Janine Antoni facts for kids

Janine Antoni (born January 19, 1964) is an American artist known for her unique and thought-provoking artwork. She was born in the Bahamas. Janine creates art using her own body in surprising ways. She combines different art forms like performance art, sculpture, and photography.

Her art often focuses on the process of making something. She explores how the human body can be a tool for creation. For example, she has used her mouth, hair, and even her brain in her art. Janine Antoni lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Early Life and Learning

Janine Antoni was born on January 19, 1964, in Freeport, Bahamas. When she was 13, in 1977, she moved to Florida for school. She earned her first degree from Sarah Lawrence College in 1986. Later, in 1989, she received a master's degree in Sculpture from Rhode Island School of Design.

Even though she studied in the United States, her childhood in the Bahamas greatly influenced her art. She found it challenging to adjust to American society. This experience led her to use her body in her art. She felt her body language made her stand out.

How Janine Antoni Creates Art

Janine Antoni often uses a special art form called Tableau vivant. This is like a living picture where people or objects stay still. She wants viewers to feel connected to her art. She believes that showing the "making" process helps people understand her work better.

She once said that she has a deep love for her audience. She sees them as her "imaginary friend." Antoni has been inspired by other famous artists. These include Louise Bourgeois, whom she calls her "art mother," and Robert Smithson.

Artworks by Janine Antoni

Gnaw (1992)

In her artwork Gnaw (1992), Janine Antoni used her mouth to shape two large cubes. One cube was made of 600 pounds of chocolate, and the other was 600 pounds of lard. She bit and chewed the corners and edges of these cubes.

From the pieces she removed, she created a display called Lipstick/Phenylthylamine Display. This display included heart-shaped boxes made of chocolate. It also had lipstick tubes filled with a mix of lard, color, and beeswax. Antoni explained that the lard represented the female body. This artwork explored ideas about female desire and how society views it.

Loving Care (1993)

For Loving Care (1993), Antoni used her own hair as a paintbrush. She dipped her hair into a bucket of hair dye. Then, she mopped the gallery floor on her hands and knees. As she moved, she covered the floor in color. This performance took place in London in 1993.

In this piece, Antoni explored themes of the body, power, and femininity. She also touched on the style of abstract expressionism.

Lick and Lather (1993)

In Lick and Lather (1993), Antoni made fourteen busts, which are sculptures of her head and shoulders. Seven of these busts were made from chocolate, and the other seven were made from soap. She then "re-sculpted" them. She licked the chocolate busts and bathed with the soap busts. This changed how each bust looked.

This artwork explores complex ideas about being a woman. It also shows Antoni's relationship with herself. Actions like washing, bathing, and eating can be self-loving. By changing her own image with these methods, she explores the mixed feelings we have about ourselves. The soap can represent what society expects from women, like being "clean." Chocolate can also be linked to common ideas about women.

Slumber (1994)

Slumber was a performance art piece that lasted several weeks. For the first few weeks, Antoni slept in a gallery space. The room was simple, with only a wire-frame bed and a desk. She slept with a blanket that she wove during the day. This blanket was connected to a loom.

While she slept, her eye movements were recorded. She then wove these patterns into the blanket using pieces of her nightgown. This artwork talks about connections. It shows links between the artist and the viewer, and between the artist's conscious and unconscious thoughts.

Tear (2008)

In Tear (2008), Antoni created a wrecking ball out of lead. She then used this ball to knock down a building. The wrecking ball's movements were timed with her blinking eyelid. Each time the ball hit the building, its surface was damaged. This damage showed the history of its use. The project aimed to make viewers think about the feeling of danger.

Conduit (2009)

For Conduit (2009), Janine Antoni changed a copper gargoyle into a sculpture. This sculpture allowed her to urinate while standing, connecting her body to the building's form. The artwork was inspired by mythical creatures like griffins. The oxidized copper shows the physical marks of her performance.

Crowned (2013)

Antoni's Crowned (2013) was inspired by her experience of giving birth in 2004. The artwork is a sculpture of a wall with plaster crown molding. Two plaster pelvic bones stick out from the wall. Plaster is splashed around these objects. The sculpture looks like the "crowning" stage of childbirth. This is when a baby's head appears during birth.

I Am Fertile Ground (2019)

I Am Fertile Ground (2019) was an art installation in the catacombs of Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. Small, close-up photographs of living bodies were placed in golden frames shaped like human bones. This artwork talks about how delicate the human body is. It was surrounded by the remains of many people buried in the cemetery.

Teaching Art

Since 2000, Janine Antoni has taught fine art at Columbia University. She leads a graduate course called "Master Class/Mentor Groups."

Personal Life

Janine Antoni is married to fellow artist Paul Ramirez Jonas. They met while studying at the Rhode Island School of Design. They have a daughter together.

Awards and Recognition

Janine Antoni has received many awards for her art, including:

• 1996 – IMMA Glen Dimplex Artists Award
• 1998 – Genius Grant, MacArthur Fellow
• 1998 – Painting and Sculpture Grant, the Joan Mitchell Foundation
• 1998 – Larry Aldrich Foundation Award
• 1999 – New Media Award
• 2003 – Artistic Achievement Award, Rhode Island School of Design
• 2011 – Guggenheim Fellow
• 2012 – Creative Capital Grant
• 2014 – Anonymous Was A Woman Grant

Her work is also part of many public museum collections. These include the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA), and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She was also interviewed for the 2010 documentary film, !Women Art Revolution.