Norma Jeane, The Straight Story (2008)
Norma Jeane, an artist who works outside the commercial gallery system, presented a performance that depended on audience participation. The piece was both a commentary on how the once-social activity of smoking has been transformed through regulation and legislation into something deeply-antisocial, and a presentation of the heightened discomfort required to indulge private pleasure in public space.
Norma Jeane (the artist) was born in Los Angeles when Marilyn Monroe (the movie star) died: in the night between August 4th and 5th, 1962. By taking possession of somebody else’s personal data, renouncing a specific gender, and creating a proliferation of personalities, NJ is an artist without a body, and therefore without a personal biography that extends beyond his/her artistic curriculum.
Recent shows and projects include: ‘Once Again, Again’, watch for the Swatch Club Artist Watch collection, Biel-Bien (2008), ‘Greenwashing’, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin (2008), ‘00s’, 9th Lyon Biennial, Lyon (2007), ‘Young Italian Artists at the Turn of the Millennium’, Galleria Continua, Beijing (2006), ‘Rundlederwelten’, Martin-Gropius Bau, Berlin (2005), ‘Body Proxy’, Kunstverein, Freiburg (2005), Swiss Institute, New York (2005), Helmhaus, Zurich (2004), ‘Tempo’, Museum of Modern Art, New York (2002). Upcoming shows and events include Kunsthalle St. Gallen and La Friche Marseille.
