Bruce Charlesworth
Encyclopedia
Bruce Charlesworth is a visual artist known primarily for his photographic, video and multimedia works. He is considered one of the pioneers of post-modern staged photography and an innovator in video installation and interactivity. He received his BA in Art from the University of Northern Iowa
(1972) and his MFA in Painting from the University of Iowa
in 1975. He is currently Assistant Professor of Film/Video/New Genres at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
Charlesworth began to exhibit in New York and internationally with the photo-novellas Eddie Glove (1976–79), and Special Communiqués (1981). Other staged photographic series followed, including Trouble (1982–83), Fate (1984–87), Man and Nature (1988–91), Confiscated Objects (1999–2000), and Serum (2003–08). Surveillance (1981) was the first of many of what Charlesworth termed narrative environments, works that use video and/or audio to power a narrative within a designed space. Projectile (1982), Wrong Adventures (1984), Private House (1987), Reality Street (1994) and Airlock (2004) are a few subsequent multimedia installations. Video and film works include Communiqués for Tape (1981), Robert and Roger (1985), Dateline for Danger (1987), A Stranger's Index (1990) and The Happiness Effect (2004). Throughout much of the 1990s Charlesworth worked on his feature-length experimental film project Private Enemy - Public Eye. In 1989 a book was published entitled Private Enemy, Public Eye: The Work of Bruce Charlesworth, which was also the name of a survey exhibition of his work at the International Center of Photography
. The recent interactive video installation Love Disorder was featured in the 2008 Zero1 Biennial in San Jose.
Charlesworth's work has been shown at the Centre Georges Pompidou
in Paris, London's Tate Gallery
, The American Film Institute, the Whitney Museum of American Art
, the National Museum of American Art in Washington, and the Museum of Contemporary Art
in Chicago and many other museums and galleries. His work is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art
in New York, the Baltimore Museum of Art
, the Metropolitan Museum of Art
, the Walker Art Center
in Minneapolis, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts and the Fundação de Serraives in Oporto, Portugal, among others. Charlesworth was the first artist-in-residence at the Capp Street Project
in San Francisco.
Charlesworth has also been the recipient of many grants and fellowships, from the National Endowment for the Arts
, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, the Jerome, Bush and McKnight Foundations. In 2007, he was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Fellowship for his work in interactive video installation.
University of Northern Iowa
The University of Northern Iowa is a college located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 120 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities and Fine Arts, Natural Sciences, and Social and Behavioral sciences, and graduate college.UNI has...
(1972) and his MFA in Painting from the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
in 1975. He is currently Assistant Professor of Film/Video/New Genres at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
Charlesworth began to exhibit in New York and internationally with the photo-novellas Eddie Glove (1976–79), and Special Communiqués (1981). Other staged photographic series followed, including Trouble (1982–83), Fate (1984–87), Man and Nature (1988–91), Confiscated Objects (1999–2000), and Serum (2003–08). Surveillance (1981) was the first of many of what Charlesworth termed narrative environments, works that use video and/or audio to power a narrative within a designed space. Projectile (1982), Wrong Adventures (1984), Private House (1987), Reality Street (1994) and Airlock (2004) are a few subsequent multimedia installations. Video and film works include Communiqués for Tape (1981), Robert and Roger (1985), Dateline for Danger (1987), A Stranger's Index (1990) and The Happiness Effect (2004). Throughout much of the 1990s Charlesworth worked on his feature-length experimental film project Private Enemy - Public Eye. In 1989 a book was published entitled Private Enemy, Public Eye: The Work of Bruce Charlesworth, which was also the name of a survey exhibition of his work at the International Center of Photography
International Center of Photography
The International Center of Photography is a photography museum, school, and research center in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...
. The recent interactive video installation Love Disorder was featured in the 2008 Zero1 Biennial in San Jose.
Charlesworth's work has been shown at the Centre Georges Pompidou
Centre Georges Pompidou
Centre Georges Pompidou is a complex in the Beaubourg area of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, near Les Halles, rue Montorgueil and the Marais...
in Paris, London's Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
, The American Film Institute, the Whitney Museum of American Art
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
, the National Museum of American Art in Washington, and the Museum of Contemporary Art
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is a contemporary art museum near Water Tower Place in downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The museum, which was established in 1967, is one of the world's largest contemporary art venues...
in Chicago and many other museums and galleries. His work is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in New York, the Baltimore Museum of Art
Baltimore Museum of Art
The Baltimore Museum of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, was founded in 1914. Built in the Roman Temple style, the Museum is home to an internationally renowned collection of 19th-century, modern, and contemporary art. Founded in 1914 with a single painting, the BMA today has 90,000 works...
, the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, the Walker Art Center
Walker Art Center
The Walker Art Center is a contemporary art center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is considered one of the nation's "big five" museums for modern art along with the Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum and the Hirshhorn...
in Minneapolis, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts and the Fundação de Serraives in Oporto, Portugal, among others. Charlesworth was the first artist-in-residence at the Capp Street Project
Capp Street Project
Capp Street Project was established as an experimental art space in 1983 in San Francisco, California and was the first visual arts residency in the United States dedicated solely to the creation and presentation of new art installations....
in San Francisco.
Charlesworth has also been the recipient of many grants and fellowships, from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, the Jerome, Bush and McKnight Foundations. In 2007, he was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Mr. and Mrs. Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died April 26, 1922...
Fellowship for his work in interactive video installation.