Untitled (It has always been my motto...), 2008. Ink jet print from flatbed scanner, 30 x 60 in. Courtesy the artist.
Last year, Ava Hassinger collected over 50 pairs of used panties from friends and family as part of her project, Stories of She. Contributors (women only) to this ongoing body of work are instructed to include a true story or list of associated memories in their own handwriting. Upon receipt of both items, Hassinger, in an attempt to further "uncover the essence of the objects," mounts them onto a flatbed scanner to create large-scale digital images. In scanning the intimates, Hassinger seeks to transform years of use and memory into a readable picture -- everything is right there on the surface. The prints are exhibited side by side to resemble pages from a book.
Trained in photography, Hassinger began working with flatbed scanners after finding clothing from her childhood -- tattered dresses, snowboots, washcloths, holey sweaters and some of her old underwear -- tucked away in her mother’s closet. (Ava is the daughter of sculptor Maren Hassinger and screenwriter Peter Hassinger). With Stories of She, Hassinger asks: Why do we hold on to objects after they have lost all function and use? What histories do we create through our relationship with inanimate objects? How do cycles and experiences of womanhood manifest in our underwear?
Below, I chat with Hassinger over tea and sweets (she had a fruit tart) at Fabian's Cafe and Pastry in Brooklyn.
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Contemporary Confections: What was the impetus behind Stories of She?Ava Hassinger: I’m really into found objects and books. I studied [for a while] at the University of Havana in Cuba, and while I was there the library was throwing out old catalogs from the 1950s. I found some old ink drawings and started scanning them and then fiddling around with the color, reappropriating and abstracting them ... My ideas about memory and what people hold on to began with flatbed scans of books that my parents owned. On the book pages I inserted tales or objects that I thought were representative of my parents -- glasses, typewriter, palm trees and old pictures of them -- things that represented their life together ... Later, I started asking my friends and family if they had underwear that represented something to them or had a certain memory attached. I asked each person to give me a pair and hand-write a note about the related experience, or a little anecdote. Most of the women were my age, but a few were older. One person mailed me their underwear; that was great. I don’t know what to do with all of them [now]. I don’t want to give them back or throw them out. I think underwear are important objects in women's lives. We use them to feel sexy, clean, and in other ways.
CC: Why a flatbed scanner as opposed to a camera?
AH: Besides the fact that I think they look better scanned, I always like to find new ways to make images -- this was an experiment. But I think it looks pretty damn good, even better than what a camera can do. Scanning the underwear allowed for even, consistent depth and light. The scanner also let me preview the object, so I could arrange and orient it carefully yet quickly. I also wanted to play with scale.
CC: Where do you keep these underwear now? You say that you're interested in the things that people hold on to and hoard. Do you think you've become, in a sense, a hoarder of women's underwear with this project?
Untitled (The summer between my freshman and sophomore years in high school...), 2008. Ink jet print from flatbed scanner, 30 x 60 in. Courtesy the artist.
... I really admire Sophie Calle and Ghada Amer [especially] for their combination of narrative and image. When I started working on my thesis at New York University, someone in a class said that I should look up Calle. So, I took out a few books from the library and became obsessed, especially with her books Exquisite Pain and Take Care of Yourself. Her text and images are so powerful and emotional. I thought it was similar to the work I was trying to and want to do.
Untitled (I recently came out to my mom...), 2008. Ink Jet Print from Flat-Bed Scanner, 30 x 60 in. Courtesy the artist.
I think about these women artists and I think about my work. I never intended on being controversial, but I did get a kick out of shocking people with dirty bloody underwear five times their normal size. I like creating a reaction, whether its disgust or sadness, nostalgia or anger. When I showed these at my [alma mater], one of my former professors asked, "Don't you think you're objectifying these women?" I was like “What? That’s not what I’m doing.” It really upset me, but she was coming from a different perspective of feminism. In the end, they're just underwear and we all have them.
Fabian's Cafe and Pastry (Williamsburg), Brooklyn, NY. Photo: N. Caruth.
CC: How was the fruit tart? AH: It was good. The bread a little dry, but the fruit was delicious!
