The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Wednesday, December 6, 2017 — 5A
CEREN DAG/DAILY
The museum is located off of S. State Street
The UMMA exhibit ‘What
Were You Wearing’ fights
generalizations of assault
UMMA joined with HeforShe for a one-time exhibit in AA
“What were you wearing?”
A business suit, jeans, a
sweater, a sweatshirt, joggers,
athletic shorts, a tank top,
pajamas, a dress. You’re going
to work, you’re going to class,
you’re going to a party, you’re
going to a friends house or
you’re going to bed. Something
is about to change. Something
is about to become a plot point
in the line of your life — one
that is uninvited, one that is
cruel, one that you did not
expect and one that you will
never erase.
“What were you wearing?”
The
question
hangs
in
the
air:
seemingly
simple,
mundane, usual. Four words,
17 letters and a question mark
— all dangling in blank space.
But in many situations, this
question is really rather loaded
— provoking anger, sadness,
discomfort and confusion.
Many survivors of sexual
assault will hear this question,
asked by a friend, an employer, a
police officer, a family member,
an investigator, inviting the
notion that perhaps if the
victim was wearing something
revealing, they were inviting
the violence. The University of
Michigan Museum of Art’s one
night only exhibit “What Were
You Wearing?” looks to start a
conversation that silences that
generalization.
UMMA,
in
partnership
with University and national
organization HeforShe, brought
the exhibit to the University,
as
its
message
resonates
greatly
with
our
current
campus and national climate.
The exhibit was originally
started at the University of
Kansas by Jen Brockman. It
features replications of outfits
that sexual assault survivors
we wearing and quotes from
their stories, gathered from
interviews by Brockman.
The
exhibit
looks
to
deconstruct the notion that
people are only assaulted if
they are wearing something
revealing, and a victim could
have been “asking for it” based
on what they were wearing.
There were around twenty
outfits hung on a rack around
the space, with the stories
posted above them. Of the
outfits,
the
majority
were
everyday
clothes
—
jeans,
oversized sweatshirts, workout
clothes, shorts and t-shirts.
Of the stories posted above
the outfits, some especially
thought
provoking
quotes
included:
“I was wearing Nike shorts
and
a
concert
sweatshirt.
Seems so normal. So every day.
It was too, just any other day,
except for this. Except for what
happened.”
“The first time I was wearing
jeans and a blue t-shirt. The
next time, years later, I was
wearing jeans and a blue
t-shirt. I wear blue sometimes
when I kickbox or when I need
to be assertive. Even today I
am wearing blue, because they
don’t get to take away my voice,
my favorite color or my ability
to say no and mean it. These
things are mine.”
“White t-shirt and black
basketball shorts. It was always
the same outfit. It was always
at the rec center. I trusted him.
My mom trusted him.”
The exhibit does a wonderful
job of expressing that it doesn’t
matter who you are, it doesn’t
matter what you’re wearing,
it doesn’t matter where you
are, it doesn’t matter the
circumstance.
No
means
no, and assault is never the
survivor’s fault. Assault can
happen to anyone, at any time.
The exhibit also provided an
array of experiences through
different ages, locations and
circumstances –– to prove
that this can and does happen
anywhere.
From the wide array of
individuals (both male and
female)
whose
stories
are
included in the exhibit, it
is clear that there is no one
specific
circumstance
for
sexual
assault.
Those
who
attempt to define assault as
a singular thing generalize
the implications of assault
and
associate
or
trivialize
experiences
are
wrong.
These
stories
being
told
(and
others)
are
personal,
absolutely heartbreaking and
not
uncommon
on
college
campuses.
The sexual assault climate on
the University’s campus is like
that of many other universities,
which is both saddening and
unfortunate. According to the
University’s Campus Climate
Report from 2015, 22.5 percent
of female undergrad and 6.8
percent of male undergrad
students experienced a form
of
non
consensual
sexual
activity in the past 12 months.
And the 2017 Annual Security
Report stated that there were
26 cases of rape, 22 of fondling,
29 of stalking and 29 of dating
violence on our campus last
year. Keep in mind, these are
the numbers of people who felt
comfortable and safe reporting
these
crimes.
With
this,
HeforShe saw a great need for a
larger conversation about these
issues; which inspired bringing
the exhibit to this campus.
As seen by the statistics
above, there are major issues
with
assault
and
domestic
violence on this campus. It
is terrifying how, in today’s
world,
sexual
assault
has
grown,
maintained
itself
and become normalized on
college campuses everywhere.
