The four acts of motherhood, according to Mexico City and London-based artist Adeline de Monseignat, follow the Earth’s elements. “Earth,” the seed of pregnancy, “fire,” the consuming nature of postpartum, “air,” skin-to-skin contact with the child after birth and “water,” breastfeeding.
These elements come to life in Monseignat’s newest book release, “Motherhood in Four Acts,” published on Oct. 7, featuring photographs of Monseignat’s sculpture pieces from exhibitions in Mexico and written excerpts, each element receiving its own chapter.
This month, UT’s public art program, Landmarks, showcased Monseignat’s 2016 video project, “In The Flesh.” On Oct. 20, Monseignat traveled from Mexico to Austin for her book release at First Light Books and to visit UT art classes.
Monseignat said the chapters represent the trimesters of pregnancy, noting that the first trimester of a baby’s life is often considered the “fourth trimester.”
“All in all, you have a whole year,” Monseignat said. “In that lapse of time, you have these four elements that interact with one another, feed one another and complement each other. It creates a whole journey and a whole cycle. It feels that after a whole year, the cycle is closed.”
Both Monseignat and Andrée Bober, Landmarks’ founding director and curator who wrote an essay for the book, said the release felt like giving birth all over again. Bober said Monseignat asked her to write an essay because she wanted a curator to write about matrescence, the act of becoming a mother, for the book.
“I drew on my personal experiences and familiarity with her work,” Bober said. “To think about what happens when a woman goes from being her own sole entity to dividing into two and then dividing again. How does that change (someone), not just materially in terms of the physical body, but psychologically?”
Bober said Monseignat’s work fits perfectly into Landmarks’ vision, allowing audiences to understand video art as a genre, both contemporarily and historically.
“One of the things that this program tries to establish is a range of different experiences,” Bober said. “You can see how neatly her work fits into that overall narrative.”
As the month of October comes to a close, Bober said Monseignat’s work saw a favorable response. Kathleen Brady Stimpert, Landmarks’ deputy director, said creating curricular connections between students and featured artists proves important.
“It’s always great when we have an opportunity to bring a notable artist to town to share with both campus and the community,” Stimpert said.
After spending a few days in Austin, Monseignat returned to Mexico, preparing to head to London on Sunday for a gallery opening of new works on Thursday. Monseignat said coming to Austin and visiting UT in person felt important, wanting to reassure art students of their many opportunities.
“What (Bober has) done on the campus is extraordinary,” Monseignat said. “It’s activated the campus. … It was important for me to honor the work (Bober has) done for us, for this book, and introduce (the book) to the students and whoever else was interested to come and discover it. Where everything starts is at school, at university. That’s where all the seeds are planted.”