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Mediatheque
Eleanor Antin 埃莉諾．安廷
From the Archives of Modern Art 來自現代藝術的檔案
1987
Described by the artist as a ‘documentary fiction’, this work consists of six short films about Eleanor Antin’s ballerina alter ego, Eleanora Antinova. Title cards explain that the fictional dancer was once a member of the famed Ballets Russes company; returning to the United States during the Great Depression, she struggled to find work and had to rely on vaudeville performances and erotic movies to support herself. Antin presents this series of short performances as rediscovered ‘archival footage’ in a commentary on the mechanisms of fame—especially for women—and the difficulty of sustaining artistic careers. The work’s title underscores how archives and institutions can limit as well as enable the telling of certain histories.
Antin began her artistic career as a poet, actress, and painter. From the early 1960s, she turned to the more conceptual and performance-based work that would characterise her practice. After moving to San Diego in 1969, she became increasingly involved in the emerging feminist movement as part of a broader network of artists, writers, and activists who challenged gender, class, and racial hierarchies in the United States. In addition to the broad impact of her artistic practice, Antin’s long teaching career at the University of California at San Diego (from 1975 until 2002) influenced several generations of visual art students.
Antin began her artistic career as a poet, actress, and painter. From the early 1960s, she turned to the more conceptual and performance-based work that would characterise her practice. After moving to San Diego in 1969, she became increasingly involved in the emerging feminist movement as part of a broader network of artists, writers, and activists who challenged gender, class, and racial hierarchies in the United States. In addition to the broad impact of her artistic practice, Antin’s long teaching career at the University of California at San Diego (from 1975 until 2002) influenced several generations of visual art students.
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