May the word Menstrala become universal, just like our cycles.
At the turn of the millennium, Vanessa Tiegs coined the word Menstrala to name 88 paintings she created between 2000-2003.
Today, the neologism Menstrala names the 21st-century art movement affirming menstrual blood as the world’s oldest but least understood taboo.
Several of Vanessa's 88 Menstrala have appeared in film documentaries, art magazines, academic journals, public posters and thousands of online blogs.
"Silverfish Spirits"
(Menstrala No. 1, September 2000)
The chosen medium in every Menstrala is menstrual blood because, "The Medium is the Message." (Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media, 1964).
Having dealt with menstrual blood psychologically and cycle-logically (cycle after cycle), the purpose of Menstrala is to break the menstrual taboo.
Menstrala remind us that women bleed for days without dying, yet general reactions to Menstrala reveal how ingrained humanity's repulsion extends toward menstrual blood.
The medium petrifies many, like Gorgon Medusa's face petrified life form into stone in Greek mythology. Upon deeper inspection, we see why Medusa is key to unlocking the sacred feminine archetype.
Woman Is A Living Lunar-Clock
When a woman is pregnant, she is the symbol of full moonlight. When a woman is menstruating, she is the symbol of lunar darkness.
But women are discouraged from acknowledging their connection to moonlight. Ironically, it is the menstruant bleeding for days without dying who ignores this because tracking the moon's course is unrecognized calendaring by patriarchical standards.
Unsupported women around the world endure a painful menstrual phase. By silencing this health challenge, women miss the psychological advantage of cycle logical renewal. To help women practice mindful menstruation, I created MONTHMATICS.
Her Story Is Not His Story
Mathematics as Time Measurements Were Matriarchal Inventions
for counting the days & nights between menstrual and lunar cycles.
Math comes from the root word, "Ma," because mothers counted the number of dark moons in their fertility cycle between conception, pregnancy, and giving birth. A correlation exists between a mother's 9-month long gestation cycle and the Family of Eclipse Cycles (see Dietrech Pessin's Lunar Shadows III: The Predictive Power of Moon Phases and Eclipses, 2009).
Etymology
Several words have menstrual origins:
The word taboo originates from the Polynesian tapua. Taboo originally meant menstruation, the oldest taboo.
The word ritual originates from Sanskrit r'tu, meaning first menarche rite. Women's blood rites of passage (menarche, defloration, giving birth, menstruating, and menopause) were women's original blood rites (women's rights).
The stunning similarity between taboo and tattoo is also intentional.
Cosmetikos
Cosmetics, or make-up, has been called war paint.
Cosmetics derives from cosmetikos, which means ordering the cosmos through the creation of symbols written on the body. Dr. Judy Grahn's Metaformic Theory (Blood, Bread & Roses, 1993) tells the story of how menstruation created the world while men's parallel blood rites were woven into culture. Skin piercing, tattooing, and boy's wearing the blood of their first hunt are parallel r'tu.
"Timandra & Bulis" was chosen by a U.S. Navy crew member for a social experiment onboard the USS Kitty Hawk Supercarrier in the Persian Gulf in 2003.
Movie, "The Moon Inside You" - Credit Roll with Menstrala
Vanessa Tiegs' Menstrala were used as a backdrop in the credit roll of Diana Fabianova's film, The Moon Inside You.
Rock Star, Dave Navarro Creates A Menstrala Scene
In 2008, Red Hot Chilli Peppers' electric guitarist, Dave Navarro, asked me to co-create Menstralas on camera for his reality TV show (unpublished). Dave suggested mixing in his semen, but I declined telling him that only stirring in acrylic clear gloss can seal it. The paintings he started have not been revealed and are listed as separate works from my collection of 88 Menstrala created between 2000-2003.
Vanessa Tiegs considers the meaning of menstruation in our discussion with her.
"The debate here is rich and varied. ... An interesting documentary on that time of the month that is definitely recommended." - Video Librarian
Period: The End of Menstruation? interrogates the cultural and medical side effects of suppression.
http://www.g6pictures.com/periodthemovie
Movie Documentary, "A Flowering Tree"
Menstrala appear (at 18:30) in the 2007 Indian documentary, "A Flowering Tree." The film takes a look at how menstruation is embedded in Hindu rituals and beliefs dating to ancient times. The main character evokes old menstrual rituals and places them in ancient Indian culture. Just before Menstrala appear, she declares: "When the completely gripping pains pass, I begin to feel joyfully renewed and childlike. I come to love this sense of vigor, though it has no social recognition, so I keep it inside, a secret power."
To inquire for the usage of the artist's works, here are guidelines: 1) Any one time usage of Vanessa Tiegs' Menstrala in any new work requires a licensing fee 2) Multiple usage of Vanessa Tiegs' Menstrala in derivative works requires a royalty fee 3) The word Menstrala is the neologism created by artist Vanessa Tiegs in 2000 that names the 21st century art movement.
Fan Letters
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
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