It's All Unfair

Last week I made a great deal of progress in the studio. I was so pumped about my work I completely forgot my blog. This week I will be posting two updates to make up for last week.

I finally received my history of medals and ribbons book. It is dry and boring just as I suspected. There really isn't a huge exciting history for the advent of US military recognition. Either way it is making me appreciate more the fact that I have some kind of recognition from the military. Today the Navy is making huge leaps and bounds. They have revoked the don't ask don't tell policy, women serve on submarines, there is better protection and assistance for victims of assault, and women can now serve in combat. These are all amazing steps forward for such a masculine organization. The women that are benefiting from these milestones though are standing on the backs of those that came before them. Women that suffered injustices and spoke up to make the Navy better. Women that serve and get no recognition when they are in the civilian sector, because they don't "look" military. It's all unfair and sometimes hurtful, but that is not what my art discusses.

My work celebrates these women. It recognizes their sacrifice through these little gestures of appreciation, the military ribbon. It celebrates the fact that through adversity, pressures, and sexist treatment the women that have served maintain their femininity. They are women, they are brave, and they have remarkable tenderness for the injustices suffered. Women in the military, volunteering, sacrificing and serving is a remarkable thing. I think the art world should experience this awesomeness, and recognize the struggles women have endured to achieve so much in a very anti-feminist organization like the military.