Bio
Aislinn Feldberg is a writer and visual artist from Queens, New York. She enjoys experimenting and creating art with a dark, bizarre flair in order to develop awareness of social issues, including reproductive and women's rights. Her work interweaves with prior dreams and demonstrates conflicting natures of human nature or of materials (flowing delicacy or brutal strokes). You can find her on Wrongdoing Mag, Fictional Cafe, Duck Duck Mongoose or her website, www.oddityplayground.com.
Artist Statement
As a young woman in the 21st century, I hear directly about protests for women’s rights, such as the Me Too movement from popular news channels. For instance, the red cloaks and white bonnets from Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale have become a powerful symbol of the fight for reproductive rights and abortion. In March 2017, Texan activists donned the handmaiden garb to protest against anti-abortion legislation in the Texas State Capitol building. The costume did not stay confined to the United States, as protesters were observed in the dress in Ireland, Argentina, and Buenos Aires. There was a time when I excitedly learned that some friends posed with the handmaiden cloaks for a journalist. I did not have an experience with a must to get an abortion, but I was the witness to an unhealthy relationship, where a close friend was pressured by an ex-boyfriend to have his baby after receiving an abortion, and treated like a child, rather than her age. Angered, I realized and continued to discover patriarchal othering and fetishization of the woman’s body. As a result, I experiment with drawing from personal experiences and retaining an objective, but charged point of view in my work.
“What is Woman?” This is a question pondered by male, white philosophers and radical feminists, but ultimately serves no purpose, as gender norms, masculinity and femininity are always changing and overlapping, according to feminist Simone Beauvoir. As gender is transforming into a nonstructural, nonconforming dynamic, women’s rights and agency over their bodies grant them power. I seek to document this power, combined with juxtaposing acts of violence that ironically shine a provocative light. Therefore, these nameless women, whose forms exist through red and brown, moist, rough textures, are displayed like marred butterflies pinned to a board. However, these women do not shrink under their own withering weight or under the abuse they have suffered, such as the hard soles of a boot; rather, they dominate those marks. I do not want to glorify the violence (domestic/cultural (i.e, honor killings)) that women have faced, but display prominent representations or parodies of those occurrences, as a form of deterrence. To prevent glorification, I use barbie dolls, symbols of archaic ideals of innocence and beauty, as vessels of this desired deterrence to behold a “spectacle” of persisting issues, such as sexual assault, domestic violence and trauma resulting from a violation of emotional and physical boundaries.
Publications (in progress)
CV
EDUCATION
2020-2023 Bard College, Bachelor's Degree in Studio Arts
2015- 2019 Bard College Berlin
2022 Making Art About Death, Morbid Anatomy
Used specific art forms to “talk” about death, such as Bookmaking, writing, assemblage, social performance, and drawing
2021- Present Printshop Monitor, Bard College
Made certain that the print shop was clean and functional
2018- 2019 Mentor Linc Intern, Lincoln Center
Conducted phone survey targeting parents of Mentor-Linc students to evaluate the program in department annual reports
Provided administrative support for the Community Engagement Department for the Art Boot Camp program
AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS
FVL Grant (Bard College) Winner (2022)
Visual Artwork published on Fictional Cafe, June 2022
Photography published on Wrongdoing Magazine, Spring Issue, 2022
Visual Artwork published on Wrongdoing Magazine, Thorns Issue, Fall 2021
Photography portfolio featured on bardhausberlin.wixsite.com/bardhaus
Career and Technical Education Diploma (Digital Art & Design)
Advanced Regents Diploma
American Red Cross Certificate
ARISTA
2017 Haney Award, Metropolitan Museum of Art, School Art League
High School Law Institute
SKILLS
Technical: Writing, HTML, CSS, Javascript, Microsoft, Powerpoint, Photoshop CS6, Illustrator, InDesign
Experience with painting, collage, sculpting, photography, intaglio printmaking