Jennifer Montgomery

After viewing 3 selections of Jennifer Montgomery's work I came away a bit upset and confused. While most of her work is at least somewhat inspiring and unique I fealt as if she resorted to a very untasteful from of audience shock for absolutely no reason; it was if she has an allusion that a form of pornographic urination was a proper art. As a viewer I lost most of the respect I had garnered for her at that point. I kept asking what makes this a highly acclaimed artist and piece of art when thousands of videos with similar content could be found on internet porn sites. Shock factor may work for Marilyn Manson because that is what his whole career is based off of but when attempted by Montgomery it fails, at least in my personal opinion. I can see how these images would invoke strong emotion but it doesn't seem necessary for such an accomplished artist. To contradict my position Karl Soehnlein of the Village Voice is quoted of stating that Montgomery's work, "Defines a lesbian identity thats playful, aggressive and unshamedly erotic." Though my appreciation for Montgomery and her work was somewhat lost with a couple of her choices the videos and films screened still conveyed an impressive insight inot themes of alienation, community, and transgressive/pack behavior. Having seen most of her film Art for Teachers of Children(1995) I am aware that she is capable of poignant and stunning work. That film is an example of great cinematic emotion and camerawork. The evocative realtionship of a 14 year-old student and a married photographer is explored in a film which holds its content very close to Jennifer's own life. The film is a great depiction of realsim through independent cinema and something that provokes more thought than any image designated for shock value could ever hope to achieve.