Work of this period (and prior) was an attempt to resolve the schism between what ‘art’ was expected to be and what was happening on the street. In the late sixties and early seventies, artists performed and recorded visualizations of questions we were asking using the ordinances at hand.
The provocation that began the identity series rests in the struggle between true identity, decorum, and role-playing at a time of social and political change. Devices such as role-playing and make-up were regularly used as masks to metaphorically conceal and reveal. Sequencing and story boards were formats used to replace performance or video. Mimicry was essential in works such as On Stage, which was begun in 1972 as a slide show before its finalized version in 1975. In several works, such as A Zero Conversation, Natural Way to Draw, or the Simulation works, white face was applied to denote mask. In mime, white face indicates zero before character. The struggle for a fully realized voice became more evident over time, and prompted works such as: I am Twelve or the Suzy Lake as… (‘Transformation’ series) to address its accompanying vulnerability.
Are You Talking to Me?… is an installation of 83 portraits in the midst of an emotive monologue. Visual devices such as sequence, print shape/scale, negative manipulation, and persistence of vision are employed to elucidate an almost ineffable struggle. The colour punctuation and most of the physical manipulations center around print registration at the mouth; and, it is this constant that draws the audience into the conversation. The title was appropriated from Robert DeNiro’s famous quote in the movie Taxi Driver - as a cinematic tribute to the dynamic between celluloid and audience.