The title of her thesis is complicated. At least till you look at the pictures then more becomes clear. Like the fact that Alexa Telano is very talented, imaginative, and witty. She recently completed her senior thesis BFA photography exhibition at the Pratt Photography Gallery. Called The How-to Guide on Being a Woman as Told by Men, Retold by a Woman, it addresses gender issues with a light and humorous touch. You enjoy looking at the work. It makes you think, but not in a hard, unpleasant way. It slips in through your funny bone. I have the Self-portrait House Wife card on my refrigerator, and don’t plan on taking it down anytime soon. It makes me smile. Here are some of her thoughts and images.

 

AT: “My work uses photography to challenge gender roles, norms and stereotypes. I work with images as objects to reflect the way women are treated as sexual objects, void of personality. I am also interested in the material items we assign to gender and how objects can play a role in power dynamics among genders.”

“This is not an issue from the past nor is it just a contemporary one; objectification transcends through time, making these issues more complex and damaging as it does. I am reacting to these issues by posing myself like, as well as appropriating images of, idealized women from the 1950’s and in contemporary times. Some of these photos have a theme of subservience that is caused by our patriarchal society. Others are less submissive, and actively challenge objectification. Overall, I wish to subvert the patriarchy, as a way to feel powerful in my own body.”

“Using humor, satire and “tongue-in-cheek” moments in my photography is a way for me to discuss these issues so that not only other people will understand, but so I can personally process them. This humor serves as a platform for discussion about these issues, with the intent for people to recognize something within themselves.”

As herself: a self-portrait that brings to mind Vivian Maier. Stay tuned…

– Catherine Kirkpatrick