To me, Martha Wilson is a very courageous women. Not many women (or men for that matter), will be brave enough to show the world exactly who they are, what they are or what they have become. Very few artists can give a sense of "who they are" just by the show they provide to a gallery. Martha did. Taking in all of her works, from the start of her career to her latest series, was a opportunity many don't get to do when viewing an artist. This opportunity really allowed for me to get a sense of who she is as a women and as an artist. To me, Martha Wilson came off as a very comedic, political and courageous person. I think the most powerful piece that I saw of her's was the video/photo of her "becoming her own worst fear" at Portrait Society. This piece really shows the younger Martha's thinking of herself becoming older and how becoming older is in the back of everyone's mind, even if we don't like to think about it. Martha really brings this idea to the light and allows herself to be subjected to discussions of getting older (and maybe uglier) as her life goes on.
My favorite part of this piece was not in the "I have become my own worst fear" but in the large smile she is presenting. I thought of this as almost reassurance that it will be okay to get older. Yes, we may be scared of getting older, wrinklier, and grayer but you are still yourself.
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