Description
Joan Jonas, Mirage, 1976/2001. Installation with film (Mirage [1976]) and video projection (Mirage II [1976/2000]) and two videotapes transferred to laserdisc shown on a monitor: May Windows (1976); Good Night Good Morning (1976); both repeated continuously. Collection Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Purchase, with funds from the Film and Video Committee, 2002.158.
For the exhibition Into the Light: The Projected Image in American Art 1964–1977, curated by Chrissie Iles at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, in 2001, Jonas created a new installation version of Mirage (1976/2001), which includes film and video projections as well as videos shown on a monitor. In contrast to her other Mirage installations (Mirage [1976/1994] and Mirage [1976/1994/2005]), in Mirage (1976/2001), Jonas uses only film and video images to define the space of the installation; there are no props, photographs, or additional components. The installation comprises a projection of the film Mirage (1976), shown alongside a slightly smaller projection of the video Mirage II (1976/2000). In front of these two projections is a monitor turned on its side showing the videos May Windows (1976) and Good Night Good Morning (1976). Now in the Whitney’s collection, this is one of two extant installation versions of Mirage; the other, Mirage (1976/1994/2005), is in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
—KP
Bibliographic References
Iles, Chrissie. “Joan Jonas Mirage.” In Into the Light: The Projected Image in American Art, edited by Chrissie Iles, 148–153. New York: Whitney Museum, 2001.
“Joan Jonas, Mirage, 1976/2001.” Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
For further reading, see Mirage Bibliography.
Exhibition and Installation View
Into the Light: The Projected Image in American Art 1964-1977 (2001-2002) Installation View
Joan Jonas, Mirage, 1976/2001. Installation with film (Mirage [1976]) and video projection (Mirage II [1976/2000]) and two videotapes transferred to laserdisc shown on a monitor: May Windows (1976); Good Night Good Morning (1976); both repeated continuously. Collection Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Purchase, with funds from the Film and Video Committee, 2002.158. Installation view, Into the Light: The Projected Image in American Art 1964–1977, curated by Chrissie Iles, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, October 17, 2001–January 27, 2002.
Floor Plan
Joan Jonas, Mirage, 1976/2001. Installation with film (Mirage [1976]) and video projection (Mirage II [1976/2000]) and two videotapes transferred to laserdisc shown on a monitor: May Windows (1976); Good Night Good Morning (1976); both repeated continuously. Collection Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Purchase, with funds from the Film and Video Committee, 2002.158. Floor plan, Into the Light: The Projected Image in American Art 1964–1977, curated by Chrissie Iles, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, October 17, 2001–January 27, 2002. 2002.158 Joan Jonas Mirage artwork file, Research Resources Department, Whitney Museum of American Art.
Additional Materials
- Joan Jonas, Mirage (1976/2000), Installation Plan and Details, Into the Light Into the Light: The Projected Image in American Art 1964–1977, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 2001. Archives of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. 2002.158 Joan Jonas Mirage artwork file, Research Resources Department, Whitney Museum of American Art.
Interviews
- Interview with Chrissie Iles (Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York), October 2018