The GBs NFTs: Unpacking the story of GB #620: Her First Evolution
This one’s for you, staruehl :)
Hidden Reference #1:
Today, we visit the fucking legend of creative expression of your full self(selves)(the primary theme of The GB Project), and his name is Elton John. This hair is a tribute to his ‘do’ for his 50th birthday party, in 1997, which, incidentally, was the same year that Meredith Brooks’ hit song, ‘Bitch (and nothing in between)’ hit the scene, from a duo that had worked hard for years but was not mega-famous, and went straight to #2 on the charts. We’ll come back to that song….
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s take a few minutes — hours if you have them — to soak up this extraordinary outfit, and to contemplate the years of effort, so often against the advice and ideals of others, that it took Elton John to feel this free to be extra, to be what others might call ‘out there’.
Doesn’t thinking about him in this moment change how important what people think of you right now feels? It does for me. May we all celebrate 50 with such freedom, creativity, and with so many friends. And also not have to wait until 50 :).
Hidden Reference #2:
Let’s get back to that song I mentioned.
In 1997, Meredith Brooks and Shelly Peiken released a song that Brooks described as a ‘celebration of everywoman’s multiple psyches’. Some of you will remember this song. Some have never heard it. It was called ‘Bitch (Nothing in between)’, and the lyrics are about how she is a bitch, lover, child, mother, sinner, saint… and nothing in between… and how she wouldn’t have it any other way.
This year (2022) marks the 25th anniversary of that song, and its message is a key part of The GB Project because we still don’t live in an easy version of the world described in this song where we can be all the things at the same time. That is, we can still do better at celebrating everyone’s multiple psyches.
The song has an interesting history. As an artist, I’m curious to find out whether and how The GB Project will be received in 2022, given that it has a similar message at its core. How much progress has been made in 25 years on this idea of enabling the kind of free and full expression of everyone’s multiple psyches? Is it easier today for someone like Elton John to find it? For someone like you? For someone like me? I am genuinely unsure.
The song skyrocketed to success, going straight to #2 in the US, was nominated for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance and Best Rock Song at the 40th Grammy Awards. All this despite not coming from household name musicians. Sounds great, right?
And it is! But the backstory is important. This song was not expected to be successful, even by its own producers. Peiken and Brooks were actually advised to change it to make it less offensive. But Peiken and Brooks had a point to make. They would not change it. They defended their own minds and purpose (that is, they had what The GB Project calls high BQ). Brooks and Peiken were ‘bitches’, even when asked to change by record executives who worried that the word would have a negative impact on commercial sales.
Capitol Records was initially hesitant to release “Bitch” as the lead single from Blurring the Edges (1997) due to the song’s explicit lyrical content. The label’s vice president of artists and repertoire, Perry Watts-Russell, and producer Geza X both expressed their concerns about the song’s lyrics potentially having a negative impact on its commercial performance. Peiken explained that the record label considered censoring the song, although she and Brooks convinced the label to release the song to airplay with the lyrics intact. Following the release and subsequent success of the song, Brooks commented that she felt that “Bitch” achieved its intended purpose of being a “celebration of Everywoman’s multiple psyches”. (Source)
So what was the ‘point’ Brooks and Peiken wanted — needed — to make?
Brooks described the duo’s intention with the song in an interview with Billboard. The song is about self-acceptance. They refer to the word “bitch” as a term of endearment, intending to reclaim the word, and remove the pejorative connotations surrounding it. She went on to say of the song: “I’m not “an angry young girl” — or whatever the phrase of the moment is — but I’m human. It’s not to excuse ranting and raving, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having “a mood”. I don’t think we all need to keep the mask on all the time.
And for Peiken, “This song was born because I was so frustrated, I had 10 years of album cuts and never had a single.” She came home one day feeling bummed and frustrated: ‘What am I doing?’ I thought to myself, my poor boyfriend who I was living with, married to now, he’s going to have to deal with this when I get home. And God bless him, he loves me any way I am. I thought, ‘He loves me even when I can be such a bitch.’”
The entire GB Project is a tribute to everyone who came before us who struggled to find and express a full sense of self. We pay tribute to famous people like Sir Elton John right alongside regular people like my friend Laura who inspired the Listener Hair that can be seen in GB#2’s First Evolution. The project is also sort of a path if people want it to be, packed with references to cathartic art and ideas from the past for our community to discover at their own pace.
Hidden Reference #3:
The GBs love their bodies, even the taboo parts. They are just parts of them. This is why their nipples are shaped like hearts.
You might notice that most of them also have transparent nipples. On this one, the body colors and background are the same color, so the transparency is not noticeable. But the reason some parts of their bodies are transparent is because our backgrounds are always part of who we are. So in The GBs, you can see through them to their background.
Hidden Reference #4:
Her earrings riff on a very famous painting. They are pearl earrings ‘made’ of light. This is a nod to the famous Girl with the pearl earring by Johannes Vermeer in 1665. Notice the original earring is painted nearly as if it is light — not easy to do with oils — with minimal details.
There are a few things I like about this painting and wanted to reference in The GB Project. The first point is that Vermeer painted ordinary people, often women, living their daily lives, pouring milk, reading letters, doing chores, or learning.
The second point is that Vermeer was a very technical artist focused on light, and who cared about quality over quantity. He only made 36 known paintings in his life. This painting is all about capturing and portraying light — if you look closely, much of the earring is not even ‘painted’. The intentional darkness plays a role in the light.
The third point is that art historians describe this painting as not intended to portray an actual person. The woman is meant to be an imaginary woman, a generic ‘character’ (or tronie in Dutch). A lot of NFT projects are like that. However, I tend to agree with Tracy Chevalier, who wrote an entire book about this painting called Girl With a Pearl Earring: A novel. She believes this painting is about the relationship between the woman depicted, the painter, and us, the viewers, and this is why it has become iconic. I want The GBs, in their humble little way, to be more than characters. They are also meant to be relationships.
Lastly, and notably for Vermeer, she is not depicted doing chores or shyly avoiding the viewer. Who wants to be painted doing chores? She is a regular person portrayed with dignity. Her gaze is strong. She is going somewhere.
Hidden Reference #5,6,7+:
That feels about right for now. I like you all to have some time to find your own ideas about references inside your new GBs. And, in time, we’ll hear more about those rainbow cheeks, daisy pattern, green color, top, and eyeliner.
Bye for now, G Bae
