Like Tears in Rain
Gibbes Museum, May 4 - August 12, 2007
Janet Biggs is best known for her multimedia video
installations centering on the image of the horse as a means to explore the
construction of gender in today’s society. She often pairs horses with images of
athletes to investigate concepts of status, power and control.
Like Tears in Rain addresses these issues by pairing footage of The
Citadel’s Summerall Guards with footage of a blind dressage rider. A precision
drill platoon, the Summerall Guards performs a precise series of movements to a
silent count. Membership in the platoon is a high honor and requires demanding
physical training. Dressage also requires rigorous physical training of both the
horse and the rider. The horse is trained to perform a prescribed series of
movements in response to guidance from the rider. Biggs’s multiple channel video
installation reveals the intense effort and commitment required by the rider,
the horse and the Citadel cadets to make a very controlled performance appear
effortless and free. This exhibition made possible through the generous support
of Garden & Gun Magazine.
Summerall Guard, Citadel, Charleston, South Carolina, By Janet Biggs, Still image from the multi-channel video installation Like Tears in Rain, Courtesy of the artist
Texts:
 | Exhibition Brochure |
| Smith, Nick: "Future Noir: Janet Biggs mixed documentary shots for art's sake at the Gibbes." Charleston City Paper, 02 May 2007. |