Lisa Steele facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lisa Steele
|
|
|---|---|
A scene from Birthday Suit – with scars and defects (1974), a 12-minute video by Lisa Steele.
|
|
| Born | 1947 (age 77–78) |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Known for | Video art |
|
Notable work
|
Birthday Suit – with scars and defects, 1974 The Blood Records, written and annotated, 1997 (with Kim Tomczak) |
| Awards | 2005 Governor General's Award for Visual and Media Art (with Kim Tomczak)
1993 Bell Canada Award for Video Art (with Kim Tomczak) 1993 Peter Herrndorf Media Arts Award (with Kim Tomczak) |
Lisa Steele (born 1947) is a Canadian artist who was one of the first people to create video art. She is also a teacher, a curator (a person who organizes art exhibitions), and one of the founders of an organization called Vtape in Toronto.
Steele was born in the United States but moved to Canada in 1968 and is now a Canadian citizen. Since the early 1980s, she has created art with her partner, Kim Tomczak.
Contents
Early Life and Career
Lisa Steele was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1947. She moved to Canada when she was 21 years old. Her brother, James B. Steele, is a famous journalist who has won a Pulitzer Prize.
Since the 1970s, Steele has been a very important video artist in Canada. Her work has been shown in famous art galleries and museums all over the world, including:
- The Venice Biennale in Italy
- The Museum of Modern Art in New York City
- The National Gallery of Canada
- The Vancouver Art Gallery
She helped start Vtape, a group in Toronto that helps independent video artists share their work. She also helped create and edit FUSE Magazine, a magazine about art and culture.
Exploring Art Through Video
In her early career, Lisa Steele created several important videos that explored personal stories and ideas.
Famous Early Videos
- Birthday Suit – with scars and defects (1974): In this well-known video, Steele stands in front of the camera and points out different scars on her body. She tells the stories of how she got them. She made the video for her 27th birthday to show a record of her life through her scars.
- A Very Personal Story (1974): This video tells the story of a difficult experience from Steele's childhood. When she was 15, she found her mother after she had passed away. The video uses storytelling to explore this sad memory.
- The Ballad of Dan Peoples (1976): In this video, Steele pretends to be her grandfather. She holds his picture and tells stories from his childhood in his voice. By sharing his memories, she also shows parts of her own identity.
Working with Kim Tomczak
Since the 1980s, Steele has worked only with her partner, Kim Tomczak. Together, they have created many art projects. Their work has been shown in a large exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario.
In 1996, their video The Blood Records: written and annotated was shown for the first time at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Another one of their art pieces, We're Getting Younger All the Time, has been set up in different cities, including Venice, Italy.
Steele is also a respected teacher. She is a professor emeritus (a retired professor who keeps their title as an honor) at the University of Toronto.
Awards and Recognition
Lisa Steele has won many awards for her art.
- In 2005, she and Kim Tomczak won the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts, one of Canada's highest honors for artists.
- In 2009, they both received honorary doctorate degrees from the University of British Columbia.
Her videos are part of art collections in museums around the world, including the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Personal Life
Steele is a breast cancer survivor.
List of Works
Select Videos by Lisa Steele
- Birthday Suit – with scars and defects (1974)
- A Very Personal Story (1974)
- The Ballad Of Dan Peoples (1976)
- The Damages (1977)
- Makin' Strange (1978)
- Talking Tongues (1982)
- The Gloria Tapes (1980)
Select Videos with Kim Tomczak
- Working The Double Shift (1984)
- Legal Memory (1992)
- The Blood Records: written and annotated (1997)
- We're Getting Younger All The Time (2001)
- Make ... Not War (2003)
- Practicing Death (2003)
- Free Speech (2006)
- Speak City (2009)
