Consuming Her
Teresa Ascencao
May 2 - June 6, 2009
Reception
Saturday, May 2, 2 - 5pm.
Presented in conjunction with the
Contact Toronto Photography Festival
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Consuming Her Reception
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In Consuming Her, a large touch-screen, audio-video installation invites visitors to re-experience the first female nudes featured in mainstream cinematic history. When entering the exhibition space, visitors are confronted with a ghostly and shimmering video projection of Audrey Munson, the first leading lady to appear fully nude in a feature film. Munson’s body shimmers because she's a mosaic entirely comprised of “ moving pixels ’ – miniature movie clips. The moving pixels are taken from extreme close–ups of actress’ bodies such as Hedy Lamarr, the first to portray a non-porn expression of female orgasm (Ecstasy, 1933), and Josephine Baker, an African-American entertainer who was celebrated and exploited for her semi-nude dancing in film. The visitor participates by getting up-close and touching Munson's body. Depending on where, and how many places Munson is touched, associated audio clips play over each other, resonating in the darkened exhibition space. Visitors hear sublime soundtracks and each actress speak about her seductive powers, her desires, her virtues, her conceptions of beauty, her vulnerabilities and herself. Consuming Her fits into my growing body of photo-based art and interactive installations, which explore folk and mainstream practices and beliefs that shape gender. I employ erotic, poetic, humorous and kitschy sensibilities and unique applications of technology to entice visitors to rediscover and recreate the consumption and construction of gender ideals. Consuming Her is an exploration of women’s sexual, emotional and political psyches within the context of mainstream cinema. It condenses film history into a multi-sensory experience for visitors to explore feminine gender ideals over the last century of cinema. Teresa Ascencao Biographies Teresa Ascencao is a photo based artist whose work deals with gender constructs through unique cultural perspectives and technological approaches. Often using out-of-the-ordinary interactivity, her poetic and kitschy artworks invite audiences to rediscover gender through peculiar folk and pop inspired artworks. Teresa Ascencao was born to Azorean parents in Sao Paulo, Brasil and immigrated to Canada at a young age. She holds a Graphic Design Diploma from Humber College and graduated with distinction from the University of Toronto’s Honours Fine Art Studio program. Ascencao’s work has been exhibited widely in Canada and has recently begun showing internationally. She lives and works in Toronto and teaches at the Toronto School of Art and Ontario College of Art. Jim Ruxton received his M.A.Sc in electrical engineering at the University of Ottawa, attended OCAD University to explore art and electronics where he graduated with an A.O.C.A. and was chosen as a medal recipient. Ruxon has worked in Toronto as an engineer/artist bringing electronics into various fields of the arts. As well as creating his own installation art, he collaborates in the area of dance, theatre and film to create interactive kinetic environments, allowing the viewers or performers to alter the space. He has collaborated with a number of well known Canadian artists including Max Dean, Barbara Sternberg, Daniel Olson, Camille Turner, and Phillip Barker. Ruxton teaches integrated media at OCAD University and is the Director of the annual “ Subtle Technologies Conference ’ a conference that blurs the boundaries between art and science. Marius Schebella is a researcher and technical developer of interactive media applications and knowledge based information systems, working for the Salzburg University of Applied Science and Salzburg Research Forschungsgesellschaft. He holds an MS degree from the Polytechnic Institute of New York University (Major: Integrated Digital Media) and a diploma from the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts. His work focuses on interactive sound processing and data visualization and he has collaborated with companies and artists in Europe, Canada and the United States. His work skills include software development, real-time sound and video applications, video tracking, microcontroller based physical computing and interaction design. Consuming Her by Teresa Ascencao Technical collaborators: Jim Ruxton and Marius Schebella A super grateful thank you to technical collaborators Jim Ruxton and Marius Schebella, the wizards who made Consuming Her come alive! Also, many thanks to consultant Ben Unsworth of Globacore Inc. and to the sponsors Canada Council for the Arts and Ontario Arts Council. WARC Gallery gratefully acknowledges the support of our members, volunteers and our funders:
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