Nan Hoover

Nan Hoover
Nan Hoover 2007 in Glasgow
Born	12 May 1931 Bay Shore, New York
Died	9 June 2008 Berlin, Germany
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Corcoran College of Art and Design
Known for	Video art, installation art, performance, photography, drawing
Website	www.nan-hoover.com

Nan Hoover (12 May 1931 – 9 June 2008) was a Dutch/American-expatriate artist who is known for her pioneering work in video art, photography and performance art. She spent almost four decades living and working in the Netherlands. She also used the mediums of drawing, painting, photography and film and created art objects and sculptures. One of the main themes of her art was light and motion. The rigorous, minimalist handling of her means as well as the intense concentration with which she performed within spaces of light and shadow are the most salient characteristics of her artistic work.

With her exploration of new media her artistic practice gained international recognition. Her performances and light installations were shown worldwide in museums, exhibition houses and in public spaces. In 1977 she participated in the documenta 6 and in 1987 the documenta 8 in Kassel. In 1984 Hoover participated in the Biennale di Venezia. She taught art at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1986, was professor for video and film at the Düsseldorf Art Academy from 1987 - 1997, taught mixed media at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy Amsterdam from 1998 – 1999, and held classes in video and performance at the International Summer Academy in Salzburg from 1994 - 1996 and in 2001.

Hoover was born in Bay Shore, New York as Nancy Dodge Browne and died in Berlin June 9, 2008 as Nancy Hefty-Browne. Early on, Hoover was committed to becoming an artist. The choice between dance and the visual arts was decided in favour of painting and sculpture, mediums that allowed her an independent creative exploration. Studies at the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington D.C. from 1950 - 1955 were followed by exhibitions of her sculptures, paintings and drawings, first in Washington and later in New York City. Her earliest dated works used expressive strokes, concentrated on individual figures with minimal background information and were largely executed in earthen tones. Her interest in the human body and human psychology was too great to embrace an abstract expressionist style. Sometimes the figures would display physical abnormalities and/or be seen from unusual perspectives that indicated vulnerable socio-psychological or emotional states and thus contributed to the impression of being surreal. Isolated full figure studies and enigmatic relations between two or more figures predominate. She was also interested in the secrets of light. Her curiosity was enhanced through her visits to the Rembrandt van Rijn studies in oils in the Washington National Gallery of Art.