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Marsia Alexander-Clarke is an American
video installation Video installation is a contemporary art form that combines video technology with installation art, making use of all aspects of the surrounding environment to affect the audience. Tracing its origins to the birth of video art in the 1970s, it has ...
artist. She is a
Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...
.


Personal life and education

Marsia Alexander-Clarke was born in Valparaiso,
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...
in 1939 and moved to the United States to attend high school in 1952, eventually becoming a United States citizen. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts at
Park College Park University is a private university in Parkville, Missouri. It was founded in 1875. In the fall of 2017, Park had an enrollment of 11,457 students. History The school which was originally called Park College was founded in 1875 by John A ...
, and studied at the
Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stud ...
under Ethel Schwabacher from 1962 to 1968. She finalized her education by getting her
Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts a ...
from Claremont Graduate School in 1974. She lives and works in
Altadena, California Altadena () ("Alta", Spanish for "Upper", and "dena" from Pasadena) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in the Verdugo Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, approximately 14 miles (23 km) from the downto ...
.


Artistic career

Alexander-Clarke started her artistic career as a sculptor in the 1970s and 80s. Her primary sculptures of this time were called "Nomadic". She would install these sculptures in nature, documenting them and then exhibiting them in galleries calling their gallery placement "
dormant Dormant, "sleeping", may refer to: Science *Dormancy Dormancy is a period in an organism's life cycle when growth, development, and (in animals) physical activity are temporarily stopped. This minimizes metabolic activity and therefore helps ...
." These "
nomadic A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the po ...
" pieces were made of brown
wrapping paper Gift wrapping is the act of enclosing a gift in some sort of material. Wrapping paper is a kind of paper designed for gift wrapping. An alternative to gift wrapping is using a gift box or bag. A wrapped or boxed gift may be held closed with ri ...
and tape, and eventually out of wood and
canvas Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handb ...
. Through these works, Alexander-Clarke explored ideas of process art,
anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
, and packaging. In the early 1990s Alexander-Clarke became involved in video art. She was active in Studio X, a
production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, a ...
based in California. In 1997 she had her first video exhibition, ''S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G'', at
El Camino College El Camino College (Elco or ECC) is a two-year public community college located in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County known as Alondra Park.California Museum of Photography. Her work is held in public and private collections, including
International Paper The International Paper Company is an American pulp and paper company, the largest such company in the world. It has approximately 56,000 employees, and is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. History The company was incorporated January 31, ...
.


Notable exhibitions

*''The Quest for Balance'', group show, 1987; Woman's Building, Los Angeles, California *''S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G'', 2000; California Museum of Photography,
Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire and ...
*''UT COELUM'', 2003; Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum,
San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...
*''Marsia Alexander-Clarke and Barbara Berk'', 2007; Riverside Art Museum,
Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire and ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander-Clarke, Marsia American women installation artists American installation artists Living people Artists from California Art Students League of New York alumni Claremont Graduate University alumni People from Valparaíso 1939 births Chilean emigrants to the United States American video artists American women video artists Park University alumni 21st-century American women