Conversation with Jenny Gräf Sheppard, Chicago, 2003

In this conversation, artist and musician Jenny Gräf Sheppard describes her long-standing focus on “projects that involve older women as sort of cultural signs.” Her approach emphasizes real interactions, prioritizing connection over mere representation: "I can’t really justify making work that isn’t tied into actual communication and experience... so I make pieces that are translations of things these women noticed, in photography, sound, and video.”
J.G. Sheppard describes her recent work, the Guitars Project, where she collaborated with a group of women, in their 70s to mid-80s, many of whom had physical or cognitive impairments. Together, they searched for new forms of expression that transcended verbal communication, tapping into “body memory.” The project culminated in a series of performances with guitars captured on video: “I was interested in what the electric guitar evokes both for the person who has it on and for the viewer." The women were photographed with guitars, creating staged, fantasy-laden images that projected personas not typically associated with them in everyday life: “Some of the photographs were about a relationship with the guitar they actually didn’t have... it was a fantasy for both me and them, something I liked.”

J.G. Sheppard reflects on the broader implications of aging and productivity, and how she can disrupt the silence surrounding women aging. “There's such an obvious connection between American culture, capital, and the image of an older person that represents decline.” Sheppard’s perspective is shaped by feminist discourse, and while she identifies as a feminist artist, she also resists strict labeling. Her studies in feminist video art, particularly inspired by the artist Joan Jonas, have influenced her use of technology and her advocacy for diverse representation.

J.G. Sheppard also describes her experiences in Chicago’s music scene as part of the band Bride of No No, which used costume as a performative tool to defy conventional gender expectations. Her band, Metalux, with M.V. Carbon, encountered various forms of sexism both in the U.S. and Europe. “We're thrown into this weird category of electronic and noise, which for some strange reason is really macho and really male.” At the same time, J.G. Sheppard has also noticed a recent change: “I've happened to note the emergence of a different type of audience for us, like people who are identifying themselves as trans and also people who are more oriented toward examining issues of gender.”