Every Man for Himself: The Man Box and Beyond Opens at the Lab
We love men. A lot. All of them. Well, maybe not Scott McClellan, or that guy who dumped us in the seventh grade, come to think of it, but most. So when we heard there was a show at the Lab about our favorite subject, we knew we had to get there and see what all the fuss was about.
The Man Box and Beyond was originally an idea born out of the Oakland Men’s Project as an exercise used to open up discussions about how gender roles are enforced in society and how notions of masculinity are often connected to violence. Men are asked to divulge the different messages they hear in the statement, “Act like a man.” Most often, this triggers painful memories of rejection, humiliation, abuse, lack of acceptance and powerlessness.
The “Man Box” is essentially the space men are trapped inside when confronted with male stereotypes, such as men are always strong, sure of themselves and dominant with no emotions. To be outside of this box, opens men up to being called pussies, wimps, losers and fags. And women think they have it bad. Being a man today must be very confusing (we see glimpses of this when we catch the boyfriend sneaking our moisturizer in the morning and looking both ashamed and defiant, with radiant skin no less).
The artists in this exhibition, all men, each take on what it means to be a man today in their own way, some with humor and some with unflinching realism.
SFist Shelly, contributing
IMAGE -- Shaun Leonardo, "Self-Portrait Superhero" 2005
One of our favorite pieces in the show is the audio installation, “Men Seeking” by Scott Kildall. We found ourselves in a darkened corner of the gallery listening to men leaving messages on a personals answering machine, attempting to describe themselves to potential dates. We were laughing out loud at a few poor souls who were tripping over their words and struggling to come up with reasons why someone, anyone, might be interested in them. “Because I’m funny, funny, funny!” exclaimed one. But then we realized that none of these men were confident with who they were, none of them knew how to express himself; each was awkwardly trying to convey some sense of self and failing miserably.
We emerged from the darkness to find ourselves confronted with Billy Berry’s “Chicken Stuffing,” another installation that is funny until you realize its underlying message. The piece consists of a chain-link fence enclosure filled with bop bags, the kind we had as a kid and enjoyed punching down to the ground pretending it was our little sister. Only these bags were emblazoned with an image of the quintessential geek (think the “Can you hear me now?” guy from Verizon Wireless ads). The meaning is quite literal, the man is a punching bag, a “chicken” locked in a cage, but it left us feeling sorry for all those geeks out there who got picked on in school because they were smarter and more sensitive than their same sex peers.
Much of the more serious work in the show centers around the theme of war, a very male-dominated pursuit, especially these days. The standout piece is undoubtedly Ehren Tool’s “Hand to Hand” installation of ceramic cups on the gallery’s back wall. Each handmade cup in the series has a photo transfer of something war-related. The images Tool chooses range from laughable to obscene and when placed side-by-side, culminate into an overwhelming critique of modern-day global conflict. We see images depicting women in highly sexualized poses with guns, Japanese children with deformities and semi-automatic rifles. Men are supposed to be good at war, they “consume” these images and are expected to buy in and have the desire to fight. But after spending time with this installation, we know that expectation is a sham and that no one in their right mind would want to participate in something so barbaric and appalling.
We spent a lot of time at the Lab digesting the work, the different voices, and feeling very depressed about the current state of manhood. Women are often outspoken about the stereotypes they face daily and have a long history of actively combating them since the Women’s Liberation movement began in the 60s. It seems as though men are now in the same boat the women were in 40 years ago. They can’t be strong, aggressive and tough all the time, not when they truly are vulnerable, silly, sweet, scared and sometimes lonely. We may still accuse our boyfriend of having a mangina when he tears up during the end of Million Dollar Baby, but next time instead of rolling our eyes, we’ll kindly hand him a tissue.
The Man Box and Beyond: An exhibit about masculinity and male identity
The Lab (2948 16th Street)
Gallery hours: Wed. – Sat., 1- 6 p.m.
Closing Reception, Artists Talk, and distribution of Ehren Tool’s work: Saturday, May 6, 5-7 p.m. Admission is free.