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Performing Utopias in the Contemporary Americas pp 283–300Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

The Utopian Impulse in the Videos of Pola Weiss (Mexico City, 1977–1990)

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Abstract

Aceves Sepúlveda explores the innovative works of a radical video artist and her utopian feminist-inspired agenda. The author considers Weiss’s unique approach to video as an articulation of a utopian impulse motivated by the desire to contest dominant class, gender, and racial hierarchies as experienced in the streets of Mexico. The essay examines how Weiss not only deconstructed the rigid binary between (male) subject and (female) object by showing how women take pleasure in looking and being looked at, but also believed in video technology’s capacity to create a “cosmic man,” that is, a new sensorial being that would destabilize notions deeply ingrained in Mexican culture. This chapter is a discussion of alterity, alternative media history, and utopian engagement through media.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Interactive Arts and Technology, Simon Fraser University, Surrey, Canada

    Gabriela Aceves Sepúlveda

Authors
  1. Gabriela Aceves Sepúlveda
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

    Kim Beauchesne

  2. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

    Alessandra Santos

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Aceves Sepúlveda, G. (2017). The Utopian Impulse in the Videos of Pola Weiss (Mexico City, 1977–1990). In: Beauchesne, K., Santos, A. (eds) Performing Utopias in the Contemporary Americas. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56873-1_15

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