Vanessa Tiegs coined the word Menstrala to name her collection of 88 controversial paintings from 2000-2003.
names the controversial 21st century art movement known for its unflinching affirmation of women’s menstrual blood - the world’s oldest yet least understood taboo.
in numerous documentaries, educational films, art journals, and academic papers worldwide.
In 2003, a print of "Timandra & Bulis" was onboard the USS Kitty Hawk Supercarrier in the Persian Gulf as a social experiment by a Navy crew member.
In 2008, Vanessa collaborated with Red Hot Chilli Peppers rock star, Dave Navarro to co-create two Menstrala.
In the Menstrala art movement, menstrual blood is the chosen primary communication medium. "The Medium is the Message" is the title of the first chapter from Marshal McLuhan's 1964 work, Understanding Media.
Menstrala artists use the medium to convey how their feminine power is non-violent as they bleed for days without dying.
Only 5 Menstrala originals have been released for sale to art collectors. Today, the originals are collectible artworks representative of Women's 21st Century History in the making.
to use menstrual blood to create imagery symbolizing the political & personal:
1) the world's oldest, most deeply conditioned, but least understood taboo
2) how painful it feels to experience menstruation in unsupportive environments
3) the grief felt while trying to conceive
4) retreating & resynchronizing with the moon's phases
The menstrual cycle signifies that the female body is a living lunar clock. However, throughout the world, we are encouraged to be oblivious to lunar time, living our lifetime discarding its benefits to our psychological, physiological and spiritual health.
As such, the purpose of creating this psychologically charged art is not to offend, but to remind audiences that a menstrual taboo closely relates to our fear of death. The menstrual phase resonates with the concept of barenness, which, collectively, we ignore.
Yet, cycle logically, it is the hardest phase to endure that leads us to the gateway of pyschological renewal.
Although we do not know where our moon comes from, human awareness of women's fertile connection to the moon led to the invention of culture. Below are 3 examples:
Math was originally invented to count the number of days between lunar cycles and menstrual cycles.
Mathematics contains the root word "Ma," meaning mother. Calendaring is based on mothers counting the number of lunations in their fertility cycle.
It is noteworthy that there is a relationship between a mother's 9-month long gestation cycle and the Family of Eclipse Cycles (please see astrologer Dietrech Pessin's Lunar Shadows III: The Predictive Power of Moon Phases and Eclipses, 2009).
Some words have menstrual origins.
The word taboo originates from the Polynesian word, tapua. It means menstruation.
The word ritual originates from the Sanskrit word, r'tu. It means first menarche rite.
Women's make-up sometimes is referred to as war paint. The word cosmetics derives from cosmetikos, meaning to apply order to the cosmos through the use of tattoos.
The stunning similarity between taboo and tattoo is intentional.
Please see feminist poet, Dr. Judy Grahn's Metaformic Theory (Blood, Bread & Roses, 1993), which tells the story how menstruation created men's parallel blood rites, such as skin piercing.
In 2000, Vanessa published her first paintings ("pain-things") on the web's earliest blogger forum, LiveJournal.
While working on her Master's Degree thesis in Women's Spirituality, she fulfilled her community practicum, Spiraling Moon: A System for Menstrual Insight with a group of women of wide ranging ages. Her goal was to help them transform PMS (pre-menstrual syndrome) into PMP (pre-menstrual power) by re-membering their lunar consciousness.
Menstruation is not just a fertility event but a psychological, creative, & spiritual lunar renewal that demonstrates the cycle logical power of all life.
Vanessa Tiegs' Menstrala were used as a backdrop in the credit roll of Diana Fabianova's film, The Moon Inside You.
Your art is beautiful, your medium universal.
~ Daniel Reinhold, Baltimore, MD
What you do is absolutely wonderful and awe inspiring. Never before have I seen such wonderful art and witnessed such a powerful artist behind the works. You've made me look at menstruation
differently and allowed me to think of myself as a different girl.
~ A. Gabrielle, York, PA
The idea of painting with such a personal, symbolic medium inspires me and makes me reconsider my own relationship to my blood. I believe your artwork carries a very positive message for
femininity on its wings.
