Sex and Representation
Vanguard, 1984, v. 13, no. 9, pp. 22-25
Ian Carr-Harris draws upon Western poetry, Lacanian, feminist and Freudian notions of sex and gender recognition to theorize that the our fascination with (biological and ontological) differences between bodies derives from a "confusion of similarity and difference irrespective of genitalia". (Harris 1984) Harris provides examples of Canadian feminist, documentary and autobiographical artwork that explores these misrecognitions through reconfiguration of meaning and structuralist definitions of gender in sculpture and video art.
In the concluding paragraphs of this article Harris critiques video artist Paul Wong's negotiation of sexual identity representation in Confused: Sexual Views.
ITEM 1984.122 – available for viewing in the Research Centre
Videos, Artworks and Artists Cited
Anticipating the Eventual Emergence of Form – Renee Van Halm
Quest of the Priapus – Adrienne Trent
Solo Exhibition – Ian Carr Harris
Confused:Sexual Views – Paul Wong