I had a surprise email recently from a woman who came upon this blog and asked me to pass on her request for interviews with older women who live in New York City. Her project really spoke to me, because one of the areas of aging I feel I haven't discussed enough is changes in our bodies as we age. I am excited about her topic and fascinated by her approach.
Read about the project first, below, then check out the additional comments at the end of the post. If you are interested in participating or know someone who might be, I have included contact information at the end of the description. I'd also love to see your comments about this whole subject.
Aging Gracefully
Aging Gracefully is a proposed installation-video piece that walks the viewer
through the stories of five to ten older women who reside in New York City. The
piece will explore both the physical and emotional experience of aging, and
through this, questions surrounding loss, mortality and the endurance of life.
Bringing together the stories of women from diverse backgrounds and communities in the city, Aging Gracefully will chronicle the life of each woman, specifically her personal journey with her body. The piece will also explore the role specific communities and cultures have played in shaping a woman’s body image over a li
I will be looking for
stories that illustrate the struggle both to transcend the body and realize its
limitations. When a viewer walks into the room, there will be no sound, only
floor-to-ceiling images projected against the walls of women walking slowly
across the wall or standing still in the frame, either nude or barely clothed.
All of these projections will be strong, commanding images of women. I want the
viewer to both feel reverence and a sense of immediacy when entering the room.
I want the viewer to feel the depth and beauty of aging, as well as the gravity
and vulnerability of what we all will eventually face.
For the installation,
5 LCD monitors will be set-up in the studio. On each screen there will be short
documentaries following the life of each woman chosen for the project. Each
documentary-short will be interwoven with portraits of the woman’s daily life.
The individual LCD screens will make each woman’s story an intimate
conversation between the viewer and the subject.
Too often, the elderly and the body are taboo subjects in our society. Young
women are given clear definitions of what it means to be beautiful in a young
body, and are given implements to stay young, artificially and otherwise. But
no one discusses what it means to grow old, to embrace an aging body. No woman
is given directions on how to age gracefully.
With this piece, I hope to open up a space for
dialogue between young and elderly women about the process of aging and
embracing our lives as women, in the bodies we're given.
Lauren Calhoun email: noelani@rocketmail.com
phone: 1- 646-248-8822.
I asked Lauren to clarify a few points; here are her edited answers:
I am not looking for women with body image
problems, although that is an issue which was inspiration for this
piece on a personal level. If a woman did have an issue with her body
growing up, that is an issue she can broach, or can choose not to. It is not
the focus of the piece.
I really want to talk to women about the
perception of their body over a lifetime. Has it changed? How? Does aging shed
light on any other areas of their life? What advice would they give to younger
women about their body and their self image? How can we shape a positive
image of women over a lifetime? Should we--or how should we--re-examine
aging as a culture?
I don't think there are ready answers to these questions, but I'd like to
explore them.
My focus is not on whether a woman will go nude for the piece- I am more concerned
about the individual stories collected for the piece. If she does
not want to go nude, that is completely up to her and fine with me. But, a woman will have to be comfortable with the fact that her story is part of
a larger piece that does contain nudity. I think it is an important facet
of the piece.
The reason the nude images of women displayed are important
to me is that I want women to take back the concept of "beautiful"
that the mass media has co-opted. I think these semi-nude/nude portraits
will be beautiful and will be a very strong message for both younger and older
women: women do not have to hide their body at any age. Lighting and the
placement the camera will be kind, and each woman who allows me to film her
portrait will have a final say in the matter of whether or not to use the
footage. I want any woman who decides to be nude to be completely
comfortable in doing so.
Interested? Contact Lauren. Leave questions and comments here.
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