In this piece, Antoni soaked her hair in dye and then mopped the floor with it. Antoni is using her body and her long hair (something more associated with women) to mop, but not clean, a space. This performance explores the role of women in society and the double standards that surround it. Antoni is commenting on how women are expected to embody both the effeminate characteristics of being a lady (beautiful, graceful, nurturing, obedient), as well as the strength and responsibility often associated with men, despite the myriad of physically and emotionally draining activities that household women are expected to perform on a daily basis (cook, clean, childcare, maintenance, etc).
Antoni uses the space to quantify the amount of time and effort it takes to cover a floor in dye using your body as the applicator. She also uses the enclosed, gallery space to enclose her audience within her performance, drawing their attentions and preventing them from ignoring her. The piece is documented with photographs of the performance, and 20 years later, these photographs are so famous they have practically become pieces of their own.
Sources:
Performance: Live Art Since 1960 by Roselee Goldberg
PBS series Art:21
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