Lady Rosa of Luxembourg – Wenn nun wir Frauen auch das Wort ergreifen : Stellungnahme von sechs Frauenorganisationen zur Debatte um die zweite “Gëlle Fra”

Other | Luxembourg

English title: Lady Rosa of Luxembourg – As now we women rise to speak : Statement of six women’s organisations regarding the debate about the second “Gëlle Fra”
Corporate author(s): Cid-femmes; Déi Gréng Fraen; Déi Lénk Fraen; Fraeforum; Femmes en Détresse; Femmes Socialistes; Union des Femmes Luxembourgeoises
Keyword(s): art | feminist art | women’s rights | war | violence | sexism | resistance | prostitution | images of women | culture
Languages(s): German
Manifest: view document: Lady Rosa of Luxembourg
Copyright:

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Summary:
The open letter is a feminist statement in the controversial debate caused by the artwork “Lady Rosa of Luxembourg” by Sanja Ivekovic. The sculpture reproduced the figure at the top of the war memorial, Gëlle Frau (Golden Lady, 1920). The temporary version (2001) was installed vis-à-vis the original. It honours the women who suffer mentally and physically in wars (rape, prostitution, etc.) and who take part in resistance. The new sculpture was visibly pregnant, renamed after Rosa Luxemburg and carried inscriptions on the plinth like “kitsch”, “whore”, “capital”, “virgin”. The artist took the figure out of anonymity and made her a subject, creating a strong contrast to the abstract polarized stereotypes of women in wartimes – saint or whore.
The sculpture provoked hateful, racist and sexist comments. The authors of the letter plead to seriously reflect about women’s rights, about the images of women in Luxembourg’s art world and to give feminist art more room in the public sphere.