~ Jennifer, Daytona Beach, FL
Inspiration! Painting, to me, is a dance, moments caught between the seconds, swimming in the reality that hides in the shadows. I paint, or rather, I dance with shapes and colors. I have long
now been without inspiration. I have felt within the shadow I used to court. Your work has inspired me to step into the light again, with a whole new medium. I just wanted to say thank
you.
~ Shawnaly Tabor, Kalispell, MT
To use something that so many hate...I find such beauty in it. Very few can find the power in that monthly flow...but you have...and I find it beautiful.
~ Serena Orman, Kalkaska, MI
Awe and wonder fill me now as I write these words. What joy you must feel to use your body to create such beauty. I am a man, and was never taught that any part of a woman's body was taboo. As a
young man, I was surprised and saddened to learn that some women loath the experience of their period, and its issue. Some even felt deep shame and embarrassment. I always saw it as glorious. If your
work helps just one woman to see herself as a font of beauty in this context, you will have accomplished something really great.
~ Sander Roscoe Wolff, Executive Director, LongBeachCulture.org
I wanted to tell you that I think your work is absolutely beautiful - it's the most original concept of celebrating what it is to be a woman that I've ever seen.
~ LMC, Devon, UK
Your artwork is completely stunning. The passion you show toward your technique and belief is truly inspiring. I feel I can learn so much about myself, others and simply life just by looking at
one of your paintings. And when I do shun away from a few that shock me, I can still reflect on the matter in a positive way. You really do break that image of menstrual blood, and menstruation in
general as something disgusting or something to shun and avoid. I agree with many of your fans/followers that it's wonderful to see something so universal in artwork, and still it's so personal. I
hope you continue to create such beautiful artwork. I applaud you.
~ Val, Baltimore MD
So few things are truly universal, crossing the boundaries of time and place, of class and culture. Your art is a visual expression of the emotions, harmony, and turmoil associated with
womanhood. So what better medium to use in your creations than your own lifeblood, the very thing that makes a woman a woman? I am touched by what your work represents, and I want to thank you for
your courage and ingenuity.
~ Amanda Riley, Knoxville, TN
A friend of mine sent me the link to your gallery thinking I would find the pieces horrific. Nope. I LOVE them. What an inspired way to say that our monthly cycles are powerful and beautiful. The
symbolic significance of menstrual blood does raise it far, far above the level of simple body waste. You aren't looking to shock, you are channeling the life force. I applaud you for it.
~ Kerri S. McIntire
Beautiful paintings. Very evocative. And as a medium you've reached for something that shouldn't be extraordinary but of course is.
~ Pete Lang, Sacramento, CA
Your talent is truly delightful. It's good to see such splendid composition with clever titles yielding such wonderful art. Actually, it's more than art. It is a socially significant statement,
and a bold (yet soft?) indictment; a step into the light. It's rare, in these days of cookie cutter or formula art to discover a pioneer, but today it happened. Thanks for opening my eyes.
~ Art Bach, Blairsville, GA
The magic of moonblood clearly resides in these paintings Vanessa. This reminds me of some mysterious art gallery where there are so many favorite works of art you can't pick just one. The
variety here is amazing considering you are using a limited palette of color and a simple white background. I am so glad you chose descriptive titles for them. Mere numbers or abstractions could not
convey the creative fire of the medium nearly as well. Besides the paintings are very individualistic expressions of the Artist herself, and these captions give viewers more information than just a
referrant name. All the pieces had something to say but the ones that spoke the loudest to me were: "One Root in a Thousand Seeds," "Floating in the Void," "Mirror Dance," "Astral Entry," and "Mar's
Fire." Powerful Art indeed. Although "this is the most hidden blood" I do not think these paintings should be ignored or hidden away, so thank you for sharing them with us in such a nicely presented
gallerylike fashion. All your journals (and website) give pleasure, provoke thought and are a feast for the eyes.
~ David Torrey, Chicago, IL
Print