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Contemporaries Acquire Video Art by Tony Oursler for the Chrysler

The Chrysler Contemporaries have had an exciting year exploring contemporary art culminating on May 2 when the group held their second annual art purchase dinner with Curator of American & Contemporary Art, Lynn Marsden-Atlass, who presented five very different works of contemporary painting, sculpture, and video. After three close rounds of spirited voting, the group selected Tony Oursler's Alien Eye(1996). Pushing the boundaries of the Museum's Permanent Collection, Oursler's video installation will add an important new dimension to the Chrysler's 20th-century holdings.

Los Angeles-based artist Tony Oursler is fascinated by the medium of video and film, and the hypnotic way that TV has of grabbing the viewer's attention. His work is all about the act of looking-a fitting metaphor for one's involvement and interaction with art. The eye is the human lens through which we interpret and react to all that we see and read. Michael Kimmelman, of The New York Times, describes Oursler as "a sculptor of the air with video."

His creations ask the viewer to contemplate what makes us human in a mechanized world. According to Oursler, the answers can be found in our capacity for empathy, and in the idea of individuality expressed through unpredictability, fallibility, quirkiness, and refusal to fit the mold. Many of his works include a sound component-a voice that tells a story, screams, or babbles. In his most contemporary works, he raises the issue of surveillance in the 21st century (and who is watching).

In Alien Eye the narrative is a silent film. The eye with its ever-changing movements-fluttering, searching, staring-reflects momentarily fear, anger, panic, fatigue, calm. Look carefully, how do the changing colors affect the eye's mood? Look even closer into the pupil, what is it watching? The pupil acts a mirror, reflecting a slice of life as it passes before our eyes.

On your next visit to the Museum, please stop by the McKinnon Galleries of Modern Art to see Oursler's Alien Eye. To join in the fun and become a member of the Contemporaries, please call Sharon Conaway at (757) 333-6355 or reach her by e-mail at sconaway@chrysler.org

For More Information or Images Please Contact the Chrysler at (757) 664-6200 or museum@chrysler.org

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