The Mom Tapes

Ilene Segalove

1974 | 00:26:52 | United States | English | B&W and Color | Mono | 4:3 | Video

Collection: Early Video Art, Single Titles

Tags: Autobiography, Family, Feminism, Performance, Video History

Segalove takes her mom as subject in these short pieces, recording her stories, her advice, and her daily routine. What results is a portrait of a contemporary mother-daughter relationship, touchingly devoid of drama and full of whimsical humor. For example, in one piece, Ilene’s mother laments over a pair of shoes her daughter has chosen to hang on the wall instead of wearing, saying,”With you, everything is art.” In another segment the camera focuses on a pair of unoccupied, overstuffed chairs. The voice of a teenage girl whines, “Mom, I’m bored—” then proceeds to reject each of her mother’s suggestions by throwing objects across the room: books, food, sports equipment, the telephone, and so forth.

An excerpt of this title (3:39) is also available on Surveying the First Decade: Volume 1.

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Exhibitions + Festivals

State of Mind: New California Art Circa 1970, Orange County Museum of Art, October 2011 / Berkeley Art Museum, 2012 / Bronx Museum of the Arts, 2013 / SITE Santa Fe, 2013 / Smart Museum of Art, 2013