Tracey Emin: Only God Knows I’m Good

To the man at the opening with the fancy camera and the mike (and a pretty girl acting as his mike stand): I know calling Tracey Emin’s work “pussy-centric” seems like a wittily caustic comment, but your inability to look beyond the pussy was more irritating than a fresh outbreak of herpes.

Sure, there are a lot of vaginae in “Only God Knows I’m Good” but like the eyes for a more romantic (naive) character, they are the windows to the soul that she bares to you, albeit spread eagle. The show consists of mostly monographs and embroideries, as well as a few pieces in neon and deals primarily with thoughts of lust, desire and love, and the awkward confusion they often have between them. Issues of fantasy vs. reality and the hanging responsibility of “being good” also loom above.

This is literally the case with “Those Who Suffer Love,” where enclosed in a private room, a rough and harried looped animation of female masturbation is projected on the wall while neon lights hang high above proclaiming the show’s title. A shy memory of private, prepubescent self-discovery may be initially referenced, but this is much more carnal, and far less curious. Is this desperate reach for pleasure the flipside of the strong independent woman? Why does the pursuit of pleasure have to feel so depraved? And who is it making me feel so bad?

As with all of Tracey Emin’s work, it is a mix of voyeurism and sincerity. The challenge is to stop staring enough to appreciate the message itself.

The use of embroidery is especially wonderful. There are the obvious and already discussed points of embroidery as a female craft, rooted in frivolousness. But the use of black thread, as with “Totally Engaged” and “No More Mirror” (both 2009), emphasizes the hair of the real human body.

(Am I the only one who associates bad one night stands with finding another person’s hair in one’s mouth the day after?…Anyone?)

One oddity though was how consistently sell-able these works were. Large scale and easy to hang, it was clear that these were made to sell. If I had a fireplace, these works would look great above it. Coming after her 20 year retrospective, it was a departure from the more jarring installations, mixed media and applique projects that brought her international fame. But hey, let’s not be naive here and pretend that the art world isn’t hurting. And as an original member of the YBA, making money is somewhat of a specialty, if not the talent itself.

*Image from ArtNet: Tracey Emin, "Totally Engaged" 2009 (May or may not have been in the show?)

Link to the show: http://www.lehmannmaupin.com/#/exhibitions/2009-11-05_tracey-emin/