RESUME

KIRSTEN R. BATES

C.V. and Backstory

 ARTIST/MIXED MEDIA,VIDEO,FILM,THEATER

ART EXHIBITIONS (selected):

SOLO EXHIBITIONS:

A Boy’s Own Bridge, 42’ wood suspension bridge with installed sound on rooftop, installed projection of New Jersey pier on fire on ascending staircase, Franklin Street Arts Center, New York, NY summer 1977.

A Boy’s Own Bridge, 42’ wood suspension bridge with sound and continuous slide show of ASL hands spelling W-A-T-E-R, artist’s plumbing, University of Massachusetts at Amherst Student Union Gallery, September 1977.

Once Upon a Garden: Surviving Domestic Violence. Including installations Unearthing,  Scenes from a Marriage, Video "Once Upon a Garden" with performance footage, and Welcome to my Garden large format photographs. DIgitally recorded 1995-2007,  edited and printed in 2024. Curator and collaborator, Lauren Tanchum, Café Joust Catskill, NY 2024

TWO PERSON SHOWS:

THEN. NOW.:A Very Rare Exhibit of Selected Early and Recent Works by Kirsten Bates and Sam Sebren, venue former Post Office, Athens, NY, Michael Black, Curator. Video and sound installation, “Covid Spring: A Walk in the Park,” 2022, Multi-channel video, sound environment “The Nick Room,” 2022, Installation “#MyPlumbingMyself,” Plumbing collages atop schematics for actualized plumbing with sculpture, 1976-78, and 2022.  February 2022.

On Screen/On Page, with Roberta Gould at the Woodstock Public Library, hers read, my video poems projected, “Ice,” “Moon Shadows,” “Fire,” August 2016.

GROUP SHOWS (selected):

The New Womens Art Exhibition, Curator Lauren Tanchum, Ceremony for Erzulie, photographs and sound of ceremony for voudou goddess Erzulie recorded in 1979, presented for the first time July - September 2025.

The Drawing Show, four large mixed media works on paper and a wall of archival drawings from the 1970s, curated by Lauren Tanchum, Café Joust, Catskill NY, January 2025

Homely: What and Where is Home?, Athens Cultural Center, Athens NY, curator Timothy Watkins. “The Overstory, the Understory and the Backstory,” multichannel video and separate sound installation with set pieces, curator Tim Watkins, September-November 2019.

Toys: Finding Your Inner Child, Athens Cultural Center, Athens NY, curators Diane Michener, Lucy Michener, c. 1930 French woodblock puzzle, WWII era toy wood assemblage cannon from Port Rowan, Canada, Thuringian riding horse and futurist toy dog, c. 1930, Germany, Curators Dandy Michener and Lucy Michener, May -  August 2019.

Fire, Athens Cultural Center, Athens NY, curators, “Fire,” continuous video projection and sculpture, curator Dandy Michener, 2018. 

18th Annual Juried Show, Columbia Council on the Arts, Hudson Hall, Hudson New York, “Water, Fire,” 2014 continuous video installation, December 2014 – January 2015.

Small…But Not Restricted, Juried alumnae exhibition, Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, PA, “Ice,” continuous video installation, February 2014.

Cancer Journeys, Greene County Council on the Arts, Catskill NY, curator Fawn Potash, “A Letter to David,” letter and brain drawings, 2013.

Ice, Athens Cultural Center, curator Carrie Feder, “Ice,” continuous video projection, 2013.

Whale Oil to Whole Foods, Greene County Council on the Arts and Suislaw Forest, Acra, curators Christy Rupp, Fawn Potash, “ABC Bricks,” sculpture installation, Athens Brick Company bricks excavated in Athens, 2012.

A Rising Tide, Athens Cultural Center, curators Randall Evans and Cynthia Karasek, “Vortex,” excavated brick sculpture installed at 4 Mile Point, Athens, NY, Athens Brick Company 19th c. bricks, 2012. 

Athens Cultural Center Members Show, Athens NY, “3 North Warren Street,” photographs of material,  bricks and broken bottles excavated on the property while installing garden beds, 2012.

Group Show, Benefit, White Columns, NYC “Parachute/Falling” collage of first parachute jump with photograph, also collage of news clippings of people falling, 1978.

