How to Undress In Front Of Your Husband
This 4 mins excerpt of Marcin's video "How to Undress in Front of Your Husband" is a remake of a Hollywood short film from 1937 by Dwain Esper, in which the supposed “dos” and “don’ts” of a woman undressing in front of her husband are demonstrated.
Marcin slips into both female roles: Miss Elane Barrie Barrymore, who, including a lascivious eye-roll, removes her clothes in a supposedly exemplary manner, and Trixie Friganza, who tramples and drags her way out of her clothes. The performance is commented on by the omniscient male voice of the 1937's original, who comments on the supposed merits and shortcomings with wisdom such as “She not only knows how to get a man, she knows how to keep him.”
Marcin embodies both female characters, caricaturing the appalling sexism of what is, as it were, a pedagogical concern. In the context of today, it shows its absurdity and the need to address the gender culture of previous generations.
“At the core of my concern is to express that the whole world of gender and the breadth of its expression can exist in one person, and that person is also the all-powerful oppressor or oppressed - depending on how we want to see it.”
(Quote from A.Nunes, “A Sexist 1960s Film Remake Rewrites Cinema History”, VICE Creator’s Project, Sep 2016)
The project was supported by the Emergency Grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, New York.
How to Undress in Front of Your Husband
Video/Film – 2016
4K Video, 11.26 min, Black & White, Sound
The video performance How to Undress in Front of Your Husband (2016) is a remake of a Hollywood short film from 1937 by Dwain Esper, in which the supposed “dos” and “don’ts” of a woman undressing in front of her husband are demonstrated.
Nadja Verena Marcin takes on the roles of Miss Elane Barrie Barrymore, who, with a sultry glance, undresses in an allegedly exemplary manner, and Trixie Friganza, who clumsily, awkwardly, and stumblingly sheds her clothes.
The performance is narrated by the all-knowing male voice from the 1937 original, which extols the supposed virtues of one woman and criticizes the inadequacies of the other with sayings like, “It’s not what you obviously reveal, but what you artfully conceal that makes undressing an intriguing art,” and statements like “She not only knows how to get a husband but how to keep him.”
Marcin embodies both female characters in the video, caricaturing the disturbing sexism of the “educational” message. In the context of today’s society, she highlights its absurdity and the necessity of confronting the culture of previous generations as a means of coming to terms with it.
How to Undress In Front Of Your Husband
This 4 mins excerpt of Marcin's video "How to Undress in Front of Your Husband" is a remake of a Hollywood short film from 1937 by Dwain Esper, in which the supposed “dos” and “don’ts” of a woman undressing in front of her husband are demonstrated.
Marcin slips into both female roles: Miss Elane Barrie Barrymore, who, including a lascivious eye-roll, removes her clothes in a supposedly exemplary manner, and Trixie Friganza, who tramples and drags her way out of her clothes. The performance is commented on by the omniscient male voice of the 1937's original, who comments on the supposed merits and shortcomings with wisdom such as “She not only knows how to get a man, she knows how to keep him.”
Marcin embodies both female characters, caricaturing the appalling sexism of what is, as it were, a pedagogical concern. In the context of today, it shows its absurdity and the need to address the gender culture of previous generations.
“At the core of my concern is to express that the whole world of gender and the breadth of its expression can exist in one person, and that person is also the all-powerful oppressor or oppressed - depending on how we want to see it.”
(Quote from A.Nunes, “A Sexist 1960s Film Remake Rewrites Cinema History”, VICE Creator’s Project, Sep 2016)
The project was supported by the Emergency Grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, New York.
EXHIBITIONS
S: Solo Exhibition | G: Group Exhibition | Sc: Screening
In Bruch|Stücke II, Art Claims Impulse, Berlin, 2025
Stadtgalerie, 2020
SCHAUWERK, Sindelfingen, 2019
The Whitney Houston Biennial – Greatest Love of All, La MaMa Galeria, New York, 2017
Cinema Pirata- How to Undress in Front of Your Husband, SOHO20 Gallery, New York, 2016 (S)
YES: Rachelle Beaudoin / Nadja Verena Marcin, Microscope Gallery, Brooklyn, 2017 (Sc)
LECTURES
Masterclass – Nadja Verena Marcin, masterclass and Q&A, Festival Internacional Denis Stoklos de Solo Performance, Irati, 2022
LECTURES
Masterclass – Performance, fotografia e cinema: O processo criativo de Nadja Marcin, masterclass and Q&A, Cabíria Festival & Prêmio de Roteiro, Rio de Janeiro, 2020
PRESS
Priscilla Frank, “Feminist Artist’s ‘How To Undress In Front Of Your Husband’ Skewers Retro Mansplaining,” Huffpost, March 4, 2017.
Andrew Nunes, “A Sexist 1960s Film Remake Rewrites Cinema History,” VICE, September 23, 2026.
Rachel Bishop and Sarah Francis, “Incredibly sexist 1930s reconstructions instruct women how to ‘UNDRESS PROPERLY’ for their husbands,” London Mirror, April 6, 2017.
MSN
CREDITS
Cinematography: Guillermo Cameo; Editor: Richard Swanson; Production Assistant: Kimberly; Concept, Art Director & Video-Performance: Nadja Verena Marcin
SPONSORS
The project is made possible by Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant
