Christine Stewart (Vancouver)
Generation Loss,1999
bio
Christine Stewart is a media artist, technician and educator based
in Vancouver , BC. Her recent award winning work 'Phonebook' has enjoyed
numerous national and international screenings. 'Phonebook' is one channel
of a three channel video installation, entitled 'jane doe', which in
1998, marked Christine's first solo exhibition. Previously the Digital
Media Coordinator at Video In Studios, Christine now works as a part
time technician at Video Out Distribution, sits on the Board of Directors
of the Satellite Video Exchange Society, is a casual Studio Assistant
at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, and is a freelance AVID/motion
graphics editor and instructor. She has worked on over 200 artist, independant
and community based productions since 1993. In 1996-97 she was the Systems
Administrator at Western Front Multimedia. She has particpated in numerous
activities within the media arts community, including training, mentoring,
grantwriting, fundraising, jury particpation and project development.
Other than soup, key interests include women and technology, issues
of equity and humanitarianism, and the fine art of being down to earth.
Generation Loss
Completed October 1999 (updated regularily, more data/graphics/audio on the way)
Launched October 24, 1999 as part of the Digital Identity group show in Surrey BC, as part of that gallery's first foray into new media presentation. The site is presented in a local format (on CD) as per technical requirements; online access was not possible due to the gallery's technical restristions; ideally it should be viewed over the net, of course.
'generation loss' is Christine Stewart's first webart installation, and
was possible through funding by the BC Arts Council and produced in part
during her 1998 residency in Finnish Lapland as part of Polar Circuit
2. A continuation of the subject matter broached in her work 'Phonebook',
'generation loss' is a gathering of perspectives on naming patterns from
women (and some men) of many different walks of life. The primary issue
of concern relates to the maiden name and what it means to change one's
name in terms of erasure of female history, state and sense of self identity,
and representation of culture. The main interface of the site is navigated
via a QTVR user-animated tree, through which the various seasons are accessed.
Each season is representative of a different aspect of consideration,
historical context, practicalities, concept of family and lineage and
so on. The participant is encouraged to make a contribution which is updated
live. The site, optimized for Netscape 4.x browsers, employs somewhat
complex DHTML, javascript and audio, and requires QuickTime 3.
presentation
Patronymics and Maiden Names
Thursday, February 3, 7:30pm, Salle Fernand-Séguin, Cinémathèque
québécoise
In English.
What was your mothers maiden name? Your grandmother's? And how about
your great grandmothers? Most people can't remember back further than
three generations on their mother's side. Why is this, and what does this
mean in terms of women's history and sense of identity? This presentation
focuses on an informal discussion of patronymics, naming patterns and
related issues. Societal constructs, economic and cultural factors and
personal convictions are among the considerations affecting naming patterns,
and serve as a launch point for conversation. Participants are encouraged
to contribute their thoughts and stories for the ongoing site of 'generation
loss'.
Christine Stewart
