Hunt Gallery opening includes series of contraptions, devices for needy
By: Vincenza Previte
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During a recent research trip to New Delhi, India, Asma Kazmi, a Pakistani performance artist and sculptor, documented a series of contraptions and devices used by beggars and handicapped people to walk and move for themselves.
"Prosthetics," Kazmi's art project documented through photographs and videos, was inspired by phenomenology, the study of reality as perceived from the first person's point of view.
"I wanted to represent the limits where objects and bodies emerged," said Kazmi at the opening reception of Webster University's Hunt Gallery on Friday, Nov. 13.
Kazmi was also inspired by her aunt, whose leg was amputated after contracting polio many years ago.
Jeff Hughes, professor of art at WU, said Kazmi engaged with homeless people to better understand their life and show viewers how prosthetics can be indicative of someone's life.
"If we analyze these objects, we'll see they are telling us a story from a particular life," Hughes said.
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t the gallery, WU students and professors were able to view a video of Kazmi's second project, "Hijra," or "Transgendered," which was also documented in India and is still in the development process.
The short clip allowed viewers to see how the subjects behaved while being photographed. Kazmi worked with her subjects for more than a month and got to know them on a personal level. In the clip, they talked about how they considered being part of a "third sex group" and not wanting to be categorized as transgenders.
Kazmi said she wanted to learn more about her subjects' feminine side and how they achieved femininity. As the video was being filmed, they chose what was going to be portrayed on film.
Not all students at the gallery were happy with the way the artwork was displayed.
Rebecca Tochtrop, a junior art major, believed the artist exploited the homeless in her artwork by showing them in vulnerable situations.
"I don't know how the artist connected with her subjects," she said. "But as a viewer, I'm uncomfortable with how, I believe, she exploits them."
Kazmi said exploitation is a complex matter and that the term shouldn't be used loosely. All of her subjects agreed to participate in the project and were paid for the time they spent.
"Westerners have a wrong concept of exploitation," Kazmi said. "One should be better informed before jumping to conclusions. All the people I interviewed were physically ill, yet they were all mentally stable, humorous and willing to participate."
Tochtrop also mentioned how Kazmi's artwork would have been more appealing to the viewers if, instead of using photographs and videos to present her project, the artist would have brought the prosthetics used by the physically-challenged and homeless people.
"I think the work in the gallery would be stronger if it were present," Tochtrop said. "If the actual physical objects would have been brought to display, it would have been a more solid artwork."
Kazmi had initially thought to exchange the prosthetics from the subjects she studied in India and have them displayed as a work of art, as opposed to using photographs and videos. However, once she got to meet her subjects, she didn't feel right taking the objects away from them.
Kazmi saw India not as a search for the exotic, but as a place she always wanted to explore; a place she felt deeply connected to.
"Both my grandparents are from India, so it's a place I've always wanted to visit," Kazmi said.
Kazmi said the experience of being in a new place could make a person hypersensitive. This was important for the development of Kazmi's art project because it made her aware of her surroundings.
"I like to immerse myself in something new and see what comes out of it," Kazmi said. "When I go to these places and talk to the beggars, I don't necessarily know what to expect because I've never been to such a place. But I try to stay open to the new experience and what that will do in terms of influencing my art."
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