Ten in Situ, Picker Art Gallery, Colgate University Hamilton, NY, “Colgate Catalog Translated into Chinese,” collage of photographs from the Colgate University catalogue matched with images from so-called Red Chinese propaganda magazines and audio installation, 1976.

Colour Xerography, The Western Front, Vancouver, Canada, “Plumbing,” collages from plumbing texts overlaid with images from tampon products, 1976.

Canadada Postcards, University of Manitoba, Manitoba Canada, “The Amatory Adventure of the Female Spy,” self portrait in costume with handwritten text copied from sexologist Magnus Hirshfeld, 1976.

Group Show, 112 Greene Street/112 Workshop, NYC, “I See You Seeing Me,” rear projection installation with continuous slides, audio on headphones, set pieces, chair, mirror, rear projection screen, 1976.

Darkroom, 112 Greene Street/112 Workshop, NYC, Willoughby Sharp. Collaborated to convert entire space to wet darkroom printing on 36” black and white paper roll. Photographed and reverse processed black and white slides to result in large prints of reverse images, simulating solarization process, built oversized trays, exposed slides with projector. 1976.

Ideas at Idea Warehouse, Clocktower, 22 Reade Street NYC, curator Alanna Heiss. “Options,” continuous projection b/w slides, audio of edited interview with my grandfather, rephotography of images of him in his twenties, slides with questions I could not ask out loud, installation, 1975.

Two Evenings of Performance, The Kitchen, NYC. “Great Expectations,” audio edited from an adolescent female's questions about sex, projected b/w slides, audio, followed by installation of audio with photograph, 1975.

Continuing Works in Various Media, 597 Broadway NYC, “Leave Me Alone,” wooden case with pinhole photograph affixed to door, shelf with documents, continuous audio installation, 1975. 

ARCHIVES (selected):

Avalanche Magazine Archive, Museum of Modern Art, NY, photographs, Robert Wilson and Christopher Knowles, 1976.

Willoughby Sharp Archive, The Getty, Los Angles CA, photographs and negatives of Willoughby Sharp’s video performances 1974 - 1977, KB personal effects appropriated for his work, work from collaborative pieces.

David Wojnarowicz Data Base, Fales Library, NYU, material associated with performances adapted from his book “Sounds in the Distance.”

COLLABORATIONS/GROUPS (selected):

Theater group Turmoil, with Elizabeth (Butch) Walker, Allen Frame, to perform new dramatic material. Performed in NYC and Berlin, 1980 - 1984

Glenn O’Brien’s TV Party, camera and tech assistant, weekly cable tv show from Manhattan Cable studios, 1979 – 1982.

Freelance technical, production, and art department work for many filmmakers including Lizzie Borden (Born in Flames), Anders Grafstrom (Long Island Four), Andrew Horn, 1978 - 1984.

Founding Member of Colab, (Collaborative Projects), founded 1978 NYC. Collaborated on film projects with other members including Cara Perlman, Jamie Nares, Scott and Beth B.

Member of The Group, collection of artists formed in Scott Billingsley’s loft to present artwork as a group and publish catalogues with exhibitions. Members ebbed and flowed but included Gerry Hovagymian, Dan Graham, Dara Birnbaum, Robin Winters, Michael McClard. 1974 – 1976.

Collaborated with Willoughby Sharp as photographer, sets,  props,  some tech, on video performances. Collaborator, photographer, technician for “Darkroom,” 112 Greene Street NYC 1976. Photographed and custom processed black-and-white slides for the performance "Interlude" at the The Kitchen, NYC, 1975. Photographed performance Saskie at Projekt 74, Cologne, 1974, Dovecote, Art/Tapes/22, Follonica, Italy, 1974, and over ten other performances in the U.S., including the notorious Stay at U. Oklahoma, 1974.

THEATER/PERFORMANCE (selected):

Stuck in Stuttgart, Die Roehre, Stuttgart Germany, co-writer with Darcy, director, performer, lead, 1985.

Sounds in the Distance, co-director, adaptor with Allen Frame from book of monologues by David Wojnarowicz, performer. Turmoil Production, NYC: The Garden, 1983. Also, Realitatenbuero Berlin, 1984. Video after the Garden performance distributed by Art Institute of Chicago, shown at Reina Sofia, 2019 as part of the David Wojnarowicz travelling exhibition. 

