Kenneth Anger, Puce Moment, 1949, 16mm, 6:30 min. (still)

Second Self

Film and video screening curated by Jesse McLean

Wednesday, September 21, 7pm

Screened in tandem with Intimacies, on view at Gallery 400 September 9-October 22, 2011, this program of videos and films locates itself on the interstice between screen and receptive audience mind. The artists included have allowed the camera to function as a portal, and awarded the viewer access into their own lives, or at least the lives of their developed personas. Through this portal they impersonate celebrities (Schwanse), decide what to wear (Anger), what not to wear (Nelson), instruct (Youngman), guide (Rafman), kiss (Benglis), rage (Crocker), and desperately try to communicate (Acconci). These artists aren’t looking to be simply observed but rather to push outward at the audience, and demand a reaction. More desperate than angry, the gesture is an invitation for the viewer to step across the thin fabric of the screen and become someone new.

Featuring: Open Book by Vito Acconci (9:10 min., video, 1974), Puce Moment by Kenneth Anger (6:30 min., 16mm, 1949), Female Sensibility by Lynda Benglis (13:05 min., video, 1973), Leave Britney Alone! by Chris Crocker (2:12 min., video, 2007), Take Off by Gunvor Nelson (10:00 min., 16mm, 1972), Kool-Aid Man in Second Life: Interview by Nicholas O'Brien by Jon Rafman (18:01 min., video, 2009), k-a-t-e (s) by Nina Schwanse (10:41 min., video, 2010), ART THOUGHTZ: The Female Gaze, with Special Guest Tamara Suber (NSFW) by Hennessy Youngman (8:14 min., video, 2011).
Total Running Time 78:00 min.