Recently,
University
of
Michigan
Interfraternity
Council suspended all social
activities
and
pledging
activities
due
to
several
alarming incidents — one of
them, which is unfortunately
no surprise, is a growth in
cases of sexual assault.
Erasing
the
stigma
and
normalization of the culture
of sexual assault is a step that
the exhibit at UMMA this
past Monday looked to take.
It is a long battle, but one that
must start somewhere. The
exhibit provided a space for
conversation,
education
for
those do not feel well informed
on these issues and the larger
message:
Assault
can
and
does happen to anyone. It is
not normal, it does not have
a
specific
circumstance,
it
cannot ever be justified and it
should not go unnoticed.
This exhibit and its message
is
incredibly
important
right now, not only because
of
the
problems
occurring
on our campus, but also the
climate surrounding assault
nationally. For the first time,
sexual assault is being brought
into the conversation on a
national scale. In Hollywood
and major news corporations,
powerful men have been fired
for sexual assault allegations,
and people are finding space
to share their personal stories
of sexual assault. Campaigns
like “#MeToo” have spread all
over social media, empowering
individuals and validating the
stark reality of the situation.
It
seems
that
more
and
more individuals are being
encouraged to come forward
with their stories so that the
pervasiveness of these issues
can finally be seen.
And this is only the start.
ELI RALLO
Daily Arts Writer
“What Were
You Wearing”
UMMA
Monday,
December 4,
2017
EXHIBIT REVIEW
NO FILTER
REPUBLIC
Goddesses we don’t deserve to have
Replaying: ‘Feeling Myself’
Returning to Beyonce & Nicki Minaj’s overlooked single
The
Pinkprint,
Nicki
Minaj’s third LP, released
7 singles (“Pills N Potions,”
“Anaconda,” “Only,” “Bed of
Lies,” “Truffle Butter,” “The
Night Is Still Young,” “Trini
Dem Girls,” respectively). This
boggles my mind. First of all,
seven singles is excessive, even
more so considering their from
a rapper who prides herself
on chart performance, but
only one cracked the top ten.
(“Anaconda” peaked at #2, but
clearly should’ve gone #1.) The
final single, Trini Dem Girls
which features Lunchmoney
Lewis, didn’t chart and doesn’t
even have a wikipedia page
(lol).
Her new album ~hopefully~
drops next week, nearly three
years after the release of The
Pinkprint, so it’s time to talk
about the its greatest deep cut,
arguably one of the greatest
deep
cuts.
The
sequel
to
“***Flawless (Remix)” (which
was the number 1 song of 2014
according to Time): “Feeling
Myself (feat. Beyonce).”
I love (loooooove) Nicki
Minaj,
and
she
herself
acknowledges that sometimes
she is left in the lurch of the
men she collaborates with. It’s
an easy get for male rappers
to feature Minaj to increase
airplay and streaming numbers
but on the flipside, Minaj’s solo
work goes underappreciated
on radio. This pattern also
bleeds
into
Minaj’s
own
discography. During “Only,” a
track off The Pinkprint, I go in
during Minaj’s opening verse
and immediately change it
once Lil Wayne or Chris Brown
pick it up. Okay, sometimes
I stick through it for Drake’s
verse
—
only
sometimes,
though. Ditto for “Truffle
Butter”: Lil Wayne’s verse is
honestly just gross, and I like
to think I have a relatively
high tolerance for gross sex
stuff but damn. Additionally,
it wasn’t until recently I was
able to fully appreciate Minaj’s
bars in “Buy a Heart” and
“Big Daddy” (features with
ex Meek Mill) because I so
rarely stuck around through
Mill’s opening verses. I have
since had a change of heart
regarding Mill’s contribution
to “Buy a Heart.”
To bring us back to 2017
for a moment, two of Minaj’s
#ThreePackfromParis,
“No
Frauds” and “Changed It,”
renew
the
tendency:
the
former featuring Lil Wayne
and Drake, the latter featuring
only Wayne. On both tracks
Minaj’s bars are solid. Both
verses are worth a rewind, a
replay and a revisit whenever
the thought or opportunity
presents itself, but the tracks
lose
their
energy
without
Minaj
at
the
helm.
