Conceptual artist, feminist, educator and writer. Kelly, born 1942 in iowa, is recognised for her rich contributions towards the artistic exploration of feminism and postmodernism.

• 

• 

One of her most notable works is “Post-Partum Document” in which she creates a documentation of the relationship and shared experience between her and her child for their first 6 years since birth. It came at a time where artists were starting to explore what it means to be a women in contemporary art by reclaiming their bodies through performance or learning about and drawing attention to previously ignored women. Kelly wanted to look at the often hidden experience of day to day when bringing up a child. She does this in a variety of different ways, using associated materials like nappies and clothes, writing in depth analysis of interactions, collecting drawings and writings from him. She also explored the transitions she went through in relation to the child’s experience by documenting her internal thoughts and how she adapts alongside the birth and growth of the child.

This documentation creates a narrative over a period of a mother’s life that isn’t often seen from the outside. Unlike most other artworks, there is a story built up over time that cant be undone or rubbed out because the subject is her son; everything that he experiences will create him as a person, being able to study this in detail is something that is very rare. You can see from her writing that she is figuring things out for herself as she goes along whilst also experiencing the judgement and opinions of others. The use of dirty nappies in her work is something that changed the level of exposure to motherhood that art critics had seen previously, the shock factor perhaps was key in forming a space to discuss mother and child in depth.

Im really interested in kellys use of material, collecting bits of evidence from this relationship and altering it to sum up an interaction and key moment. I think i have started doing this in my own work by selecting important imagery that sparks a vivid memory or association. i also think that fact that its a large series of work is important to the fact that she is telling a story; it is hard to sum up something of that significance with one work. i can see this is perhaps true for my work too, it will help to explore ways in which i can create a narrative that acknowledges the many moving parts of a mother daughter relationship.