Barbara Degenevieve
Encyclopedia
Barbara DeGenevieve is an interdisciplinary artist currently living in Chicago
, who works in photography
, video
, and performance
. She lectures widely on her work as well as subjects including human sexuality
, gender
, transsexuality, censorship
, ethics
, and pornography
. Her writing on these subjects has been published in art, photographic, and scholarly journals, and her work has been exhibited internationally.
DeGenevieve received her MFA
in photography from the University of New Mexico
in 1980, and the same year began teaching at the University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign. Before joining the faculty at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1994, she taught at San Jose State University
, the San Francisco Art Institute
, and the California College of Art. DeGenevieve is currently a professor and chair of the Department of Photography at the School of the Art Institute.
Much of her art explores the connections among dominance, power, and sex, including their inverse relationships. This has led DeGenevieve into controversy, particularly during the NEA funding scandals of the early 1990s. She has spoken on many occasions on issues of censorship as a direct result. On some occasions she uses performative texts or poems, gothic costume, and theatrical tactics to amplify her point. She'll speak in character as parody or as the subject of her discourse, but always with a sense of humor and charity for her subject. She continues to court controversy, having established an interdisciplinary and new media arts program at SAIC that instructs students on constructing sexually graphic artworks.
DeGenevieve has won awards from the National Endowment for the Arts
(Visual Artist Fellowship); Art Matters Foundation Fellowship; and the Illinois Arts Council. Her critical and artistic works have been published in Exposure, SF Camerawork Magazine, and P-Form. Ezell Gallery, Chicago, represents her photographic work.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, who works in photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
, and performance
Performance
A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
. She lectures widely on her work as well as subjects including human sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
, gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
, transsexuality, censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
, ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
, and pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
. Her writing on these subjects has been published in art, photographic, and scholarly journals, and her work has been exhibited internationally.
DeGenevieve received her MFA
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
in photography from the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
in 1980, and the same year began teaching at the University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign. Before joining the faculty at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1994, she taught at San Jose State University
San José State University
San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...
, the San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute is a school of higher education in contemporary art with the main campus in the Russian Hill district of San Francisco, California. Its graduate center is in the Dogpatch neighborhood. The private, non-profit institution is accredited by WASC and is a member of the...
, and the California College of Art. DeGenevieve is currently a professor and chair of the Department of Photography at the School of the Art Institute.
Much of her art explores the connections among dominance, power, and sex, including their inverse relationships. This has led DeGenevieve into controversy, particularly during the NEA funding scandals of the early 1990s. She has spoken on many occasions on issues of censorship as a direct result. On some occasions she uses performative texts or poems, gothic costume, and theatrical tactics to amplify her point. She'll speak in character as parody or as the subject of her discourse, but always with a sense of humor and charity for her subject. She continues to court controversy, having established an interdisciplinary and new media arts program at SAIC that instructs students on constructing sexually graphic artworks.
DeGenevieve has won awards from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
(Visual Artist Fellowship); Art Matters Foundation Fellowship; and the Illinois Arts Council. Her critical and artistic works have been published in Exposure, SF Camerawork Magazine, and P-Form. Ezell Gallery, Chicago, represents her photographic work.
Selected works
- The Boys in Albuquerque (1978-1979)
- True Life Novelettes (1979-1982)
- Large Scale (1981-1985)
- Cliche Verres (1985-1992)
- Large Scale Stretched Fabric & Macaroni (1991-1995)
- Porn Poetry (1996-1997)
- Steven X and Barbara C (1999-2000)
- The Panhandler Project (2004-2006)
- Desperado (2004-2006)
External links
- Official website Warning! Contains explicit content.