Jennifer Steinkamp Hurdy Gurdy Man (Chrysanthemums), 2006 Video
installation, edition of six, AP 1/1 Est: 2.6 x 4 feet Courtesy
the artist and Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York  In this
computer-animated projection, Jennifer Steinkamp has set a
traditional still-life subject into motion. A group of delicate,
pastel-hued chrysanthemums seems to bob and sway to the Donovan
song for which the piece is named. Their movement is
mesmerizing, but also vaguely unsettling; despite the still air
in the gallery, Steinkamp's fantasy garden is in constant,
repetitive motion. The contrast between the naturalistic
appearance of the blossoms and the artificiality of their
movement is an example of the disorienting experiences we
construct for ourselves in our digitized world. Like Steinkamp's
other video installations, Hurdy Gurdy Man explores ideas of
motion and perception, testing our responses to forms that are
simultaneously familiar and impossible.  Web site: