Doris Totten Chase facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Doris Totten Chase
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| Born |
Doris Mae Totten
April 29, 1923 Seattle, Washington
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| Died | December 13, 2008 (aged 85) Seattle, Washington
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| Nationality | American |
| Spouse(s) |
Elmo Chase
(m. 1943–1971) |
Doris Totten Chase (born April 29, 1923 – died December 13, 2008) was an American artist. She was a talented painter, teacher, and sculptor. Doris was part of a group called the Northwest School. She had a long career creating paintings and sculptures. Later, she moved to New York and started making exciting video art.
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Early Life and Education
Doris Mae Totten was born in Seattle, Washington. She was the only daughter of a lawyer. Doris went to Ravenna Grade School. She then graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1941.
From 1941 to 1943, she studied architecture at the University of Washington. She joined the Chi Omega sorority. In 1943, she left college to marry Elmo Chase. He was a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy.
Becoming an Artist
To help support her family, Doris Chase taught art. She taught painting and design at Edison Technical School. In 1951, she became a member of the Women Painters of Washington. She stayed a member until the mid-1960s.
In 1956, Doris had her first art show. A famous Northwest painter, Kenneth Callahan, wrote about it. He called her "a serious and talented young painter." This showed how much potential she had.
Sculpting Big Ideas
Doris Chase also created large sculptures. One of her early steel sculptures was called Changing Form. It was 4.6 meters (15 feet) tall. This impressive piece was placed in Kerry Park in Seattle in 1971. It is still there today.
Exploring Video Art
In 1972, Doris Chase moved to New York City. There, she started making video art. This was a very new art form at the time. She even used computer imaging, which was quite advanced.
The video artist Nam June Paik encouraged her. He helped her explore this new way of creating art. From 1973 to 1974, she joined a special program. It was at the Experimental Television Center.
Doris began by mixing her sculptures with dancers. She used special effects to make dreamlike videos. One art critic said her dance videos felt like being "transported to an enchanted, phosphorescent environment."
Stories on Screen: By Herself Series
Doris Chase made a popular series of video dramas. They were called By Herself. These 30-minute videos were about older women finding their independence.
- Table for One (1985) featured Geraldine Page. She spoke about feeling uneasy dining alone.
- Dear Papa (1986) starred Anne Jackson and her daughter.
- The third video was A Dancer (1987).
- Still Frame (1988) featured Priscilla Pointer.
- Sophie (1989) starred Joan Plowright. Her character left her husband to become a tarot card reader.
The first two videos were shown at film festivals. They were seen at the Berlin and London Film Festivals. Dear Papa even won First Prize at a film festival in Paris in 1986.
Later Achievements
In 1993, Doris Chase made a video documentary. It was about her home, the Chelsea Hotel in New York. This famous hotel was built in 1883. Her video honored the building's 110th anniversary. It also paid tribute to the many artists who lived there.
In 1999, her large bronze sculpture was installed. It was called Moon Gates. This four-piece sculpture was 17 feet high. It can be seen at the Seattle Center.
The Seattle Art Museum has one of her early oil paintings. Documents about her video work are kept at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Doris Totten Chase passed away in 2008. She was 85 years old.
Art Collections
You can find Doris Totten Chase's art in these places:
- Seattle Art Museum
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Henry Art Gallery, Seattle
Filmography
Doris Totten Chase worked on many films and videos.
Director
- Glass Curtain (1990) (Video)
- Sophie (1990)
- A Dancer (1988) (TV)
- Still Frame (1988)
- Dear Papa (1986)
Writer
- Glass Curtain (1990) (Video)
- Sophie (1990)
- Still Frame (1988)
- Dear Papa (1986)
Cinematographer
- Glass Curtain (1990)
- Sophie (1990)
- Still Frame (1988)
- Dear Papa (1986)
