NEVIDLjIVO PRISUTNI: MAJKA I DETE U POST‑PARTUM DOCUMENT‑U MERI KELI

Abstract

By introducing woman, i.e. the notion of gender into the history of art and cultural studies, a battle for “women’s issues” has been won, and the theory of culture has put a focus on interpreting and discussing the complexity of identification (and representing) in contemporary conditions. The Post‑Partum Document (1973–1979) by Mary Kelly, an American artist, a multimedial, monumental and intimate installation which deals with the role and position of women in the society is one of the most important pieces of art created in the 1970s. It discusses motherhood as a universal theme, in a radically different way (based on theoretical and (pro)scientific approach), creating a unique narrative in the history of art that later served as a reference to many feminist‑oriented authors. Concise and not overly “feminine”, Kelly speaks of a very ordinary topic such as the daily experience of a woman‑artist‑mother obliged to take care of the housekeeping. In an effort to explore gender differences and articulate “femininity” as a discourse, avoiding further interpretations, Mary Kelly makes her and her infant’s body unseen, and yet very existent through the installation. She talks indirectly about her six‑year experience of child‑raising, through the artifacts collected during her son’s growing up, her notes and memories, as well as the analytical texts set in parallel with the collected artifacts, by further complicating their meanings and setting ground for a linguistic play.