Kim Gordon Opens Solo Art Show, Talks Pop Culture Feminism and Hillary

Kim Gordon is having a pretty good 2015, to say the least. Sonic Youth’s former frontwoman released her memoir Girl in a Band earlier this year; she recently debuted a collaborative track called “Slow Boy” with J Mascis and she opened her first solo art show, The City is a Garden, at 303 Gallery in New York City. Humberto Leon, founder of Opening Ceremony, talked to Gordon about Hillary Clinton’s presidential run and pop culture feminism.

“I think that it’s weird,” answered Gordon, when Leon asked for her thoughts on pop culture’s current “feminist” fixation. “I think it’s good that anyone can think that they’re a feminist or whatever; it’s great. But there are many different cultural layers of what that means. The bottom line is that maybe it sometimes gets lost that in the broadest sense, [feminism] is just about equal pay and equal rights. All of the other gray issues can be argued about. It seems like there’s a moment where people are talking more about gender and labeling. The whole labeling thing in general never changes in terms of being a problem.”

On Clinton running for prez:

I mean, I’ll never vote for a Republican so that’s all I can say. I wish there were more options. I mean, I know people wanted Elizabeth Warren and that would have been interesting, but I think that ultimately, Hillary is very seasoned in a way. She’s corrupted already, so people aren’t going to be disappointed in a way. They won’t be surprised.

Gordon is also going to become one of those New Yorkers that move to LA. On her plans after The City is a Garden:

I have a show in Athens that I need to install that’s part of the Deste Foundation and that should be fun. Then I’m packing up my house and moving to LA. So I’m sorting through 30 years of stuff and getting rid of so many clothes; it’s tough. My two housemates are fantastic: one used to work at a gallery and she’s archiving everything in the studio. She’s labeling everything from “Collaborations” to “Sonic Youth” and “X-Girl.”

I wonder if Gordon needs some additional help sorting through those clothes. I have a label maker on standby and hands ready for folding, just in case.