THE ORIGINAL FIG
For PSU Open Studios, Gilian Rappaport worked closely with her neighbor Linda Rossi, Portland-based performance artist urks io, and English professor Katie Gemmil, as well as members of the art school community to explore the complexities of narratives surrounding the bulbous fruit of the fig in a country that is increasingly misogynistic and transphobic. The multi-sensory installation featured hanging plaster figs poured from a single original fig floating over a room filled with fig leaves collected from the same tree, mirrors, fig syrup made from the same fruits, and a series of deep purple robes that match the color of ripe fig skins, inviting sensory and playful participation for visitors.
Gilian Rappaport with contributions from Linda Rossi, urks io [they/them], and Katie GemmillPhotos by Harvee BirdVideos by Shelbie LoomisParticipants: School of Art & Design, Portland State UniversityDecember 1, 2022~ In a classroom in the School of Art & Design during Open Studios::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
In a classroom at the School of Art + Design at PSU
December 1, 2022
The Original Fig
During Open Studios
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Fig-pink robes were provided by {Portland-based performance artist urks.io. They were thrifted from a church in Northeast Portland.
MAKING THE FIGS
Gilian poured and painted the eight hanging plaster figs by hand. They made a silicon mold of an actual fig that they harvested from a tree in their backyard. They then hung the figs at the same height and width distance that the figs hung in the tree where the original fig was harvested. The original fig is still drying now, in Gilian’s home.
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For PSU Open Studios, Gilian Rappaport worked closely with her neighbor Linda Rossi, Portland-based performance artist urks io, and English professor Katie Gemmil, as well as members of the art school community to explore the complexities of narratives surrounding the bulbous fruit of the fig in a country that is increasingly misogynistic and transphobic. The multi-sensory installation featured hanging plaster figs poured from a single original fig floating over a room filled with fig leaves collected from the same tree, mirrors, fig syrup made from the same fruits, and a series of deep purple robes that match the color of ripe fig skins, inviting sensory and playful participation for visitors.
During the installation, a series of performance scores written by Gilian with urks io invited the participants to create a sculpture out of the materials in the room, taste the fig, and walk around the room robed in unison.
Upon entering the space, one trans woman visitor proclaimed, without reading any context, that it appeared we were stomping on shame in the Garden of Eden.
Gilian Rappaport with contributions from Linda Rossi, urks io [they/them], and Katie Gemmill.
Photo documentation by Harvee Bird
Special thanks to Corey Knoblach, Stanley Carpenter, Hannah Rosenfeld, Rachel Traub,
Adrian Wilton, Erik Greshke, Alison Heryear, Adrian Ruth Williams, and Harrell Fletcher.
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Gilian Rappaport with contributions from Linda Rossi, urks io [they/them], and Katie Gemmill
Photos by Harvee Bird
Videos by Shelbie Loomis
Participants:
School of Art & Design, Portland State University
2022
~ In a classroom in the School of Art & Design during Open Studios