Rochelle Feinstein
Rochelle Feinstein, still from Toy George, 2014. Video, color, sound; 5:23 min. Collection of the artist; courtesy On Stellar Rays, New York
Born 1947 in New York, NY
Lives and Works in New York, NY
Screened as part of the 2014 Biennial, Rochelle Feinstein’s Recording (2002–14) was shot in downtown Manhattan on September 11, 2002. Made in a single take, it captures the patch of sky that had been blocked by the World Trade Center buildings until the attack on them the previous year. The video’s duration was determined by the time that elapsed between the first plane crash and the second.
Toy George (2014) is a re-creation of a nature video. The camera tracks a wooden model of “Lonesome George,” a tortoise whose species had been presumed extinct until he was found in 1972. The toy’s awkward movements are both pathetic and humorous, as are the off-screen conversations between “conservationists” about their efforts to get him to mate with similar breeds in order to secure the survival of his species (efforts that, in real life, proved unsuccessful).
With thanks to Nick Rymer
On View
Second Floor
Work by Rochelle Feinstein will be screened in the second floor Film & Video Gallery, May 14–25. View the calendar for more information.
