Pamela Joseph | multimedia artist | Pamela Joseph web site: www.pamelajoseph.com
ArtistRegister Logo
E-mail:manose@rof.net | 407 Aspen Oak Drive - Aspen, CO 81611 | Tel.: 970.920.4098 - Fax: 970.920.2242
home | biography | WORK: sideshow of the absurd | adventures of pussy marshmallow | body parts | Roman Calendar Girls |

Pamela Joseph's Sideshow of the Absurd: Selected works
a traveling mechanical carnival installation of freaks, unnatural curiosities,
and absurdities associated with the Other Sex

A multimedia installation including humorous painted banners, drawings, digital prints and mechanical sculptures with carnival sounds

Artist Statement -
The Sideshow of the Aburd
April 2002

The very notion of a sideshow implies "otherness," the displaying of freaks, people "who are not like us." Part of American art and culture. The Sideshow of the Absurd references the historical significance of the traveling carnival, using the exhibition as a context for exploring contemporary issues of vulnerability; fate and chance; the violence that lurks behind facades; and female power. Designed as a series of "exhibits", the Sideshow consists of three-dimensional mechanical sculptures with sound and humorous drawings. These sclptures-featuring woman in potentially precarious situations-gyrate, twist, and sway.

My intention is to stimulate ideas and provoke thought about our present condition. An underlying theme of the exhibition is acceptance and tolerance, and thereby suggests the idea that difference can be a source of power and strength rather than fear. But as Mae West once said: "If you're going to tell the truth, make them laugh or they'll kill you."

Accompanied by large, colorful banners and carnival sounds, the Sideshow draws viewers in to participate both emotionally and physically. Like carnivals of the past, The Sideshow of the Absurd is presently traveling nationwide to varoius venues. As the Ringmistress who directs the activity, Joseph creates new pieces for each space, rearranging the relationships, so that every installation becomes a continually changing dialogue.

 

 



Alien Fortune Teller - 2002
Pamela Joseph: Alien Fortune Teller, 2002 - Multimedia Pamela Joseph: Alien Fortune Teller (detail), 2002 - Multimedia
exhibit detail painted banner
Multimedia with digital video machine and sound
10' x 4'1" x 3'9"
Acrylic on canvas
4'10" x 4'

Cincinnati Cleeko, The captive Boy - 2002
Pamela Joseph: Cincinnati Cleeko, The Captive Swan Boy, 2002 - Multimedia
exhibit
Multimedia with sound
8'6" x 4'6" x 25"
Shelly The Human Tortoise - 2001 - 2002
Pamela Joseph: Shelly, The Human Tortoise, 2001 Pamela Joseph: Shelly, The Human Tortoise, 2001 Pamela Joseph: Shelly, The Human Tortoise, 2001 - Painted Banner
exhibit
Detail - Front Detail - Back painted banner
Multimedia
87" x 60" x 18"
Acrylic on canvas
4'10" x 4'
The Torture Museum - 2001
Pamela Joseph: Torture Museum: exterior, 2001 - Mixed media Pamela Joseph: Torture Museum: interior, 2001 - Mixed media
exhibit (exterior)
(interior) painted banner
Multimedia with sound
11' x 16' x 6'
Acrylic on canvas
4'10" x 4'
The Baby Wheel of Fortune (Detail) - 1999
Pamela Joseph: Baby Wheel of Fortune (detail), 1999 - Mixed media
exhibit
Multimedia mechanized with sound
55' diameter x 24"
The Garden of the Virgins (Installation & Detail) - 1999
gardenofvirgins.html Pamela Joseph: The Garden of the Virgins (detail), 1999 - Mixed media
exhibit (detail)
Mixed media, mechanized with music
10' x 18' x 9'

A Few Painted Banners
from Pamela Joseph's Sideshow of the Absurd


FOR INFORMATION orPURCHASE CONTACT
Pamela Joseph
407 Aspen Oak Drive - Aspen, CO 81611
Tel.: 970.920.4098 - Fax: 970.920.2242

E-mail:manose@rof.net | Pamela Joseph web site:
www.pamelajoseph.com



ArtistRegister.com Logo
aristregister.com: a division of: ArtRegister Network™
| artnewschannel.net | artregister.com | artistregister.com | museumregister.com | artregisterpress.com | artdevivre.net

Creation, implementation & maintenance by: ArtRegisterNetwork™
PO Box 256 - New York NY 10028-0003 - Tel.: 212.327.0401 - Fax: 212.288.3666 - E-mail: info@artistregister.com