{"id":3437,"date":"2020-04-28T12:15:01","date_gmt":"2020-04-28T19:15:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogschapman.wpenginepowered.com\/collections\/2020\/04\/28\/micol-hebron\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T06:13:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T06:13:22","slug":"micol-hebron","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/collections\/2020\/04\/28\/micol-hebron\/","title":{"rendered":"Micol Hebron"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Escalette Collection is proud to announce the addition of three new pieces to our collection, by performance artist and Chapman professor, Micol Hebron. She seeks to challenge the way female-presenting bodies are viewed by society, through performance art and photography, and for her viewers to consider women in art, and the imbalance between women as art subjects and women as artists.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Micol Hebron, Domestic<\/em>, Archival inkjet print, 2016. Purchased with funds from the Ellingson Family.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Domestic<\/em> and Commute<\/em> are part of a series called \u201c(In) Decent Exposure,\u201d in which Hebron uses her body as the medium, and in which she is \u201cnude in public or semi-public places, doing very banal, everyday things \u2013 things that are not<\/em> sexy,\u201d such as watering her lawn or driving. She challenges the concept of private spaces, like a car or front lawn, where one is still able to be viewed by others in the outer public sphere. Is the nude body still inappropriate if it\u2019s occupying a private space, where the person is not able to control who views them and how? Hebron also questions the way female-presenting bodies are seen as sexual objects, regardless of the task the body is performing, such as lawn watering. She wants to get to a point where the naked body is not viewed as sexual or inappropriate, but merely as a body, as well as equality and autonomy for all bodies, no matter what they present as.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Micol Hebron, Commute<\/em>, Archival inkjet print, 2016. Purchased with funds from the Ellingson Family.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hebron is also aware of the humor her works express. \u201cI think the idea of driving along the LA freeways without my top on, or of watering my lawn nude is pretty funny (World Naked Gardening Day is May 2nd by the way!). For me these poses are related to the familiar fantasy fear of showing up to work or class naked.\u201d The photos were taken outside of Hebron\u2019s L.A. home and were shot by professional photographer Alex Aristei, who has photographed many of her works. Domestic<\/em> was also inspired by photographs taken by Larry Sultan of life in the San Fernando Valley, several of which depict women watering their lawns with a hose.<\/p>\n

Cabarary: Observatory Venus at the Lover\u2019s Hour<\/em> is part of another series in which Hebron combines and recreates\u00a0 notable works from art history. This piece combines Alexandre Cabanel\u2019s Birth of Venus <\/em>and a photograph by Man Ray of a nude woman laying underneath his work Observatory Time: The Lovers<\/em>. Hebron states that her works \u201cintentionally \u2018confuse\u2019 images and authorship, fusing two or more pieces that have formal similarities.\u201d Her inspiration for recreating famous works of art was born out of her art education background, creating an \u201cartistic, authorial identity crisis\u201d in the face of so many white male artists throughout art history.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Micol Hebron, Cabaray: Observatory Venus at the Lover’s Hour<\/em>, Archival inkjet print, 2010. Purchased with funds from the Ellingson Family.
This work will soon be on display in the Wilkinson College Dean’s Suite in Roosevelt Hall.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n