FAQ
Sue de Beer
Biography
Sue de Beer’s photographs, videos, and installations are instilled with the aberrant, violent, and often bloody iconography of horror movies and the controversial teenage reactions they appear to provoke. In her photographs, de Beer re-creates scenes from signature films of the genre, or makes reference to the films’ characters or actors by focusing on individual moments or elements that would be recognized to the initiated.
Sue de Beer was born in 1973 in New York, and currently lives and works in Berlin. She received her M.F.A. from Columbia in 1998. The Quickening, de Beer’s most recent video installation, was exhibited at Marianne Boesky Gallery in New York in November 2006. Set in the oppressive environment of Puritan New England ca. 1740 and drawing inspiration from the ecclesiastical texts of Jonathan Edwards, the novels of Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the Decadent writings of Joris-Karl Huysmans, de Beer created a period film filtered through the gaze of a psychedelic lens. Sue de Beer’s work has been exhibited in the Whitney Biennial in 2004 and at the Whitney Museum at Altria in 2005.
Sue de Beer was born in 1973 in New York, and currently lives and works in Berlin. She received her M.F.A. from Columbia in 1998. The Quickening, de Beer’s most recent video installation, was exhibited at Marianne Boesky Gallery in New York in November 2006. Set in the oppressive environment of Puritan New England ca. 1740 and drawing inspiration from the ecclesiastical texts of Jonathan Edwards, the novels of Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the Decadent writings of Joris-Karl Huysmans, de Beer created a period film filtered through the gaze of a psychedelic lens. Sue de Beer’s work has been exhibited in the Whitney Biennial in 2004 and at the Whitney Museum at Altria in 2005.
Feminist Artist Statement
For me, some kind of idea of a future involving Contemporary art came from seeing music in Boston as a kid. I’d been in trouble a lot in school, was pretty angry and aimless, and I’d go to see metal and hardcore shows on the east coast with my boyfriend or older male friends.
Most of the shows I’d see had some kind of accident during the set where someone got hurt, and most of the bands were male. Sonic Youth was in a lineup for an afternoon concert. I have no idea where it was, and I remember seeing Kim Gordon playing bass guitar, and not just being a singer in a band, but co-writing songs and having different bass guitars on stage. She played really loud, and seemed really laid-back. She was the first role model I ever picked out for myself that wasn't male (my previous heroes included Iggy Pop and Kafka). And it was exciting to think about being able to be creative, be surrounded by violence and loud noise, and be feminine.
I don't know what record they were touring with, they often have really great artists do covers, and I’m sure that helped me learn about contemporary art. I do know Raymond Pettibone had already done some record covers for Black Flag, and also the Circle Jerks. I think I heard from a friend that Raymond Pettibone was an artist, so I applied to art school and got in. Lord knows why as I didn’t have any overt signs of artistic talent at the time, and I still can't draw for shit.
Because I didn't learn about Contemporary art until I was in art school, the line up of influential 'feminists' for me has always been female rock stars, specifically ones tied to some loose association with the history of 'punk'. Debbie Harry, Joan Jett, Kim Gordon, PJ Harvey, Poly Styrene. I like the story of Chrissie Hynde getting Johnny Rotten a job cleaning Keith Richard's house. And Siouxsie Sioux has great energy and beauty. Later, you know, Bikini Kill I think was important, or the Cobra Killers, who have a great stage show, who I put in my video The Quickening.
But I had male role models too. And I don't think my work only speaks to women.
Like Peaches says: "Shake your dicks, shake your dicks. Shake your tits, shake your tits."
Most of the shows I’d see had some kind of accident during the set where someone got hurt, and most of the bands were male. Sonic Youth was in a lineup for an afternoon concert. I have no idea where it was, and I remember seeing Kim Gordon playing bass guitar, and not just being a singer in a band, but co-writing songs and having different bass guitars on stage. She played really loud, and seemed really laid-back. She was the first role model I ever picked out for myself that wasn't male (my previous heroes included Iggy Pop and Kafka). And it was exciting to think about being able to be creative, be surrounded by violence and loud noise, and be feminine.
I don't know what record they were touring with, they often have really great artists do covers, and I’m sure that helped me learn about contemporary art. I do know Raymond Pettibone had already done some record covers for Black Flag, and also the Circle Jerks. I think I heard from a friend that Raymond Pettibone was an artist, so I applied to art school and got in. Lord knows why as I didn’t have any overt signs of artistic talent at the time, and I still can't draw for shit.
Because I didn't learn about Contemporary art until I was in art school, the line up of influential 'feminists' for me has always been female rock stars, specifically ones tied to some loose association with the history of 'punk'. Debbie Harry, Joan Jett, Kim Gordon, PJ Harvey, Poly Styrene. I like the story of Chrissie Hynde getting Johnny Rotten a job cleaning Keith Richard's house. And Siouxsie Sioux has great energy and beauty. Later, you know, Bikini Kill I think was important, or the Cobra Killers, who have a great stage show, who I put in my video The Quickening.
But I had male role models too. And I don't think my work only speaks to women.
Like Peaches says: "Shake your dicks, shake your dicks. Shake your tits, shake your tits."
Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum