Martha Wilson

For the American missionary worker and journal editor, see Martha Loftin Wilson.
Martha Wilson
Born1947 (age 76–77)
Philadelphia
EducationWilmington College
Dalhousie University
OccupationPerformance Artist
AwardsObie Award
Bessie Award
Websitehttp://www.marthawilson.com/

Martha Wilson (born 1947 in Newtown, Pennsylvania) is an American feminist performance artist and the founding director of Franklin Furnace Archive art organization.[1][2] Over the past four decades she has developed and "created innovative photographic and video works that explore her female subjectivity through role-playing, costume transformation, and 'invasions' of other peoples personas".[3] She is a recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship, and an Obie Award and a Bessie Award for commitment to artists’ freedom of expression.[4] She is represented by P.P.O.W. Gallery in New York City.

In the early 1970s while studying in Halifax in Nova Scotia, she began to make videos and photo/text-based performances. When she moved to New York City in 1974 she continued to develop and explore her photo/text and video performances.[4] From this and other works during her career she gained attention within the US for her provocative[5] characters, costumes, works and performances.[5] In 1976 she founded and became director of the Franklin Furnace Archive, which is an artist-run space that focuses on the exploration and promotion of artists books, installation art, video and performance art.[6]

  1. ^ "Organizational Overview". Franklin Furnace website.
  2. ^ Leimbach, Dulcie (September 1997). "For an Avant-Garde Center, An End and a Beginning - NYTimes.com". New York Times.
  3. ^ "SF Camerawork: Exhibition Detail". Art Slant San Francisco. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference cotter2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Miller, Bryan (Aug 23, 1985). "A Controversy in Tribeca: Is It Art or An Eyesore?". The New York Times.
  6. ^ "Franklin Furnace, making the world safe for avant-garde art". Franklin Furnace.