photograph: courtesy of rachelle beaudoin 

Sara McCool begged me to satirically title this article “Feminism is so hot right now!” As curator of the upcoming exhibition, How Many Feminists Does it Take to Change a Light Bulb? That’s not funny, McCool says it is okay for female artists to say, “I am a woman. I have a sense of humor.” The exhibition includes a screening of 14 sketch-comedy-style video artworks, and two live performances. McCool says she wants more funny women to identify with feminism.

“It’s a good time to create shows like this,” says McCool, “there is a resurgence of feminism in popular culture.” (One example is artist Rachelle Beaudoin’s 2012 short film Natural Woman as seen above.) She also notes that, right now, “art is hot in popular culture.” Take the Jay-Z and Marina Abramovic music video collaboration. “It burned my eyeballs, but I had to watch it for my profession,” she says.

“I want to blur the line between art and entertainment,” continues McCool. Hennessy Youngman, the Brooklyn artist who famously parodies art speak to poke fun at the art world, has already tweeted about the show.

“Self-deprecating humor is the core of humor in general,” says McCool. She points to the comic strip Cathy, for example. “It's popular in comedy because the audience connects with that,” she says. “It makes people feel happy, relaxed, and empathetic. It creates a connection.”

How Many Feminists Does it Take to Change a Light Bulb? That’s not funny. is open by appointment through September 28. Antena, 1755 S Laflin.