Jana Sterbak
Encyclopedia
Jana Sterbak is a Canadian
artist
best known for her works constructed from meat
. Two sculptures, Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic
(1987) and Chair Apollinaire (1996), were both works whose primary medium was cured flank steak also known as skirt steak in the UK butcher trade.
Born in Prague
, Czechoslovakia
, Sterbak immigrate
d as a teenager with her parents to Montréal in 1968, to Edmonton and then to Vancouver in 1970 where she attended Kitsilano High School. She attended the Vancouver School of Art (now Emily Carr University of Art and Design) in 1973-74 and the University of British Columbia in 1974-75 before moving back to Montréal to complete her Bachelor of Fine Arts
degree
in 1977 at Concordia University and her MFA at University of Toronto in 1982.
Sterbak's works deal primarily with issues of power
, sexuality
and control, and she also explores the relationship between humanity
and the technology
it has created. Her Standard Lives - Abridged was displayed in the centre of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in September–October 1990.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
best known for her works constructed from meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
. Two sculptures, Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic
Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic
"Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic" is an artwork created by Canadian Jana Sterbak, first displayed at Montreal's Galerie Rene Blouin. Its most famous showing was at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, where it attracted national controversy. The work included 50 pounds of raw...
(1987) and Chair Apollinaire (1996), were both works whose primary medium was cured flank steak also known as skirt steak in the UK butcher trade.
Born in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, Sterbak immigrate
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
d as a teenager with her parents to Montréal in 1968, to Edmonton and then to Vancouver in 1970 where she attended Kitsilano High School. She attended the Vancouver School of Art (now Emily Carr University of Art and Design) in 1973-74 and the University of British Columbia in 1974-75 before moving back to Montréal to complete her Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
in 1977 at Concordia University and her MFA at University of Toronto in 1982.
Sterbak's works deal primarily with issues of power
Power (sociology)
Power is a measurement of an entity's ability to control its environment, including the behavior of other entities. The term authority is often used for power perceived as legitimate by the social structure. Power can be seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is accepted as endemic to...
, 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...
and control, and she also explores the relationship between humanity
Human Race
Human Race refers to the Human species.Human race may also refer to:*The Human Race, 79th episode of YuYu Hakusho* Human Race Theatre Company of Dayton Ohio* Human Race Machine, a computer graphics device...
and the technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
it has created. Her Standard Lives - Abridged was displayed in the centre of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in September–October 1990.