This play is a reflection on the (im)possibility of accepting diversity and the other. The fragmented body of the neoplasm—the fruit of unstable conditions—overcomes barriers, loves and denies itself and others, wanders around, forgetting its profession. It frequently and with pleasure divides, goes through dangerous palpation, questions the possibility of contact with the experience of the other. Poorly brought up but very successful, it invites us to a trans-species transition.
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Seeing, and its counterpart, feeling looked-at, are at the heart of this multi-media installation. Viewers shift between the positions of viewer and viewed in a space which resembles the backstage of a burlesque theatre containing a table with clothing and a video showing the artist wearing these clothes as she emerges through a red curtain. The viewer echoes this action as they enter the main space of the installation through the back of a red theatrical curtain and are met with a spotlight shining on them. In the position of the audience sit small video monitors sketching a shadowy figure. A verbal account of the first minute of a pornographic film is narrated repeatedly during which gendered pronouns shift in an unstable relation to each other.
Artist Statement
I remember touring the Mattress Factory to choose the space in which to create my installation - the basement stood out to me as a non-traditional space that provided a rich, readymade context. Architecturally, the basement is at the foundation of the building. Metaphorically, I thought of it as a forgotten space or a space for repressed content. The concept for my installation Spot emerged from the character of the space itself and from two local sources: a defunct burlesque theatre on a busy street near the Mattress Factory and a large collection of pornographic films that I had purchased (for very little money) from a local antiques dealer. That collection later became another installation, Story of M, which explored similar themes of sexuality and gender identity.
When
Factory Installed: October 18, 1998 - July 31, 1999
Lynn Cazabon holds a BFA in Studio Art and a BA in Arts and Ideas from the University of Michigan and an MFA in Photography from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. She is currently Professor of Art at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Her work combines photography, video, and film within the three-dimensional format of installation. The physical configurations of her work often blur the boundaries between the art and the viewer, dismantling our association of viewer passivity in relation to art and especially video. Cazabon’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in museums and galleries, as public art, and in solo and group exhibitions including, Witte Rook, Breda, the Netherlands; 3S Artspace, Portsmouth, NH; National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest, Romania; Artists Space, New York; Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, Buffalo, NY; Anthology Film Archives, New York; Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, and many more. She has received grants and fellowships from the Puffin Foundation, Maryland State Arts Council, Fulbright Fellowship, Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, Franklin Furnace Archive, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and a Smithsonian Graduate Fellowship.
