JO ANN BLOCK
  • HOME
  • COLLAGE / PAINTING
    • PHENOMENA OF THE FIERCE
    • QUEER BEFORE QUEER
    • FALLEN WOMEN
    • Jane Doesn't Need Dick: Origin of Love
    • SUPER DYKES
    • Historical Models of Cultural and/or Biological Performative Identities
    • HILL DISTRICT
    • EARLY COLLAGE
  • SCULPTURE / INSTALLATION
    • The Meaning of Life: A Self Portrait
    • Origin of the Odd
    • SEX OBJECTS
    • I Am Surfacing
    • The Bachmann Overdrive Reparative Conversion-a-tor
    • Creatures
    • RECUPERATING THE HISTORIC: QUEER LIFE BEFORE STONEWALL
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TransSurfacing 

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TransSurfacing scroll 144" x 80"
TransSurfacing is an investigation into the current cultures of transgender people in America.  As a lesbian who came of age during the era of the Stonewall riots and identity politics, and who identifies as butch, I’ve experienced a lifetime of negotiating a nonconforming gender identity and presentation.  However, the feelings of being in the wrong body are ones that are unfamiliar.  The dual experience of what is on the one hand so familiar, and yet deeply unfamiliar is what compelled me to explore this subject.  
TransSurfacing is meant to be a snapshot of contemporary trans* culture—at a moment when transgender issues and representatives are beginning to break through into mainstream culture, yet are still bound tightly within the disciplined control of a dominant cisgender American society that metes out privilege or violence based on class and race; it is by no means meant to be a complete characterization and assessment of current gender expression and transgender culture, but rather is a soupçon of contemporary personal experiences and perspectives meant to spark discussion.  The collage issued primarily from research and images gathered from the internet, as well as from one-on-one conversations and films, articles and books.  Several transgender people were asked to view the completed work and offer their candid opinions. The result is a circular conversation between the artist, the viewer and the some in the transgender community.
* Trans (without the asterisk) is best applied to trans men and trans women, while the asterisk makes special note in an effort to include all non-cisgender gender identities, including transgender, transsexual, transvestite, genderqueer, genderfluid, non-binary, genderfuck, genderless, agender, non-gendered, third gender, two-spirit, bigender, and trans man and trans woman.

Interviews: TransCommunicating

TransCommunicating from Jo Ann Block on Vimeo.

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SOLO EXHIBITION:
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THE MEANING OF LIFE: A SELF PORTRAIT

643 Project Space 
643 N Ventura Avenue
Ventura, CA 93001
www.643projectspace.com


FEBRUARY 3-24, 2023

Opening Event: February 3, 2023 6pm-9pm
Closing Event: February 24, 2023 6pm-9pm

Gallery visiting hours:
E
very Sunday in February from 11AM-4PM.
The  gallery is otherwise open by appointment only! 

Please email or call Jo Ann at 805-407-5598 to set-up an appointment.
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  • HOME
  • COLLAGE / PAINTING
    • PHENOMENA OF THE FIERCE
    • QUEER BEFORE QUEER
    • FALLEN WOMEN
    • Jane Doesn't Need Dick: Origin of Love
    • SUPER DYKES
    • Historical Models of Cultural and/or Biological Performative Identities
    • HILL DISTRICT
    • EARLY COLLAGE
  • SCULPTURE / INSTALLATION
    • The Meaning of Life: A Self Portrait
    • Origin of the Odd
    • SEX OBJECTS
    • I Am Surfacing
    • The Bachmann Overdrive Reparative Conversion-a-tor
    • Creatures
    • RECUPERATING THE HISTORIC: QUEER LIFE BEFORE STONEWALL
  • NEWS
  • ABOUT
  • Contact