Douglas Gordon
Self-portrait as Kurt Cobain, as Andy Warhol, as Myra Hindley, as Marilyn Monroe
(detail); 1996; C-print; 30 1/2 x 30 1/2 in.

The ominous image of the wigged man in the background is respectfully appropriated from a photograph by artist Douglas Gordon. Gordon, born in 1966 in Glasgow, is one of the most prominent artists of his generation. His work, which encompasses film, photography, installation, text and sound, explores themes such as temptation and fear, life and death, good and evil, and innocence and guilt, sucking the viewer into a world simultaneously familiar and unfamiliar. He won the Turner Prize in 1996, the Premio 2000 at the Venice Biennale in 1997, and the Guggenheim Museum's Hugo Boss Prize in 1998. He lives and works in Glasgow, Hannover, and Berlin. Visit the link below to learn more about his fascinating oeuvre:
http://www.lissongallery.com/theArtists/Gordon/douglasgordon.html

1. Lucas Cranach the Elder. The Water Nymph. 1518. Oil on wood. Museum der Bilden Kunste, Leipzig, Germany
Nymphs were spirits of fields, woods, streams, of nature in general, personifying its fecundity and gracefulness. They were considered secondary deities, nevertheless, they were respected, sometimes feared and prayed to. Lucas Cranach (1472-1553) is a German painter, who named himself after his hometown of Kronach, near Bamberg.
http://www.abcgallery.com/C/cranach/cranachbio.html

2. 2005 Mardi Gras reveler
This man was extracted from a photograph taken at the 2005 Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mardi Gras is one of the United States' most exuberant examples of performance and ritual. The original photo is available here: http://www.dinplug.com/weblogs/ian/archives/2005/03/mardi_gras.html

Back to top of page

3. Tony Oursler video installation
The spherical shape is a photograph of Tony Oursler's exhibition at Metro Pictures. It is a video of a human eye blinking and moving, projected onto a spherical form. http://www.fotiou.net/projects/texts/video_projections.html

Back to top of page

4. The first prototype droid of the Open Automaton Project
The Robot is the first prototype droid of the Open Automaton Project, a project which aims "to engineer modular software and electronic components, from which it is possible to assemble an intelligent PC-based mobile robot suitable for home or office environments." http://oap.sourceforge.net/prototype.php

Back to top of page

5. The Salk Institute campus
The building is a photograph of the Salk Institute campus in San Diego, CA, designed by architect Luis Kahn and built in the early 1960's. http://www.salk.edu/index.php

Back to top of page

6. Senufo funerary mask
Masks such as this example were used in funerary contexts within the Poro society among the Senufo. Referred to as Kpellie or Kpeliyehe, masks of this type are danced during the Poyoro masquerade and represent beautiful women. Originally, this mask would have been part of a larger costume, with a hooded cloth cape and a red skirt made of raffia. The dancers, imitating women's delicate and graceful gestures, would dance with iron staves topped by three small bells. http://www.remnantsofritual.com/gallery02.html

Back to top of page

7. diagram of Pawnee earthlodge
The Pawnee were a North American Plains Indian tribe who lived on the Platte River, Nebraska, from before the 16th century to the latter part of the 19th century. The Pawnee lived in large, dome shaped, earth-covering lodges. The earth lodge evolved from a long rectangular structure to one of circular shape possibly due to the progressive moves north. The wooden framework was covered with layers of willow branches, grass, and earth. A hole was left open at the top for the combined chimney and skylight. A covered entrance passage was built in a similar way with posts. Their floor area was approximately three feet below ground level.
http://www.uic.edu/depts/ahaa/classes/ah111/L23-ex/pawnee-earthlodge.jpg

Back to top of page

8. psychological testing device (1962)
A head-mounted eye movement recording device used for psychological tests in 1962. This image is taken from the DRDC Toronto website archive. DRDC Toronto is "Canada's centre of expertise for defence research and development (R&D) in human projection and performance in extreme enrionments, human-systems integration, command effectiveness and behavior, simulation and modelling and military operational medicine. The DRDC Toronto mission is to enhance the effectiveness and ensure the health and safety of the human in any human-machine system or adverse environment."
http://www.dciem.dnd.ca/about/gallery_e.html

Back to top of page