Emily Kame Kngwarreye
Kame Yam Awelye
Stop Saying I’m Not A Mom Just Because My Child Is A Dog
I love the internet. I love George Takei, and I love memes. I love sterile, impotent hashtag feminism. I love all of the popular opinions online and I hate all the things I’m supposed to hate. But, there’s a sentiment boiling up on social media these days that I simply cannot stand behind. More and more, I see people chiding pet lovers for encroaching on “real mom” territory. I see people expressing disdain for dog and cat owners that refer to their furry friends as children.
“You’re not a mom.”
“It’s just a dog, that’s not the same as being a parent.”
“Lady, that’s not your son and even if it were, you can’t breastfeed in here.”
People are desperate to point out that because your “child” is in fact a dog, it somehow de-legitimizes the responsibility and love involved in parenting. There’s a misconception that a human can’t love an animal as much as another loves their own child. But that’s bullshit, and I’ll tell you why: because in addition to my dog Rosco, I also have a human son, and to be honest with you, I prefer the dog.
When I come home from work, my son doesn’t run up and greet me, give me kisses and show me affection. In fact he’s rude and quiet, and he expects me to just unlock him from the basement and give him dinner. Somehow, Rosco, living in the same conditions and circumstances as my son, still understands what it means to be grateful and to show affection towards your master. My son, despite my punishments and lectures, refuses to ignore all of that.
When I give Rosco a bath, it’s incredibly fun. I get to lather him up and little bubbles come off his fur. I get to watch him run around the yard, nipping at them as if they were little butterflies. He always looks so confused when he bites down and it’s nothing but air! It’s the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen.
Bathing Mason, my son, on the other hand, is quite a struggle. Hosing him down in the garage almost makes me feel like a civil rights era policemen, and instead of fighting for equal rights, my son is fighting my demand that he cleans the gutters before I give him back his Nintendo DS. He’s protesting my decisions as a mother. Because he doesn’t have fur, there’s rarely any bubbles, and Mason is too old to appreciate or chase after bubbles anyways.
In many ways, I wish that I didn’t have a son at all, and that it was just me and the dog. I know you’re not supposed to say that, but it’s how I feel; and it’s how the dog feels too. That’s two people in this household against one; and last time I checked, that’s the literal definition of a democracy. If you disagree with that, you’re not an Australian. That’s not to say I don’t love my son and I don’t cherish him, I just don’t love him as much as my dog.
One of the hardest parts about being a parent is knowing that your children are going to die before you. Imagine how much worse it is when you know that your favorite child is going to die before the one that you’re sort of indifferent to. Rosco is a big dog. He’s got maybe four years left. I’ll be stuck with Mason for at least twice as long. It breaks my heart every day. But, I try to push those thoughts aside enjoy the little time I have left with my pup.
So don’t go around dictating the terms of parenthood. Don’t tell people they don’t know the joys of parenthood, the emotional connection of a provider-dependent relationship, and the pain of loss, just because they are a dog-mommy rather than a flesh-mommy. I love my dog more than my son, and I’m telling you without a doubt, if I had to choose between the two of them, I’d choose my REAL son – my dog.
- Nicole Mullen
the thoughts of a failing art history student
Reprise the Canon,
institutions are warping,
Ka-ching!
- Georgia Milford
Studying art history in a nutshell…
Emily Kame Kngwarreye
Kame Yam Awelye
Sanné Mestrom
Soft Kiss
Urethane rubber, plastic, timber, metal
151 × 60 × 70cm overall
Museum of Contemporary Art, purchased with funds provided by the MCA Foundation, 2016A construction of solid elements, that can be seen as pure materials which haven’t been tampered or modified. No abrasive colours attack the eyes, Sanné Mestrom has taken the soft from the title and trasnlated it onto the colour choices, the two head figures are of a similar cream shade which vary slightly in tone and almost stay close to the original plaster hue. Vanilla and caramel in an ice cream tub.
The way in which Mestrom has chosen to construct this jigsaw shaped artwork is in four parts moulded together, we see a platform, a hollowed out rectangular prism which acts as the pedestal for the skulls sitting above, judging by the material description the base is made of a solid metal, a silver and black stage for the performance occurring. Above are two human heads, interlocked in a still kiss with eyes closed and heads touching slightly. The plaster moulds are simple, the details don’t obstruct from the action in the sculpture as only the necessary features of the human face are included, a necklace on the taller head doesn’t signify it’s a female. The large eyes are over exaggerated as these large slits in the face cover the distance of the head, giving a goddess feature of idyllism, lust and beauty (??????). The Darker head sits lower than the lighter, supported by a black base which draws a lot of the viewer’s attention as this dark plastic block protrudes the otherwise softness of the sculpture. platforms for the short person.
There is a sensual and private factor which makes the spectator feel voyeuristic to this private view of a fragile kiss, their closed eyes not bothered by the surroundings. Although the two decapitated heads are engaged in an elegant action for the public’s viewing, there is a sense of disconnection and this is purely through the deconstructive element to the sculpture, the lips of the two plaster moulds aren’t conjoined, but have simply been forced by the artist, like two playing dolls, like making Barbie and Ken kiss, like… The hardness of the set plaster forbids the moulding of the lips, which contradicts the title as we see the spirit of a soft kiss but physically the two heads aren’t able to actually connect orally.
passionate or awkward?
- Vitriin 5000hp
Globular Star Cluster 47 Tucanae (NGC 104)
Casa Vicens: Gaudi’s First Building Opens To Public | Via
More than 130 years after it was built, the first building designed by Barcelona’s famed architect Antoni Gaudi opens to the public for the first time.
Casa Vicens was built as a summer home between 1883 and 1885 for Manuel Vicens i Montaner, a brick and tile factory manufacturer. Gaudi was 31 years old at that time and was just beginning his career. Throughout his graduation years at the Provincial School of Architecture in Barcelona, Gaudi’s work portrayed a rather Victorian style, similar to that of his predecessors. However, shortly after finishing school he began to develop his own style that was characterized by Neo-Mudéjar influence. Some characteristics of this style include the juxtaposition of geometric masses, the use of ceramic tiles, metalwork, and abstract brick ornamentation. Casa Vicens is one of the first buildings in the Art Nouveau style.
All these years, the house has served as a residence, having been converted into three apartments in the 1920s, then used as a single-family residence for almost a century. Then in 2014, the house was bought by MoraBanc, a prominent private family bank in Andorra, and after two years of renovation, the 19th century building was opened as a museum.
