Zoe Beloff Lecture Questions/Response

In the piece The Adventures of a Dreamer by Albert Glass, you use Albert Glass's sketchbook of a Freudian theme park. How true did you stay to his sketches? Is your hand/idea present at all in the installation? Would you like it to be?


Many of your pieces deal with the subconscious, such as History of a Fixed Idea and a Modern Case of Possession. Where does this play of subconscious, originate? Are these thoughts that you've experienced, or taken from some of the cases you've studied?


Response

For most of the lecture I felt as though I was in a history class. Beloff kept bringing up images and work from “other people.” I was very interested to see her work instead of her references and influences. Then at the very end, a question was asked and she answered, “I am Albert Glass.” This was the most important part of the lecture. It was like sitting through a movie then being blown away by the very last scene. This quote made the work. It makes me wonder how I, and others would feel if she had not revealed this essential piece of information. There has to be instances where an opportunity to reveal the truth doesn’t present itself and the audience/viewers are unaware. Does this frustrate her? Is she aching to tell people the truth?

Before the lecture, I had no idea that this woman is actually multiple people. She is not only an artist but also an actor. Except she has to always be in character(s). This has to be stressful physically and mentally. It also makes me wonder if the lines of herself and her characters are blurring and she is losing herself. The commitment to her work is pretty amazing.

Three Words

Imagination

Identity

Philosophy

Taken from The New York Times. Photo by Brad Paris

The piece that I found to be the most interesting is Dreamland. Not only is Beloff creating artwork, but she’s also creating a new world with a new history. She does it well. The audience is fooled and our minds entered by her world and her words. She controls the audience. Without her revealing that she is Albert Glass at the end, I honestly don’t think I would be interested in this work. Now that I know, I want to go back and look at her work again. The lecture was more of an experience. There was audience participation, but it all took place in our minds. I would really like to see her work in a gallery and the feeling it gives off.

As explained above, my first question was answered. Its funny to see how fooled I was with this question. The second question I am still unsure about. I don’t know how much of her work is her doing. Now, I wonder if the case studies were real and if the found footage was actually found. I am also unsure if she designates some thoughts/dreams as her own and some for Albert Glass. How does she separate the two? I guess I’m still pretty blown away and this confusion I’m experiencing only makes me more interested in the work.