Johanna Reed, My Grandmothers

Johanna Reed My Grandmothers Don't Know Who I Am My Grandmothers Don't Love Me For Me My Grandmothers Want Me To Marry A Rich Man My Grandmothers Don't Understand What I'm Doing With My Life My Grandmothers Are Selfish And Weak My Grandmothers Are Uneducated And Proud Of It My Grandmothers Cannot Grasp What Art Is Let Alone Conceptual Performance Art Which Is What I've Chosen To Do With My Talent And Time My Grandmothers Devoted Their Lives To Their Husbands My Grandmothers Gave Up Their Independence And Their Voices To Their Husbands My Grandmothers Are Passive Aggressive My Grandmothers Have No Idea What I'm Talking About When I Talk About What I'm Interested In And What I Am Aspiring To Do With Myself My Grandmothers Stand For A Way Of Life That I Politically And Ethically Oppose My Grandmothers Represent What I Don't Want To Do With My Life My Grandmothers Are Two Of The Most Amazing And Inspiring Women I've Ever Known My Grandmothers Are My Role Models My Grandmothers Are Stronger Than The Men In My Family My Grandmothers Pushed Themselves To Do What They Wanted To Do My Grandmothers Figured Out How To Live Their Lives The Way They Wanted My Grandmothers Are Flawed And Contradictory My Grandmothers Are Unapologetically Who They Are My Grandmothers My Grandmothers Are My Grandmothers My Grandmothers My Grandmothers Are Me, 2010

A participatory performance with my grandmothers.

Since July 2010, I have been recording phone conversations with my grandmothers, unbeknowst to them.

On November 28, 2010, I attempted to explain to each of my grandmothers what I have decided to do with my life, and what I mean when I say I am an artist. Then, I asked each to take my photograph.

It was the first time in my life that I was with both of my grandmothers on the same day. They live 327 miles apart. I saw one in the morning and then drove 7 hours to see the other one in the evening.

One was born in South Korea in 1928. One was born in Oklahoma, USA, in 1924.