Someone Will Remember Us

Display Explanation:

The installation will be displayed in a rectangular room that is dark with blank walls and floors to project the pieces on to. The room is roughly 30 feet wide and 20 feet long, with 10-foot-tall ceilings to multiply the sizes of the pieces. There are dividers on the left and right in the form of two walls joining together at a point, and a wall in the back left corner that creates a diagonal shape. The divider on the left is closer to the entrance that is off-center, creating a diagonal entrance to the first section. The divider on the right is closer to the back of the room. They are each 8 feet long. The paintings are projected floor-to-ceiling, with appropriate scenery projected on the floors, surrounding walls, and ceilings, as well as soft ambient noise appropriate to each scene. The imagery projected to set the scene blends into each other as each section meets. The goal is to have the viewer feel like they are in the painting, to give reality to the piece.
The first area is the Ligeia Siren scene, set with soft green foliage and views of the sea projected around and the sounds of waves, soft music, and distant wood creaking. There would be seating in the form of plain benches, with a stone texture projected onto it. The painting is projected at a size of 4.625 ft x 7.75 ft. The installation note would be projected on the adjacent wall to the left of the painting, made to look like a carving in a tree with a labrys leaning against it. Sappho and Erinna would be projected to a size of 7.5 ft x 6.45 ft. A worn stone path texture would be projected on the floor, and the walls surrounding the painting would have further foliage and stone structures. The sounds of birds singing, and the wind play softly. To the left of the piece, the installation note is displayed on the diagonal divider wall, made to look like withered parchment, not too dissimilar from the writings of Sappho left remaining today. To the right, on the corner diagonal, the poem ‘Glittering-Minded, deathless Aphrodite’ is projected in a similar manner. Violets surround both to frame them. The seating in this section has a stone texture like the one Sappho and Erinna are sitting on. Girlfriends would be in the center of the back wall, projected to a size of roughly 10 ft x 10 ft. The installation note, unlike the others, is on a physical stand of an inverted square pyramid that has a gradient of black to pink, the same shade as the background of the piece, with green carnations, lavender, and peacock feathers snaking up the sides. The pedestal serves as a not-so-subtle reference to the Nazi system of marking asocial and homosexual people in concentration camps, relevant to the history of the piece. A gradient of the lesbian pride flag using the color palette of the painting is projected on the surrounding walls, and the seating has a patchwork pattern like the one seen in the piece. Pink noise is played to create a liminal feeling like the one evoked in the painting.

Installation Note:

“Someone Will Remember Us” celebrates lesbianism for its inevitability and beauty. The women in the three paintings, though painted by rebellious men, represent the natural and historical basis of lesbianism without the fetishism often seen from male artists. Their personhood and sexuality are respected. Their passion, love, and sensuality are depicted without scorn or a leering eye.

Ligeia Siren by Dante Gabriel Rossetti depicts a Greek siren named Ligeia luring in men from the sea. Painted in 1873, Rossetti used his Pre-Raphaelite style to create the scene. She stands with her back to the water, looking nonchalantly into the distance, hinting at boredom regarding the men and her role, while a ship comes closer to land in the background. The ship, positioned over her shoulder, is a reminder of those men are watching her, yet it is small in the distance, like an afterthought. Also, positioned opposite of the ship, there is a darkening sky. Her expression suggests displeasure or resentment in her role. Her posture further contributes to this interpretation, as she looks like she is turning away from those men she appears disinterested in. They are lured in by her, interested in what she has to offer, but they will be disappointed. Ligeia appears strong in her solidarity, wielding her instrument like a weapon used against those sailors. The warm colors are inviting and comfortable, a soft atmosphere around her. This atmosphere is further compounded by the use of chalk, creating a hazy appearance. The eye is first directed to her chest, lead the eye up to her face and her expression, and then to the ship.

Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Mytilene, painted in 1864 by the gay Jewish artist Simeon Solomon, allows the audience to meet Sappho’s eyes as she sits with her lover and fellow poet, Erinna. Unlike Ligeia Siren, Sappho looks at us confidently while her lover clings to her. However, this is not a gaze inviting us to join. Erinna’s arm closes the pair off to us, keeping the moment private. The garden setting reinforces the feeling that the relationship is natural. The pair of doves in the background symbolizes that they are lovers, not just close friends. Considered the tenth muse, the deer represents Apollo, god of music and dance. However, the virginal Artemis was also associated with deer. The lyre in the lower righthand corner further reminds us that she is a celebrated artist, and the female statuette above symbolizes her queer poetry. Again, the color palette is warm and soft, creating a hazy and dreamy quality to the piece. The couple’s clothing complement each other, but this disparity in color palette reminds us that, while this is a piece depicting a couple, the focus is on Sappho. Erinna clings to her, leading our eyes to her. Sappho’s clothes are a deep rose, a pop of color in the left third of the piece. Her hand holds Erinna’s, establishing a dominance. The flowers are at her feet, the deer on her side. The artist, Solomon, became a queer icon in the late 19th century. He was deeply interested in Sappho, seen in the level of care and respect in the piece. The painting was also one of the first for Western galleries that depicted sapphic desire.

Gustav Klimt’s 1916-17 Girlfriends, or Two Women Friends, also sometimes called The Lesbians, shows a yin-yang relationship full of tender and soft affection. The couple leans into each other, their lines curving around each other to lead the eye up. The woman on the left is naked and flush, while the woman on the right is clothed in an loose robe. The complimentary relationship is clear with the use of symbolism. On the left, there symbols of regeneration, her nakedness then not for eroticism but for birth and rebirth. On the right, there are symbols of doom. Thus, the women meeting in the middle is like birth and death meeting. In that meeting and love, the forces of nature are created, making their relationship natural and powerful. Their power is compounded by their eye contact with us, kind yet dominating. The technique Klimt uses creates uncertainty as the foreground and background are the same. While they are both human, their love is a powerful force that extends beyond grounded realities. Continuing with the warm pink color palettes, this piece uses it to reinforce the affection the two women have for each other.

Rossetti, Dante Gabriel. Ligeia Siren. Private Collection. 1873. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dante_Gabriel_Rossetti#/media/File:Ligeia…. Accessed 13 Feb 2023.

Solomon, Simeon. Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Mytilene. Tate Britain. 1864. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sappho_and_Erinna_in_a_Garden_a…. Accessed 13 Feb 2023.

Klimt, Gustav. Girlfriends, or Two Women Friends. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gustav_Klimt_021.jpg. Accessed 29 Jan. 2022.