Dorit Cypis

Dorit Cypis
Born1951
Tel Aviv, Israel
NationalityCanadian-American
EducationCalifornia Institute for the Arts, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Pepperdine University
Known forInstallation art, photography, performance, social practice
StyleConceptual, feminist
AwardsGuggenheim Fellowship, National Endowment of the Arts, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, City of Los Angeles
WebsiteDorit Cypis

Dorit Cypis (born 1951, Tel Aviv) is a Canadian-American artist, mediator and educator based in Los Angeles.[1][2] Her work has collectively explored themes of identity, history and social relations through installation art, photography, performance and social practice.[3][4][5] After graduating from California Institute for the Arts (CalArts), she attracted attention in the 1980s and 1990s for her investigations of the female body, presented in immersive installation-performances at the Whitney Museum,[6] International Center of Photography,[7] San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA),[8] and Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal.[9] Counter to much feminist work of the time, Cypis focused on interiority and personal mythologies rather than exterior political realms, and according to art historian Elizabeth Armstrong, made a significant contribution to discourse about the representation of women and female sexuality.[3][10][11]

Cypis's work has often moved between studio and social practice, including the direction and creation of initiatives in Minneapolis and Los Angeles bridging art and social change.[5][12] As a mediator, she has worked in the Middle East and Los Angeles on conflict engagement issues including Arab-Jewish and police-community relations.[12][13] Her later art has shifted toward broader considerations of identity related to history, memory, space and geopolitics, and been exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and Orange County Museum of Art.[3][2] Cypis has been recognized with a Guggenheim Fellowship and awards from the National Endowment of the Arts, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, and City of Los Angeles, among others.[14][15][16]

Dorit Cypis, X-Rayed (detail), in situ immersive media installation, Whitney Museum of American Art, 1988.
  1. ^ Johnson, Reed. "‘Rethinking Borders’: Urging both sides to an understanding," Los Angeles Times, November 7, 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Kobialka, Michal. "Aya Dorit Cypis," COLA 07, Los Angeles: Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, 2007 Retrieved October 5, 2020, p. 19–21.
  3. ^ a b c Armstrong, Elizabeth. "Girl, Unmasked," Girl's Night Out, Elizabeth Armstrong and Irene Hoffman, Santa Ana, CA: Orange County Museum of Art, 2003.
  4. ^ Rothfuss, Joan and Elizabeth Carpenter. Bits & pieces put together to present a semblance of a whole: Walker Art Center collections, Minneapolis: Walker Art Center. p. 180, 2005.
  5. ^ a b Cai, Judy. "Understanding Conflict through Art," NeonTommy, Annenberg Media Center, November 11, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  6. ^ Furlong, Lucinda. "Dorit Cypis," The New American Filmmakers Series, (No. 40),New York: Whitney Museum of American Art.
  7. ^ Ledes, Richard C. "Dorit Cypis," Artforum, January 1990, p. 139. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  8. ^ Reveau, Tony. "Fleeting Phantoms: 'The Projected Image' at SFMOMA," Artweek, March 28, 1991, p. 20–1.
  9. ^ Hagen, Charles. "Turning the Lens Inward," The New York Times, September 22, 1991, Sect. 2, p. 34. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  10. ^ Solomon-Godeau, Abigail. "Sexual Difference: Both Sides of the Camera," New York: Columbia University, Wallach Art Gallery, 1988.
  11. ^ Campbell, Clayton. "Dorit Cypis and Hildegard Duane at Jancar Gallery," Artweek, August 23, 2009.
  12. ^ a b Sugand, Dyvia. "Peacebuilding Through an Artist’s Perspective, Member Spotlight: Dorit Cypis," Mediators Beyond Borders International, October 19, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  13. ^ Carey, Brainard. "Dorit Cypis," WYBC Yale Radio, June 30, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  14. ^ Artforum. "2014 Guggenheim Fellows Announced," News. April 10, 2014. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  15. ^ Heffley, Lynne. "L.A. artists receive $10,000 grants," Los Angeles Times, September 16, 2006. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  16. ^ Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. "Meet the Artists: Rauschenberg Residency 9." November 7, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2020.