“No
Frauds,” specifically because it
was released as a response diss
track to Remy Ma’s 5-minute,
bars-loaded “Shether.” While
“No Frauds” flexes Minaj’s
A-list status, it fails to show
her as a master MC. The lyric “
‘Back to Back’? / Oh you mean
back to whack?” rings slightly
false seeing that Drake bodied
Meek on “Back to Back,” Nicki
got a few good shots in on “No
Frauds” but Rem slaughtered
Minaj on “Shether,” as far as
bars go.
But,
nonetheless,
since
the
release
of
#ThreePackfromParis, Minaj
has consistently been featured
on some of hip hop’s hottest
tracks of 2017. Everyone can
agree that “Rake It Up” would
be nothing without Minaj.
Ditto with “Swish Swish.”
Okay,
I
have
digressed.
Back to the reason we are
here: “Feeling Myself (feat.
Beyonce)”.
It’s
the
fifth
track from the rapper’s third
album and it has received an
appalling lack of attention
and appreciation from radio,
awards show and, probably,
you. (Until now.)
First and foremost, this
track
brings
together
the
Queen of Rap and the Queen
on the Universe, both of whom
aren’t afraid to own and flaunt
that status they have reached.
While
the
argument
that
Beyonce is underutilized on
the track could be fair: both
women use to track to feel
themselves by flexing their
accomplishments. B stanks,
“Changed the game when that
digital dropped / Know where
you was when that digital
popped / I stopped the world.”
But it’s Nicki who shines
brightest, closing out the song
she spits, “Just on this song
alone, bitch is on her fourth
flow.” Minaj is, and has been,
one of the top MCs and “Feeling
Myself” is a testament. Three
verses, four flows and back-up
from the biggest star in music.
Not to mention she drops some
of her hardest bars of her
career. Listening to the song
and looking up the lyrics for
examples is fruitless because
the entire song slaps. EVERY.
VERSE. POPS. OFF.
If you don’t believe me, here
are the worst lines of each
verse:
1. n/a
2. n/a
3. n/a
Fuck y’all I tried.
Moving
on:
the
music
video. Remember when Nicki
tweeted her displeasure that
“Anaconda”
(egregiously)
wasn’t nominated for video of
the year? But the most absurd
snub went largely unnoticed:
Why did “Feeling Myself” fail
to pull a single nomination?
Sure, it was a Tidal exclusive,
but
I
don’t
think
that
disqualifies it. (I don’t know,
I haven’t read the VMA rule
book because I am too busy
stanning
these
women
on
Twitter.)
Remember
when
Taylor
Swift
assembled
her
“girl
squad” for the “Bad Blood”
video?
Or
when
Madonna
followed-up
by
digitally
placing
Kanye,
Beyonce
and Minaj in the “Bitch I’m
Madonna”
video
alongside
real-life
appearances
by
Alexander Wang and Diplo?
Minaj and Beyonce — all in
their lonesome — blow both of
those groups out of the water,
the industry and galaxy all on
their own.
I say this a human who can
hear and see, not as a stan,
but every frame in this video
is a keeper. I’m trying to pick
the highlights out but they’re
ubiquitous. The two baddest
bitches become the two coolest
just outside of the Coachella’s
city limits. It’s hard to tell
whether they’re messin’ around
instead of going to the festival
or throwing a dope after-party
but it looks like a healthy mix
of both.
The outfits are sick. Beyonce
rocks a Chicago Bulls bathing
suit, Nicki rocks a Moschino
one-piece; Fur coats in blow-
up pools; Nicki reps the double
sports-bra; and of course, the
mesh “PERVERT” tee. Also,
Beyonce is the only person who
looks good in a bucket hat. The
video is similar to Beyonce’s
“7/11” in its casual nature: the
MC and singer just hanging,
stunting,
in
their
amazing
dream Airbnb booking for their
Coachella weekend.
The video even goes as
far as showing a (hopefully)
candid moment the two share
backstage at the festival sharing
gum. The product placement is
chosen-wisely
and
playfully
placed: a fridge full of Ace of
Spades and Myxx Moscato,
empty bottles of the former
floating in the pool and hot tub,
and the pair eat “#2 with Mac
sauce” on a bounce house while
Nicki holds her Myxx.
It’s 3 minutes and 45 second
of
straight
flexing.
Their
skills,
their
brands,
their
accomplishments.
They’re
well, feeling
themselves.
CHRISTIAN KENNEDY
Daily Online Editor
Beyonce rocks
a Chicago Bulls
bathing suit, Nicki
rocks a Moschino
one-piece
First seen on
no filter