PHENOMENAL WOMEN
Bleed Exhibit 01
PORTRAITS
of women alone.
This ongoing series of video portraits taken in the studio of various women, raw and without direction. I set up a camera, placed the women in front, and then left them alone for three minutes. In those three minutes of solitary silence, the camera captured what ever raw emotion that came up for them. A personal moment of silence to show the depth of who they are.
I was inspired by Maya Angelou’s poem “Phenomenal Women”. The video was displayed in a quite room with four screens playing the portraits at alternate timings so that you’d be surrounded by these faces while listening to the words of the poet (see below).
Also, a special “thank you” to each of the women that have participated in this series. If you’d like to add your portrait, contact me here. I’d be honored to add you.
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them,
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
-Maya Angelou