The Piotr Kawolski “NOW” sculpture was created over 50 years in the grounds of Cal State Long Beach. For our activity, we cleaned up the sculpture with a couple of sponges and some water. And for those that did not clean the sculpture like myself, cleaned up whatever trash was near the sculpture. As we were cleaning, I was kept thinking back to Mierle Laderman Ukeles’s performance of her “Manifesto for Maintenance Art”, where she began to clean the stairs of the auditorium. The idea behind this is to demonstrate what she means by the term “Maintenance Art” which is in essence “Women’s Work.” The term Women’s Work or Women’s Art, encompasses the work that women are told they should be doing. This “work” consists of cleaning, cooking, taking care of the children, and giving birth. And I feel as if women’s work is often taken for granted by men or often overlooked, due to the social norms and the level of importance women’s work/art has. To me, cleaning the sculpture wasn’t something different for me, because I am always helping around the house, because as a son, I am appreciative of my mom, who washes clothes, cooks, and picks me up from the bus stop. The least I can do for her is help her in any way I can and not take advantage of her work. The song that was played in class by Jeniffer Lopez is something that I completely agree with. Women should be appreciated for who they are and what they do. Their work is something that is meant to be treated with respect and something that is beautiful. The work that they do is something that they create. It is also a way that they are expressing themselves. A mother cleans, feeds, and bathes her child out of love, which is how they express themselves, which is a work of art. However, I believe that an action such as women’s work is only a piece of art when it has an intention behind it. For example, when caring a child out of love and tending to their families by staying at home. However, these actions they do are overlooked and not admired, mostly by men.
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