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In vintage Valentino, and on the arm of the '00 hottie, Benjamin Bratt, the perennially single Julia Roberts attended the Oscars. As she accepted the statuette for Erin Brockovich, it seemed as if yes, she certainly deserved the award, in a commercial sense certainly, if not for her abilities. It is telling to count how many films, prior to receiving the award, Roberts had appeared in, and to consider what those roles actually represent: Pretty Woman, Steel Magnolias, Flatliners, and Hook cover it for the uninitiated. Some film buffs will go further: The Pelican Brief, Sleeping with the Enemy, Something to Talk About, Runaway Bride, Stepmom. Then, count the actors with whom Roberts has shared billing, Denzel, Duvall, Quaid, Harris, Nolte, Gere, and the parade of would-be husbands, Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric, Lyle Lovett, and Bratt himself. The list reads like a Who's Who of Central Casting. The twenty-four pictures in "Best Actress" cite Roberts' films by listing each film's billing and the actors she either starred or co-starred with, up to 2001. Horowitz is interested in how, at the end of twentieth century, we process media and how Hollywood informs, mis-informs, or re-represents media. Using video as his medium, he points out the discrepancies in stereotypes that eschew from the Hollywood mouthpiece. In that sense, these "Casting" contradictions --from the Hanks' role in Philadelphia, the media marriage of Liza Minnelli and David Gest, or Roberts' own interesting history -- are documented in various forms, from transforming the actual footage, to creating objects that reflect those qualities through their visual presentation. Then again, "Best Actress" could, and might, reflect the Oscar itself, something that celebrates celebrity, in all its nuances. Jonathan Horowitz' curated project in zingmagazine #3, "Howard the Duck", captured stills selected by numerous Contemporary artists from the '80s film of the same name, which drew its inspiration from the comic book series, of the same title. Horowitz' project captures these video moments in a magazine format. Devon Dikeou |