Artist’s Statement from 1982:
“The Family of Appliances You Can Believe In” has developed from an obviously feminine perspective. stemming from the personal conflicts within a woman’s role today, these appliances are metaphors of Society’s expectations and current transitions. Our modern society increasingly covets these consumer items as symbols of social status. Ignoring the burden or inconvenience of their mere presence, advertising intoxicates us with the suggestion that they will make our lives easier and more worthwhile. While appreciated for their aesthetic dimensions my appliances should be evaluated for their uniquely altered views of our physical and social environment. These tensions are the focus of my work.
Buns in the Oven
Originally videotaped in 1982, this video captures artist Harriete Estel Berman describing the function and meaning behind her appliance sculptures.
These sculptures were fabricated from sheet and wire to look like manufactured domestic appliances as a social commentary about the roles of women in society. They are not found objects.
At the time it was a very radical approach to paint and plate traditional metalwork - literally sacrilege in the world of metalsmithing. Hand fabrication of manufactured appliances was a commentary about the value and seduction of consumer goods in our society.
While the video doesn't exactly measure up to the standards of video today, I hope you'll enjoy this time travel. It was originally video-taped at a solo exhibition of my work in 1982 at the California Crafts Museum. The video each time is one "take". So while the series is similar, each time is slightly different. There are several versions if you keep watching.
Artist Statement from 1983:
“The Family of Appliances You Can Believe In” has developed from an obviously feminine perspective. Partially autobiographical, they express the prevailing conflict between a woman’s adult professional expectations and her idealized childhood fantasies. Although the titles suggest specific interpretations, each piece actually contains a multi-leveled dialog.
As recreations of household appliances catering to middle-class symbols of social status, their meticulous craftsmanship, and precious materials emphasize the exaggerate the allure of consumerism. I addition to their formal qualities, the appliances offer uniquely altered views of our physical and cultural environment. As metaphors of society’s expectations and current transitions, they are, “satirical icons of a highly political nature, pertinent to both sexes in a society of multiple seductions.”
*Collin Gardner, Review of Harriete Estel Berman at ARCO Center for Visual Art, Images and Issues (June/ July 1983, p.60. )
