A visionary life at the intersection of art, technology, and feminism. In Private I, Lynn Hershman Leeson—one of the most influential conceptual artists of our time—shares her personal journey and the struggle for her visionary work to be recognized as art. In the 1970s, women artists were often dismissed unless linked to more successful male counterparts. Defying this marginalization, Hershman Leeson carved her own path, creating groundbreaking conceptual works such as her Roberta Breitmore series, the Video Diaries, and films starring Tilda Swinton, including Conceiving Ada and Teknolust.…mehr
A visionary life at the intersection of art, technology, and feminism. In Private I, Lynn Hershman Leeson—one of the most influential conceptual artists of our time—shares her personal journey and the struggle for her visionary work to be recognized as art. In the 1970s, women artists were often dismissed unless linked to more successful male counterparts. Defying this marginalization, Hershman Leeson carved her own path, creating groundbreaking conceptual works such as her Roberta Breitmore series, the Video Diaries, and films starring Tilda Swinton, including Conceiving Ada and Teknolust. Her innovative installations took place in unconventional venues—hotels, department store windows, San Quentin State Prison, and housing projects—while she raised her daughter and endured long periods of poverty. To support fellow artists, she launched The Floating Museum, bringing site-specific art to reclaimed public spaces. She was also one of the first to document women artists’ lives and work in her acclaimed documentary !W.A.R. (Women, Art, Revolution). Private I traces her lifelong commitment to experimentation—embracing film, video, AI, chatbots, touch screens, even her own DNA—to challenge ideas of identity and warn of the perils of technology and surveillance. At its core, Private I is a moving portrait of resilience, artistic innovation, and personal transformation through friendship, family, and fearless creativity.
Lynn Hershman Leeson has been internationally acclaimed for her art and films over the last five decades. Hershman Leeson is widely recognized for her innovative work investigating issues including: the relationship between humans and technology, identity, surveillance, and the use of media as a tool of empowerment against censorship and political repression. She is a recipient of many awards including a Siggraph Lifetime Achievement Award, Prix Ars Electronica Golden Nica, and a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship. And in 2022, she was awarded a special mention from the Jury for her participation in the 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. In 2023, Pratt Institute of Art in NY awarded her with an Honorary Doctorate. Creative Capital awarded her with their Distinguished Artist Award in 2023. SFMOMA acquired the museum’s first NFT from Hershman Leeson in 2023. Her six feature films—Strange Culture, Teknolust, Conceiving Ada, !Women Art Revolution: A Secret History, Tania Libre, and The Electronic Diaries —are in worldwide distribution. Her artwork is featured in many public collections including the Museum of Modern Art, and The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. She lives in San Francisco, California.
Inhaltsangabe
Chapter 1 ORIGIN Chapter 2 AN UNEDUCATION Chapter 3 CYBORGS Chapter 4 A BRUSH WITH RACE Chapter 5 COLLEGE COLLAGED Chapter 6 REVOLUTION Chapter 7 UNREST Chapter 8 CHANCE Chapter 9 REINVENTION Chapter 10 ROBERTA Chapter 11 RANDOMNESS Chapter 12 REHEARSALS Chapter 13 ROBERTA REDUX Chapter 14 REHEARSALS REDUX Chapter 15 THE FLOATING MUSEUM, 1974–1978 Chapter 16 RUNNING FENCE, 1974–1976 Chapter 17 WINDOWS, 1976 Chapter 18 PLEASE TOUCH Chapter 19 EXORCISMS Chapter 20 TRAUMA’S PROGENY Chapter 21 COMMISSION! Chapter 22 NOW WHAT? Chapter 23 FORKING PATHS, 1984 Chapter 24 COLLECTED Chapter 25 NOT ART—AGAIN! Chapter 26 DOING TIME Chapter 27 !WOMEN ART REVOLUTION (!WAR), 1968–2010 Chapter 28 HOME AGAIN Chapter 29 TIME SHOWS US WHAT WE CANNOT SEE AT THE TIME Chapter 30 TIMING