Wk 5 - AOTW : Nadezhda Tolokonnikova
About Artist
Nadezhda was born in Russia on November 7th, 1989. She also goes by Nadya Tolokno, getting her education at Moscow State University. She is a Russian conceptual artist and political activist. She is also the member of the anti-Putinist rock group called "Pussy Riot". On August 17, 2012, she was convicted of hooliganism by the government. She was arrested by the government multiple times, recognized as a political prisoner by the human rights group called, "Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners." She also plays in movies and music videos that have political satire in them.
Formal Analysis
Nadya uses lots of the same phrase in her works, “No Riot•No Pussy”. She uses all the quotes in her works, using giving subtitles to provide more info and impact of her work. Some bring up female power, so fighting for females all over. She also flips off her pictures, just like Ai Weiwei, using her middle finger towards someone or something. Lots of her works also include masks, some sort of face masks on her, full or just covers her eyes, it Is a common thing brought up. She also uses clothes in her works, like her shirt saying ‘Woman’ or something along those lines, creating a statement by the simplicity of the clothes.
Content Analysis
Nadya seems to be a lot like Ai Weiwei, they both have a strong resentment towards the government, using their work against them. They get arrested from their works, going to jail and dealing a lot with the authorities. She flips off her works, using her middle finger as symbolism to the government, basically showing her thoughts about it. Her clothing and quotes bring lots of feminist ideas up, perhaps believing and spreading the ideas of feminism. Her works seem simple, but deep down they have lots of different meanings that pertain to the government and female power.
My Experience
I think Nadya is very pretty, she is capable of getting more social media if she could. I feel she is going about it wrong, to get arrested by the government just makes her look bad and puts a bad record for her. I think if she wants to spread her beliefs and ideas, it is best to do it legally, so she could spread her ideas rather than being stuck in jail unable to get the word out. Her pictures are very thought-provoking and it makes me think, but I don’t seem to like her work much it is not my type. She seems to be taking it the wrong way and it making herself look bad every time she gets arrested.