THE GROUPIE FEMINISM ART SERIES
The Groupie Feminism art series, gathered from the 1970s - 2024, and assembled 2004-2024:
Groupies emerged in the 1960s on the cusp of Second Wave feminism, as the avant-garde of the sexual revolution. They lived their lives as though they could equal rock stars in creative and sexual freedom. But corporate interests and the double standard impeded women's liberation, and groupies were often dismissed as playthings in the power ballad of rock 'n' roll history.
Groupies mirror feminism's struggle. The term itself signifies cultural difficulty with the emancipation of girls and women. As with so many terms that refer to girls and women, the word "groupie" began as a way to identify fans with the band but then turned into a sexual slur. That the word "groupie" became such a hotbed suggests the necessity for carefully considering the term, and the groupies.
The Groupie Feminism art series is a collection of assemblage artworks about groupies and feminism. It took twelve years from conception to completion. The main features of the assemblages include: a refreshing beverage; a car (model to scale); a casket (in miniature); a fan; a hotel (in miniature); a hotel room door; a jewelry box; love letters; a lunch box; a lunch tray (in miniature); a playlist; original perfume; a room service tray (in miniature); a school desk (in miniature); a school locker (in miniature); and a suitcase. Each assemblage includes various materials or media centering around those objects. The assemblages are listed below as clickable links so you can find out more about each art assemblage, including more images, and attributions with artist statements specific to each assemblage.
Beverage - “Riot Grrrl Special”
Car - “Gold Hearts and a Pink Cadillac”
Casket - “Everlasting Love”
Fan with Playlist - “Gold Fan”
Hotel - “Music Groupie Hotel”
Hotel room door - “Adore”
Jewelry box - “Rock ‘n’ Roll Groupie Jewelry Box”
Love letters - “Love Letters/In the Pocket”
Lunch box- “Naked Lunch Box”
Lunch tray - “Hot Lunch”
Mixtape - “Groupie Mixtape”
Perfume - “HeartStopper Perfume”
Room service tray - “Rock ‘n’ Roll Room Service”
School desk - “Music Groupie School Desk”
School locker - “Rock ‘n’ Roll Groupie School Locker”
Suitcase - “Groupie Suitcase”
The various materials and media include love letters, album covers, magazine and comic book covers, songs, glitter, heart-shaped confetti, chewing gum, cards, feathers, toy cars and toy motorcycles, tiaras, musical instrument magnets, jewelry, tarot cards, concert tickets, stickers, light gel, magazine layouts, a pencil, candles, music score paper, a coaster, sandwich paper, pastel lights, oil pastels, gift bags, sticky paper, a spindle, a library card, sugar, doilies, velvet, a sex detector, guitar pic, rose petals, cash, matches, guitar strings, a cootie catcher, rhinestones, blood, saliva, tears, hair, whiskers, perfume, toy food, pretend cassettes, pretend 45s and 33 1/3 record albums, an actual cassette and an actual 8-track tape, a toy record player, toiletries, laxatives, essential oils, clothing, patches, make-up, skin care, fabric flowers, writing paper from hotels, stamps, original lyrics and a book proposal by SuperGroupies, SuperGroupie business cards, mint, lime, cherries, crushed ice, tonic water, and various wrappers for candy and champagne.
Groupies mirror feminism's struggle, but also its insistence. The word "groupie" is emblematic of the feminist impulse, and also the cultural difficulty accepting girls and women as equals to boys and men, with all the freedoms that equality embraces.
When we perceive the multi-dimensionality of groupies, and allow the wonderful space of understanding ardent fans as creative equals and partners to those they love, then "groupie" will not be an insult anymore.
The more evolved people become about women being equals to men, and the more we all accept the sexuality of women as normal and healthy, then the more groupies will be understood as ardent fans (and not derided or dismissed as frivolous playthings). Similarly, the more we understand devotion as strength, and learn to respect vulnerability and love, then the less we will exploit those magnificent traits in any gender.
The devotion a fan can feel to music and its makers is wild and tender. It's invisible, like music, and carries itself like a celebration, or a declamation, also like music.
The term "groupie feminism" signifies to me a devotion to music that can create its own art, for example, when music gets me out of despair and into making my own art. I don't know what I'd do without music. I don't know what I'd do without feminism. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't find ways to make productive and creative meaning in my life. And so I have created the Groupie Feminism art series.
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