Intersections of Interdisciplinarity: Technological, Transcultural and Feminist Formations in the Electronic Art of Muriel Magenta
Symposium:
Session Title:
- Art and Activism in Digital Age
Presentation Title:
- Intersections of Interdisciplinarity: Technological, Transcultural and Feminist Formations in the Electronic Art of Muriel Magenta
Presenter(s):
Venue(s):
Abstract:
A Professor of Art at Arizona State University, a “new genre” artist who works with numerous technological media (including video, computer art, web technology, installation, multimedia performance, and sculpture), and a dedicated proponent of the American women’s art movement, Muriel Magenta is the embodiment of not only interdisciplinarity but also of feminist transcultural digital art. A native New Yorker who was trained at Queens College (NY) and Johns Hopkins University, she has spent her career exploring the interface between art, science and technology, while remaining true to her larger objective of “creating a visual experience in an actual space, and then transmitting it over electronic networks into virtual environments,” which are, due to her use of the Internet, by default transnational. Another goal of her digital art is to carve a space for women within this male-dominated genre. To that end, she has served as the National President of the Women’s Caucus for Art, been active in the College Art Association’s Committee on Women in the Arts, and has participated in global gatherings, such as the United Nations World Conference on Women in Beijing, China (1995), where she presented “The World’s Women On-Line!”, an international web database Magenta created and curated, showcasing the art of women in global electronic networks.
This paper will explore not only Magenta’s personal and political causes as a transnational academic feminist, but also the ways in which her electronic art has served as a forum for the intersection of science, culture and women’s issues. Focusing on her most prominent works, such as Patio de la Pompadour, and electronic exhibitions like Times Square, Token City, and Coiffure Carnival (murielmagenta.com/#exhibit), this presentation will highlight her contributions to the digital art world as well as to the promotion of women within art globally. Magenta’s “activism through electronic art,” her documentary “28 Women: A Chance for Independence” and her pedagogic innovations will also be major components of this paper.
