EVERYTHING SHE WANTS
Recent Work by Claire Arctander
Presented at nancy manocherian’s the cell by Jesse Manocherian
Working across multiple mediums, Chicago-based artist Claire Arctander joyfully articulates conflicted feminist notions of desire and desirability. Via an investment in and respectful treatment of abject materials and low-brow media outlets- like pop music, home decor, porn, internet phenomena, edibles and consumer ephemera- she posits debasement as a viable position from which to critically operate. This screening of her short video works, originally presented by Christy LeMaster earlier this year at The Nightingale Cinema in Chicago, includes a new short film by Arctander entitled "Why Have There Been No Great Women Magicians?"
Programmer Christy LeMaster on Arctander's work:
"One strain of Arctander’s moving image work can be housed squarely in performative video. Completing endurance tasks with exuberance and in colorful environments, Arctander supplants performance art’s often dark tone with her own blithe and lavish presence. Using sustained eye contact with the camera, she creates a dynamic awareness of looking and being looked at. Her femme beauty and generous gaze often suffuse the frame, creating an affective illusion of the work happening in the present moment. The usual relationship to watching women onscreen is at once indulged and changed – the audience’s innate desire to be seen answered with confidence and playfulness."
Claire Arctander earned a BA in Art Theory and Practice and Gender Studies from Northwestern University and an MFA in Studio Art from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She currently works in the Education Department at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. She has taught art classes for UIC and the City Colleges of Chicago. In the past she has been a resident at The Cooper Union, Summer Forum, ACRE and Ox-Bow. Recent shows include a one-person show at The Nightingale in Chicago, a group show at Weinberg/Newton Gallery in Chicago and a group screening at the Mini in Cincinnati. This fall she will present new work in a group exhibition at Adds Donna Gallery in Chicago.
