Ann Hirsch: Muffy

…chained by her neck to a blob creature with a thick, worm-like tongue, a petite woman in a gold bikini top and flimsy purple loin cloth is held against her will…when the blob pulls the shackle around her neck, the woman’s slight body violently jerks back and presses taut against the slimy ridges of the blob creature’s skin…she closes her eyes…

…somewhere in a galaxy far, far away, a young girl in white underwear opens her eyes…she is sitting in her lavender bedroom, enjoying the stirring feeling she’s noticing in her body…the girl ties her neck to a giant stuffed bear with a long ribbon…she thinks, “there’s nothing i can do now…i am his slave forever…”

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For her debut solo exhibition, Ann Hirsch explores the inchoate state of early adolescent sexuality, in which one intuits the sexual nature of their bodies, but doesn’t yet know what sex is. Her drawings, prints, and sculptures transport viewers to the surreal psychological space of this often contradictory life stage. The self is presented in states of dreamlike transformation informed by both biological imperatives and, in a series of works with autobiographical dimensions, the social and cultural influence of Internet communities and pop culture.

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…oh, the pleasure she feels at being naked, stuffing toys down her underwear, imagining she is a beautiful princess trapped in a monster’s maze…

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ANN HIRSCH (b. 1985) is a video and performance artist who looks at the ways technology has influenced popular culture and gender. Her research has included becoming a YouTube camwhore, amassing over two million views on her videos, as well as making appearances on some popular reality television shows including as a romantic contestant on Vh1's Frank the Entertainer…In a Basement Affair. She was awarded a 2012–13 Rhizome commission for her two person play Playground, which debuted at the New Museum and was recently awarded a 2014 WaveFarm Media Arts grant to continue producing this show. Her companion ebook,Twelve was censored from the iTunes store but is now available through Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery. Hirsch has performed at Performa 13, Vox Populi, Eyebeam Art + Technology Center and exhibited at Abrons Art Center, KANSAS Gallery, ABC No Rio and Arcadia Missa. She has been an artist in residence at Yaddo, Atlantic Center for the Arts and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Her work been written about for NYmag, The New York Times, Rhizome, Artforum and more.
www.therealannhirsch.com

Ann Hirsch: Muffy is the inaugural exhibition of American Medium’s new Brooklyn location. Special thanks to everyone who contributed to our fundraising campaign to make this new space a reality, and our wonderful crew of volunteers.