Tony Oursler compilation. (Model release. Par-schiz-position. Test)

Collaborating with writer Constance DeJong, Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, and performance artist Karen Finley, Oursler creates a psychedelic trilogy of works exploring the theme of the destruction of the human body through violent projection, psychological as well as electronic. These sequences, in which the talking head format is superimposed on abstracted background images, can be seen to presage the tone and manner of the artist’s related installations. On Model Release, Oursler writes: “Model Release uses legal text to draw parallels between slavery, prostitution, spiritual possession and the practices of the media machine. The viewer is asked to fill-in-the-blanks of the contract and decide what part of their being they are willing to give up”. On Par-Schizoid-Position, Oursler writes: “Paranoid Schizoid Position uses a poetic structure to lead the viewer through the psychological evolution which ends in violent persecution of subgroups in society.” On Test, Oursler writes: “Test was written in the format of the famous psychological examination MMPI (Minneapolis Personality Inventory). The viewer is invited to answer statements relating to media, violence and the body with a simple true or false response. This work is designed to evoke a moment of self reflection in the viewer.