To The Moon

To The Moon 

Thesis:

2025 opens within a moment of historical significance that connects cyclically back to prior points of global upheaval: specifically to the 1920’s, when recent pandemic, war, and technological innovation were driving rapid change and undoing societies. Following 19th century movements that won difficult strides toward making more pluralistic societies, including ending slavery, increasing the rights of women, and giving laborers power over their servitude, vehement patriarchal backlash ensued. Empires dissolved and violent authoritarians rose to power, nationalist sentiment was at the forefront, and technological change tore traditions apart. The disaster of this era remains a stain upon human history that took decades to repair. 

Now, as that repair looks set to be undone by a new wave of patriarchal backlash with nationalist sentiment and violent totalitarians on the rise once again, we feel it is the time to offer an alternative.

We, as women and artists, refuse to succumb to the forces of violence and patriarchy, and have decided to come together to put forth an alternative perspective. Yes, we are afraid, but we are also angry, and in this anger there is love and a desire to see the world on a better path than the one that aims at control, violence, war, and suppression. We can provide space to connect, a collaborative spirit, a place for ideas, for agency, and for community. 

To this end, we embody the moon, the archetypal feminine, the force that turns the tides with power and intensity day and night, again and again going from darkness to a new dawn.

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Also, regarding the title, "To the Moon," it has several layers of meaning to me: the straight-forward one is that it is like an Ode (poetic form) to the Moon, as the Moon is a traditional symbol of the feminine. There is also an underlying cultural reference to it, that would've been easily recognized 20 years ago, but is a little arcane now. There was an American TV show called "The Honeymooners,"   I won't presume that you're familiar with it so here's some background: If you've ever seen the cartoon, "The Flintstones," that was a children's version of the show. "The Honymooners," was enormously popular and had massive cultural appeal in the US for years even after there were no new episodes. It ran in the 1950s and the main character had a line that he'd say to his wife in a lot of the episodes ,"Why I oughtta send you to the moon!" and he'd gesture threateningly with his fist: in other words, it was a threat to violently beat his wife when he disagreed with her (he never actually acted out the threat on the show). Basically I'm also adding a reference to violence threatened against women which feels relevant to the show and the current moment.