An
eclectic, multi-genre artist, Aysha Quinn's career has
spanned a broad range of the dramatic and media arts -
modeling, acting, and video and performance art. In the
late 60's in N.Y.C, she acted and supported herself as
a runway and fitting model (along with a 6-month stint
as the backroom waitress at Max's Kansas City). In 1968,
she relocated to L.A. and after a couple of years of acting
and entertainment industry day jobs (Assistant to Gene
Levitt at "Project UFO" and Assistant to Wally
Amos while he was managing artists), she bought a black
and white, 1/2" reel-to-reel video portapak and began
shooting documentary lifestyle tapes in Venice, CA. She
entered the arena of video art in 1975, pursuing her career
as a tapemaker and expanding into video performance and
sculptural installation. She emerged as one of the strongest
and technically solid videomakers in the Southern California
performance genre of the '70's. Her early concerns for
the environment and holistic processes as subject matter
have proven her one of the forerunners of the era of ecofeminism.
While
living in Park City, Utah (1979-1983), she was instrumental
in the establishment of the Utah Media Center and a major
force behind the development of video in the U.S. Film &
Video Festival (now the Sundance Festival). She continued
her working relationship with the international arts community,
while maintaining involvement with Utah theater and television.
After moving to upstate N.Y., she held adjunct faculty positions
at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Dept. of the Arts,
teaching both Acting and Video Art,(1985-1990) and at SUNY
Purchase Dept. of Visual Arts (1991-1993), as well as participated
in many artist-in-residence/visiting artist programs in
secondary schools in N.Y. and in universities nationally.
Additionally, in 1988-1989, she was the Communications/Cultural
Specialist at Hospitality House Therapeutic Community in
Albany where she created innovative therapeutic programs
for drug addicted youth. She continues to work as an advocate
for children's rights.
A
great deal of her art work has been highly involved with
intermedia. A major retrospective of her video work and
video/computer graphic paintings was held at VideoBrasil
in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1989. Quinn's work displays deep
personal social and spiritual concerns in work that combines
free flowing, improvisational camera work with state-of-the
art post production technology, computer manipulated imagery
and computer graphics. These concerns are in the forefront
of her continued work with Native American issues through
her involvement with New York State Iroquois and other indigenous
peoples.
The
mother of two adult daughters, Quinn once again resides
in New York City where she pursues her acting career and
continues to work in video and performance/commentary.
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