In her first one-person museum exhibition in the Midwest, Des Moines native Anna Gaskell presents a selection of photographs from her resemblance series and a new video installation. In this series, Gaskell presents images alluding to the creation of new life forms from a decidedly feminine point of view.
In her first one-person museum exhibition in
the Midwest, Des Moines native Anna Gaskell
presents a selection of photographs
from her resemblance series and a new video
installation. In this series, Gaskell presents
images alluding to the creation of new life
forms from a decidedly feminine point of
view.
In one image, legs hang over a metal table
as if waiting to be selected for the assembly
of a human being. In others, hands pin down
an arm or legs on what look like operating
tables, preparing them for attachment. A
young girl, waiting to begin life, lies
helplessly on her side and stares hauntingly
at the viewer through strands of tangled hair.
Nurses share a meeting, and hands rest on a
table or gesture in mock consultation.
This series shares attributes with various
literary and film sources, but perhaps none
more vividly than Frankenstein and 'The
Sandman.' Published in 1818, Frankenstein
exemplifies the Romantic Gothic movement
of its time and has since influenced
contemporary popular culture and an array
of science-fiction writers. Mary Shelley
began writing her famous novel in 1816
when she was only 18 years old. Gaskell,
also young and female, shares with Shelley
not only the notion of creating a new human
being from an array of disparate parts, but an
interest in the definition of humanity and in
the isolation of the individual within society.
The question of what is human is evident in
E.T.A. Hoffmann’s 'The Sandman,' also
written in the Gothic era in 1817 and
considered a precursor to modern Surrealism
and the horror genre. Both of these literary
works, like Gaskell’s images, pit creators at
odds with their creations. For example,
Doctor Frankenstein created new life - a
monster, who in turn became master over
him. The mad Nathaniel, in 'The
Sandman,' fell victim to his allusion of
reality, to a world of his own fantasy, which
included a wooden doll he perceived to be
human.
Likewise, Gaskell creates a fantastic world in
which she blurs the distinction between
creators and their creations. In these images,
the viewer must determine who holds
dominion over whom. Gaskell’s young girls
search for their identities through social
constructs or, conversely, through a world
without limits. In the video installation
building olympia, named after the object of
Nathaniel’s obsession in 'The Sandman,'
projected images of young girls’ legs
continuously run across the gallery wall as if
the girls are scurrying, all in the same
direction. This is a grouping of
individuals - a social structure, but without
bodies and heads their individuality is lost
and yet to be articulated. The girls run
counterclockwise as if to arrest time, or to go
back in time, in order to alter events and
take control of their own creation.
Jeff Fleming, senior curator, has organized
this show.
Des Moines Art Center
4700 Grand Avenue Des Moines, Iowa 50312-2399
Tel 515 277 4405 Fax 515 271 0357