By EMILY SKEHAN
What would it be like to have a new face? A new name? A new identity? From May 19 through August 11 the Santa Monica Museum of Art will present Identity Theft: Eleanor Antin, Lynn Hershman, Suzy Lake, 1972–1978, guest curated by Jori Finkel.
Identity Theft is the first show to feature the early, pioneering work of Eleanor Antin, Lynn Hershman, and Suzy Lake, artists who developed alter egos or false identities in photographs, videos, on stage, and in real-life performances. The exhibition thus explores the history of role-playing in contemporary art, a trend that is all the rage today.
Identity Theft also marks the first-ever full presentation of Hershman's Roberta Breitmore project, the first screening of Antin's “The Nurse and the Hijackers” since September 11, 2001, when the disaster movie spoof (set on an airplane) was pulled from an exhibition in England, and the first U.S. showing of Lake's groundbreaking Transformations photographs since their debut in 1975.
All of this work was created during the early to mid 1970s, during the heydey of feminism. SMMoA is located at Bergamot Station, Building G1, 2525 Michigan Ave. The museum is open Tuesday through riday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. For further information please call (310) 586-6488 or visit www.smmoa.org.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 2, 2007. Read the original PDF.