Born in the Grave
Kara Crombie
Friday, November 7th - November 30th, 2008
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
If you had been born
Right in the grave
Think of all the time
You would have saved
All the people you wouldn’t have to know
All of the places you wouldn’t have to go
-Matt Osborne, “Born in the Grave”
The aesthetics of Kara Crombie's video are often inspired by art outside the medium - contemporary German photography, or the paintings of Francis Bacon, for example. Meanwhile her narrative interests, inspired by mainstream film and popular music, lean toward dark comedy and human relationships. As a musician who produces her own soundtracks, her work is also particularly interested in sound design and music as a narrative strategy. In her most recent work, Born in the Grave, actors and real couples face off in psychedelic Baconian rooms floating in an urban outer space inhabited by party ghosts and late night loners. All struggle just to feel not alone in being alone.
Kara Crombie received her BA in Photography and Art History from the University of Pittsburgh while competing on Pitt's NCAA Division I Women's Swim Team. Her event was the 200 backstroke. After school she pursued a rock and roll career for a couple of years before returning to school to earn her MFA from Rochester Institute of Technology. Her instrument was the guitar. Since then she has focused on video art and has screened her work nationally in galleries and film festivals. She lives in Philadelphia.
