Stan Douglas (Contemporary Artists) Book

Canadian artist Stan Douglas combines traditional cinematic techniques with new technologies to produce remarkable video installations. These visually complex works often look critically at the history of television, video and film, and can result in dramatic contemporary portraits as well as serene landscape imagery. From his early brief dramas for television, depicting uncanny, David Lynch-like suburban encounters, to his spectacular large-screen recent installation, "Der Sandmann", exploring childhood trauma and repressed memory, Douglas's work is layered with the artist's observations on social and racial alienation and psychic states. Featured in two documents and nominated for the Hugo Boss/ Guggenheim prize in 1997, Douglas has recently emerged as an international figure. Canadian curator and critic Scott Watson surveys the artist's work in relation to late-20th-century aesthetics, politics and psychoanalysis. Video installation artist Diana Thater discusses the artist's working process and themes in the interviews and Carol J. Clover, film theorist and mythology scholar, analyzes the installation of "Der Sandmann". The artist has chosen an essay by French philosopher Gilles Deleuze, entitled "Humour, irony and the law", echoing Douglas' interest in images of power and powerlessness. Detailed project notes for his works and scripts and an essay on Samuel Beckett's teleplays are included in the artist's writings. The book is part of a series of studies of important artists of the late-20th century. Each title offers a comprehensive survey of the artist's work, providing analyses and multiple perspectives on contemporary art and its inspiration.