#lisa steele

[the-book-ferret]

Most people don’t just need more recipes—they need to know what to cook when.

[icc134]

Lisa Steele – 2023 Fitparade Pro

[banffcentrelibraryandarchives]

Artists’ Book Collection for the week of August 8th, 2018.

Documenta und Museum Fridericianum Veranstaltungs-GmbH, Kasse by Erkki Kurenniemi, Introduction by Lars Ban Larsen- Ostfildern : Hatje Cantz, 2011

Heaven and Earth by Ting Iris Teo- Alfred, NY : Ting Iris Teo, 1996

Off the shelf and on-line: computers move the book arts into twenty-first century design by Minnesota Center for Book Arts- Minneapolis, 1992

Images for the end of the century by Peter Kennard- London : Journeyman Press, 1990

[Activating the archive] 3 by Lisa Steele- Toronto, ON : Art Metropole, 1993

[dazzudoodles]

Doodled this is class while watching some of Lisa Steele's artwork. Not exactly a big fan, but I love the concepts behind them ヽ（´ー｀）

[lgwiazda-blog]

Lisa Steele - Juggling (1972) 

[fruityoatybar]

We are led to consider all the hidden stories that lie buried in our flesh.

- Sarah Milroy

[canadianart1960topresentjournal]

Performance Art...Video, Ideas involving the Body, Plastic Surgery Tangent...

Today in class we discussed Lisa Steele’s work titled “Birthday Suit – with scars and defects” (1974): A video that was recorded on the artist’s birthday that documented the various scars she had accumulated throughout her lifetime by that point in her life. As the film goes on you begin to think “wow she has encountered a lot of injuries and possible pain in her lifetime”…but I think this also connected me to her because it made me think of the various scars I have (basically from being clumsy), and the stories behind them.

I initially found the video somewhat frustrating…I think mostly because of the time spent on each scar or past injury. Also because of the fact that she only listed and mentioned the cause and didn’t spend time going through what happened/ or the stories of the scar. This is because I think scars often have a strong place in memory, as they are a permanent reminder of a considerably painful experience.  Also, we always tend to need explanations for things…they  need to have purpose…things can’t really seem to exist or take place for no reason…that is, if we are told something, it needs to be explained fully; we don’t like the unknown…

However, after hearing a little more of the film’s purpose from her own words (“A tape that chronicled my passage though time”) and having the class discuss their opinions, help me to think more about the different aspects of the film. This is probably true about everything we examine in class…For instance, something that ultimately stood out to me through the documentation of all the scars was the idea of looking at how they have healed, which allows the viewer to get a look at the passage of time and how the body (scars) change over time to change in appearance and become something different. It would be interesting to interview the artist today and she what other scars she had accumulated since the video, and if the occurrence of injuries that led to such had become less frequent.

Following this we discussed controversial performance art…People pushing their art to the extremes…whether in order to make a point or to get a reaction…

I find the idea of artists (ex. Orlan) using plastic surgery for their work incredibly disturbing, which I guess is the point, but to me it’s such a dangerous, extreme, unnatural, and unnecessary endeavor…even beyond the art world…there is something about nonmedical/ unnecessary cosmetic/ plastic surgery that makes a person look so unsettling…

The fact that it seems to have dominated much of the celebrity world is astounding…There’s the idea that celebrities need to change themselves to became more ideal in terms of beauty, when in fact, by changing themselves they are moving away from people we initially idolized to people we cannot recognize, and are sending out all the wrong messages…Of course, they obviously have the right to make their own choices…but I just think it’s really a shame that people think they need to change themselves…because who they look is a part of who they are. Plastic surgery has become such a trend that it has become a major part of the celebrity lifestyle, movies, television shows, and reality shows in particular...In terms of specific examples that come to mind, "The Swan" was a reality show I heard about and found truly disturbing...in which "regular" women entered a beauty pageant competition in which they underwent various forms of plastic surgery, after which one was crowned "The Swan"...Nip/Tuck was a scripted television show that dealt with the glamorization" of plastic surgery in the world of the "upper class" and celebrities...

Of course the circumstances/ situations can be complex in some ways but ultimately I wonder how young people are going to have any self esteem as they get older and grow, if the people they see in the media, see as beautiful, connect with in some way, and/or come to idolize are often slaves to a skewed perception of ideal beauty and obsessed with the idea that they need to change themselves…?

[chemotroph]