Glitter and Doom
Rachel Rampleman
June 17 - 29, 2017
Rampleman’s work frequently showcases exuberantly bold and irrepressible female/femme personalities who revel in challenging common clichés associated with masculinity and femininity, and who often assume roles stereotypically associated with men. This is a landscape where sexual braggadocio, heavy-metal rock stardom, or hyper-muscularity have become characteristic of feminine prowess. Working primarily with lens-based media, Rampleman has made work
ranging from documentary style videos and photos of and about Girls Girls Girls (the world’s first and only all female Mötley Crüe tribute band), to experimental video series (such as Busby Berkeley 2.0 - in which nostalgic 1930s routines choreographed by Berkeley and performed by Hollywood showgirls are transformed into something more hypnotic, industrial and menacing), to photographic studies documenting spectacles such as bull-riding competitions and monster truck shows.
For her solo exhibition Glitter and Doom at The Neon Heater Gallery, Rampleman will premiere two new multi-channel installations. Both showcasing her continued explorations into video portraiture, one of these will feature her ongoing documentation of performers from NYC's alt-burlesque scene, and the other will present appropriated and manipulated footage from a recent international women's pro-bodybuilding competition. Also on display will be a series of large-scale photographs (taken at Mötley Crüe's final concert at Madison Square Garden, a punk performance by Otto's Daughter in Troy, Ohio, etc.), as well as additional single and multi-channel video works, which, taken collectively, will present a broader sense of the artist's overall oeuvre.