Hannah Cooke
Ada vs Abramović
Video
In her works “Ada vs. Emin” and “Ada vs. Abramović” from 2018, Cooke recreates existing works and expands them in content as well as visually. Cooke, herself a mother of a daughter, questions the image of mothers and women in the art world. For Marina Abramović and Tracey Emin, both icons of performance and installation art, motherhood and the artist’s profession are contradictory, and both make clear and even dismissive statements about this.
Hannah Cooke responds: she accurately reproduces two works by Abramovic and Emin in a film studio and places herself, nursing her daughter Ada, in the picture. By entering into an eye-to-eye dialogue with her colleagues Emin and Abramovic, Cooke manages, without intentionally provoking, to make existing circumstances visible.”
Text by Norina Quinte (www.ato.vision)
Tagesspiegel Nov. 2016:
“Did you never want to have children?”
Abramović:
“No. Never. I aborted three times because I was convinced that it would be a disaster for my work. We just have a certain amount of energy in our body that I should have shared. In my opinion, that’s why women are not as successful in the art world as men. There are lots of talented women. Why do the men take over the important positions? Quite simply: love, family, children – all a woman does not want to sacrifice.”
Ada vs. Emin
Video
Tracey Emin:
“I don’t think I’d be making work (if I were a mother).’ She admits. ‘I would have been either 100% mother or 100% artist. I’m not flaky and I don’t compromise. Having children and being a mother… It would be a compromise to be an artist at the same time. I know some women can. But that’s not the kind of artist I aspire to be. There are good artists that have children. Of course there are. They are called men. It’s hard for women. It’s really difficult, they are emotionally torn. It’s hard enough for me with my cat.”
Hannah Cooke
Ada vs Abramović
Video
In her works “Ada vs. Emin” and “Ada vs. Abramović” from 2018, Cooke recreates existing works and expands them in content as well as visually. Cooke, herself a mother of a daughter, questions the image of mothers and women in the art world. For Marina Abramović and Tracey Emin, both icons of performance and installation art, motherhood and the artist’s profession are contradictory, and both make clear and even dismissive statements about this.
Hannah Cooke responds: she accurately reproduces two works by Abramovic and Emin in a film studio and places herself, nursing her daughter Ada, in the picture. By entering into an eye-to-eye dialogue with her colleagues Emin and Abramovic, Cooke manages, without intentionally provoking, to make existing circumstances visible.”
Text by Norina Quinte (www.ato.vision)
Tagesspiegel Nov. 2016:
“Did you never want to have children?”
Abramović:
“No. Never. I aborted three times because I was convinced that it would be a disaster for my work. We just have a certain amount of energy in our body that I should have shared. In my opinion, that’s why women are not as successful in the art world as men. There are lots of talented women. Why do the men take over the important positions? Quite simply: love, family, children – all a woman does not want to sacrifice.”
Ada vs. Emin
Video
Tracey Emin:
“I don’t think I’d be making work (if I were a mother).’ She admits. ‘I would have been either 100% mother or 100% artist. I’m not flaky and I don’t compromise. Having children and being a mother… It would be a compromise to be an artist at the same time. I know some women can. But that’s not the kind of artist I aspire to be. There are good artists that have children. Of course there are. They are called men. It’s hard for women. It’s really difficult, they are emotionally torn. It’s hard enough for me with my cat.”