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hopver - intimacies

Nan Hoover: "Intimacies" (1976). image copyright Dieter Reitz

Nan Hoover (USA, Germany 1931 - 2008)

Nan Hoover studied in Washington, DC, before she moved to Amsterdam in 1969 and became a Dutch citizen. She taught video and film at the Düsseldorf Art Academy from 1987 to 1997. In 2005, she moved to Berlin, where she died in 2008. Along with Nam June Paik and Wolf Vostell, Nan Hoover was one of the pioneers of video art in the 1970s. Her first light performance was held in Berlin in 1976, and from 1991 onward, she created spectacular light installations in public spaces.

The performance "Intimacies" was held in Stedelijk Museum in 1976. The split screen shows two different recordings fused together live on location. On the right, we see the performance artist applying makeup and putting on a ballet costume. On the left, we see different people in the audience. Only half of each face is shown and is matched with another half to create a whole face. The video is a visual blending of the borders between performer and observer, stage and auditorium.

 

In the Video Archive:

"Intimacies", 1976, 15:56min.


Links:

Neuer Berliner Kunstverein