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Double Life: Identity and Transformation in Contemporary Art
Double Life Identity and Transformation in Contemporary Art Author:Valie Export, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Ion Grigorescu, Lynn Hershman, Sabine Breitwieser, Dietrich Karner, Ruth Noack, Yvonne Volkart Who wouldn't like to be someone else, sometimes? To be able to take one's self off like a jacket and put on another? Identity and transformation are among the central issues in contemporary art making, and "Double Life" pulls together a diverse selection of artists whose work tangles with the possibilities of personality and appearance, racial a... more »nd sexual stereotype, role-playing and reality. The artists in "Double Life"--from Marina Abramovic, Adrian Piper, and Andy Warhol to Ion Grigorescu, Eleanor Antin, Pierre Huyghe, and Cindy Sherman--have all employed various strategies in their desire to assume different roles. Whether ironic, eccentric, utopian, or critical, their methods have ranged from the subtle to the extreme. Zoe Leonard's pin-up calendar is filled with sexy portraits of her bearded self. Early black-and-white photographs by Cindy Sherman show the artist casually dressed as a random sampling of everyday people. Pierre Huyghe's "Ann Lee" is an anime extra, a digital character completely lacking in any discernible identity. But perhaps artist Lynn Hershman best articulates the issue when she writes, "I always told the truth for the person who I was, but the person kept fluctuating."
Edited by Sabine Breitwieser. Essays by Dietrich Karner, Ruth Noack and Yvonne Volkart. Artists include: Marina Abramovic, Eleanor Antin, Valie Export, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Ion Grigorescu, Lynn Hershman, Pierre Huyghe, Elke Krystufek, Friedl Kubelka, Zoe Leonard, Adrian Piper, Cindy Sherman and Andy Warhol. 8.5 x 11.25 in.