ers with insight into their own
identities.
"I want to be talking to
people who are interested in
knowing more about them-
selves. My work is not neces-
sarily for someone who just
wants to be entertained," she
said. "I'm much more inter-
ested in promoting dialogue,
making a piece for someone
who's interested in grappling
with the information they're
seeing in relation to how it
affects them."
Bledsoe will be presenting
her thesis performance at the
Duderstadt Video Studio from
Anril 17 to 19.
Bledsoe defines herself as a Black woman, a lesbian and, most importantly, an artist.
The many faces
of Carisa Bledsoe
Art & Design
senior embraces
performance art
to its fullest
By ADAM DEPOLLO
Daily OnlineArtsEditor
For Carisa Bledsoe, identity
is fundamental. The School of
Art & Design senior defines
herself as a Black woman and
as a lesbian, but most impor-
tantly as an artist - an artist
whose work is deeply influ-
enced by her process of self-
definition.
"I've always had an inter-
est - and I don't know why,
it sounds awful - in exposing
myself in my work. In a purely
selfish, sort of therapeutic
way ... it's a way to grapple
with things that I don't know
how to grapple with in any
other way," she said.
She is, however, uncomfort-
able with defining herself as
an artist limited to a particu-
lar medium. Her work ranges
from painting, to sculpture,
to video and dance - each one
can convey her message.
"In any given piece there
are aspects of all these dif-
ferent types of mediums,"
Bledsoe said. "You know, I
might do a performance that
involves video, and that video
involved my paintings. The
performance is influenced by
dance, the colors I chose are
influenced by the video."
Bledsoe is currently work-
ing on her thesis, which is
NICHOLAS WILLIAMS/Daily
Bledsoe will present her senior thesis at the Duderstadt Video Studio in A pril.
Design by Gaby Vasquez
Each week we take shots at the biggest
developments in the entertainment world,
Here's what hit (and missed) this week.
Controversial Bachelor Juan
Pablo gives pediatric nurse
Nikki Ferrell his final rose.
The Big Bucks Theory
"The Big Bang Theory" renewed
for 3 more seasons
ate Olsen rumored to be
d to 44-year-old tycoon
Sarkozy
SEASON TEASER REVIEW
To all the TV lovers who have
not yet recovered from the mon-
umental end of "Breaking Bad,"
I say: Fear not.
We are but one Mad Men
month away April 13th
from the return
of AMC's other AMC
crown jewel,
and now is the perfect time to
startre-focusing our attention
on it.
This week, AMC released a
new trailer and promotional
poster for the upcoming sev-
enth season of "Mad Men."
The fifteen-second teaser,
which has been widely shared
and scrutinized, features a
dapper looking Don Draper
descending from a plane in
slow-mo while "don"-ning
his signature black hat. The
poster, a psychedelic jumble of
color and'pattern designed by
the artist responsible for the
"I Heart NY" logo, has hard-
core fans reminiscing on the
infamous Roger Sterling acid
trip. But what does all this
The Mark Stone Trio:
Thursday, March 13, 7-10 pm
Free and spes ts the public
Universityof Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA)
5255. State Street
The Mark Stone Trio, sponsored by the Center for
World Performance Studies, will play in theApse
daring the . event onThursday,
March 13th.This event, generously supported by
Fidelity Investments, also features curator talks
and light refreshments.
x
.:
,
.. w .. .I: C C., .
mean for season seven?
Season six of "Mad Men"
ended with a sense of finality,
in that Don finally reached
the metaphorical "edge" and
plunged off it. With his bold
Hershey pitch that included a
dark but true (for once) personal
anecdote about growing up
in a whorehouse and stealing
from patrons to earn himself
a Hershey's chocolate bar, he
effectively gets himself pushed
out of the agency. It set the stage
for the show's final act. Don
has entered uncharted terri-
tory - he's hit rock bottom, and
he's actually telling the truth for
once.
"Mad Men" is about to take
a turn toward somethingnew:
a plane that flies to new places,
a poster that emphasizes a new
national mindset on the brink of
UNIVERSAL
unfolding and a new beginning
for everyone's favorite alcoholic
sex-addict. We're in for a whirl-
wind of a final season (spread
over two years, of course,
because ifsomething works, you
draw it out for as long as pos-
sible). It's just a matter of days
(31, to be exact) until Jon Hamm
graces our screens on a weekly
basis once more.
-MADDIE THOMAS
Moe inormation at: http:f/ooji.umic.edu/cpseents
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J