Holly Hughes (performance artist)
Encyclopedia
Holly Hughes is an American lesbian performance artist. She began as a feminist painter in New York but is best known for her connection with the NEA Four
, with whom she was denied funding from the National Endowment for the Arts
, and for her work with the Women's One World Cafe. Her plays explore sexuality, body images and the female mind. She is the recipient of several awards including the Lambda Book Award and an Obie Award
. She teaches fine arts at the University of Michigan School of Art & Design
.
, Hughes graduated from Kalamazoo College
in 1977 and moved to New York City
two years later to become a feminist painter. She worked as a waitress to support herself but felt unfulfilled, later writing: "Why had I moved to New York City to live in an even crummier apartment and do the same things that I was doing in Kalamazoo?" She saw a poster promoting a "Double X-rated Christmas party" to be held in the basement of a Catholic church. There she found lesbian women stripping, kissing booths, and a highly sexual atmosphere. She eagerly attended many such parties, became involved with the group and began doing theater with them because "that's what they were doing". Hughes' first performance at the Women's One World Cafe (Wow Cafe) in the early 1980s was a piece called "My Life as a Glamour Don't", about various fashion mistakes. She followed this up with "Shrimp in a Basket" and then her breakthrough Well of Horniness (1983). At the WOW Cafe, Hughes felt that she was able to "tell the stories she so desperately wanted to be told as a child."
Hughes wrote, directed and performed in Dress Suits to Hire (1989). Focusing on the subjects of sexuality, masturbation and Jesus, her plays usually explore issues that she confronted as a young woman in college. In 1990 Hughes earned national attention as one of the so-called NEA Four
, artists whose funding from the National Endowment for the Arts
("NEA") was vetoed. She addresses the NEA conrtoversy in her play Clit Notes.
In 1996, Hughes released perhaps her most famous and influential performances: Clit Notes. Much of this work can be viewed as autobiographical. In Clit Notes, Hughes performs several roles: herself at different ages, her mother, and various lovers that she has had. This is Hughes' way of showing that her life and her art are one in the same and exist in a symbiotic relationship. Her writing is a way for Hughes' to explore herself and to understand the events that have shaped her life, often using her writing to escape from elements that she perceives as repressive. She started her career as a performance artist in O Solo Homo (1998). It has been argued that she is influenced by Sam Shepard
.
Hughes works as an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan School of Art & Design
. In 2010, she received a Guggenheim Fellowship.
NEA Four
The "NEA Four", Karen Finley, Tim Miller, John Fleck, and Holly Hughes, were performance artists whose proposed grants from the United States government's National Endowment for the Arts were vetoed by John Frohnmayer in June 1990. Grants were overtly vetoed on the basis of subject matter after...
, with whom she was denied funding from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
, and for her work with the Women's One World Cafe. Her plays explore sexuality, body images and the female mind. She is the recipient of several awards including the Lambda Book Award and an Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
. She teaches fine arts at the University of Michigan School of Art & Design
University of Michigan School of Art & Design
The University of Michigan School of Art & Design , located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, offers graduate and undergraduate degrees in art and design. Established as an independent unit in 1974, A&D is one of 19 schools and colleges at the University of Michigan...
.
Biography
Born in Saginaw, MichiganSaginaw, Michigan
Saginaw is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw was once a thriving lumber town and manufacturing center. Saginaw and Saginaw County lie in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of Michigan...
, Hughes graduated from Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo College, also known as K College or simply K, is a private liberal arts college in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1833, the college is among the 100 oldest in the country. Today, it produces more Peace Corps volunteers per capita than any other U.S...
in 1977 and moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
two years later to become a feminist painter. She worked as a waitress to support herself but felt unfulfilled, later writing: "Why had I moved to New York City to live in an even crummier apartment and do the same things that I was doing in Kalamazoo?" She saw a poster promoting a "Double X-rated Christmas party" to be held in the basement of a Catholic church. There she found lesbian women stripping, kissing booths, and a highly sexual atmosphere. She eagerly attended many such parties, became involved with the group and began doing theater with them because "that's what they were doing". Hughes' first performance at the Women's One World Cafe (Wow Cafe) in the early 1980s was a piece called "My Life as a Glamour Don't", about various fashion mistakes. She followed this up with "Shrimp in a Basket" and then her breakthrough Well of Horniness (1983). At the WOW Cafe, Hughes felt that she was able to "tell the stories she so desperately wanted to be told as a child."
Hughes wrote, directed and performed in Dress Suits to Hire (1989). Focusing on the subjects of sexuality, masturbation and Jesus, her plays usually explore issues that she confronted as a young woman in college. In 1990 Hughes earned national attention as one of the so-called NEA Four
NEA Four
The "NEA Four", Karen Finley, Tim Miller, John Fleck, and Holly Hughes, were performance artists whose proposed grants from the United States government's National Endowment for the Arts were vetoed by John Frohnmayer in June 1990. Grants were overtly vetoed on the basis of subject matter after...
, artists whose funding from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
("NEA") was vetoed. She addresses the NEA conrtoversy in her play Clit Notes.
In 1996, Hughes released perhaps her most famous and influential performances: Clit Notes. Much of this work can be viewed as autobiographical. In Clit Notes, Hughes performs several roles: herself at different ages, her mother, and various lovers that she has had. This is Hughes' way of showing that her life and her art are one in the same and exist in a symbiotic relationship. Her writing is a way for Hughes' to explore herself and to understand the events that have shaped her life, often using her writing to escape from elements that she perceives as repressive. She started her career as a performance artist in O Solo Homo (1998). It has been argued that she is influenced by Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child...
.
Hughes works as an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan School of Art & Design
University of Michigan School of Art & Design
The University of Michigan School of Art & Design , located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, offers graduate and undergraduate degrees in art and design. Established as an independent unit in 1974, A&D is one of 19 schools and colleges at the University of Michigan...
. In 2010, she received a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Further reading
- Gilson-Ellis, Jools. "New women performance writers; Rose English and Holly Hughes." Journal of Gender Studies 5.2 (1996): 201. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 18 Oct. 2011.