What: “YOU ARE HER” performance art installation and exhibit designed by UNT sculpture professor Alicia Eggert.
When: Running until Sept. 29 (Saturday)
Where: Outside the Fort Worth Contemporary Arts, 2900 W. Berry St.; Outside the Moudy South building, 2805 S. University Drive; “Pop-up” performances on the Texas Christian University Campus, 2800 S. University Drive. All locations are in Fort Worth.
Hours: The outside installations are available to view any time. The final “Pop-up” performance is scheduled for 2 – 3 p.m. Sept. 29 (Saturday).
Cost: Free
DENTON (UNT), Texas - “YOU ARE HER,” that’s what Alicia Eggert, sculpture program coordinator and assistant professor of sculpture in the University of North Texas College of Visual Arts and Design Department of Studio Art, wants viewers to consider as they visit her performance art exhibit in Fort Worth.
Eggert works primarily in sculpture and interactive media, many times using signage as a means of political and poetic comment. This installation explores issues of empathy and consent, thinking of the college campus as a site of construction. Performers wearing “street signs” in front of their faces bring awareness to experiences that females have when navigating public spaces, and the rates of sexual assault of female students on college campuses.
The signs, like those we encounter on roadways, warn of danger ahead or indicate that an incident has occurred and one must proceed with caution. The performance gives voice to the issue of consent: “stop,” “wrong way,” “be aware.” The women’s faces are hidden during the performance, dehumanizing them and isolating their bodies as a focal point.
“By featuring real women in prominent places across campus, I hope to visualize that these victims are not just statistics, but people and that assault can happen to anyone, anywhere,” Eggert said. “Many women who are assaulted don’t report the event because it is still a taboo subject. My intention is to provoke conversations about gender identity, empathy and consent.”
Eggert’s installation is part of the Fort Worth Contemporary Arts exhibit “FLÂNEUSE” featuring eight international artists whose work draws attention to the role of gender in contemporary urban experience. Through a variety of media, the artists explore an array of concerns about street life. The overlapping themes include history, memory, social justice, personal safety, public protest, physical movement and commodity culture. The “FLÂNEUSE” exhibit continues through Sept. 29 at the Fort Worth Contemporary Arts, noon – 5 p.m. Wednesday – Saturday.