The Anonymous Woman, recreation of tactile sculpture by Yves Klein, Galerie Yves Arman, NYC, 1980.

Broccoli by John Stepling, lead character, directed by Elizabeth Walker, Turmoil production, The Open Gate Theater, NYC, 1982.

Edgar Allen, The Poe Story, written and directed by Cookie Mueller and Mark Baker, performer, Poe’s child bride, Dance Theater Workshop, NYC, 1982.

The Roman Polanski Story, written and directed by Gary Indiana, The Performing Garage, NYC, Stage Manager, performer of several characters, 1981.

Stanley Oil and His Mother, by Jill Kroesen, performer, The Kitchen NYC, 1980.

FILM/VIDEO (selected):

Oboe Maker Paul Laubin, director, editor, documentary on world renowned oboe and English horn maker, with appearances by New York Philharmonic oboist Sherry Sylar,  music by BSO oboist Wayne Rapier. Craft series, 46 min., 2001.

Welcome to Gaybrook Farm, documentary tour of Connecticut garden of Isaac Stern with garden designer Mary Ferris, director, editor, 8 minutes, 2001.

This is Texaco, national orientation film, producer director writer editor, 13 minutes, 1999.

The American Civil War, educational video with reenactment footage of battle and encampments, winner “Videographer Award of Distinction,” Parents Choice Honors selection. 30 min. 1997.

Paul Stankard: Inventing Illusions, documentary on internationally renowned glass artist, aired nationally on PBS through NJN, aired in U.K., distributed nationally and internationally as video program, craft series, 46 min. 1995.

SGE Executive, film production and distribution company. Initially Executive in Charge of Development, then Production Executive then Vice President of Production, East Coast. Reviewed production and financial documents, interfaced with legal, insurance, banking and investment. Worked with writers, directors, editors from inception through completion and marketing. Attended markets including Cannes. Budgets from $1.5 million to $18 million, Mixed Martial Arts, Action, Horror films primarily. 1989-1993.

Turmoil in the Garden, co-director with Allen Frame, editor, performer, video made after the garden performance of Sounds in the Distance by David Wojnarowicz, 1984.

Topless, fictional film in documentary style by Cara Perlman and Jane Sherry, camera, 1979.

Exposure, Robert Fripp rock video directed by Amos Poe, editor, 1978.

PUBLICATIONS (selected):

Wherupon, Allen Frame, (Palermo Publishing, Palermo Italy) “In the Wings Allen Frame,” descriptions of various Turmoil theatrical and video productions, 2023. With Zine Whereupon, Turmoil. 2023.

MoMA PS1: A History, edited by Kalus Biesenbach and Bettina Funcke, (Museum of Modern Art, New York), p. 35 (photograph and drawing), 2019.

Twentieth Century Boy: Notebook of the Seventies by Duncan Hannah, (Alfred A. Knopf, New York) p.422, 2018.

Fire in the Belly: The Life and Times of David Wojnarowicz by Cynthia Carr (Bloomsbury Press: New York, London, New Dehli, Sydney) p.237,238, 2012.

Art in America, notes from editor David Ebony re: Darkroom collaboration with Willoughby Sharp, 112 Greene Street NYC 1976,  September 2008.

Transitions: A Quarterly Review (New York and Germany), “Memories of Schwabenland,” review of Stuck in Stuttgart, 1986.

Ketchup Magazine (Stuttgart, Germany), “Von New York nach Stuttgart,” review of Stuck in Stuttgart, October 1985.

Stuttgarter Nachrichten (Stuttgart, Germany) “Bauerntheater und Comic Strip: ‘Stueck in Stuttgart’ in Der Roehre,” review October 1985.

Stuttgarter Zeitung (Stuttgart, Germany) “Liebeserklaerung: Show in der Roehre,” review October 1985.

Bomb Magazine, “An Interview with Vera Belmont,” interview in Montreal with renowned French film director, 1992.

112 Workshop 112 Greene Street: History, Artists and Artworks, edited by Robyn Brentano with Mark Savitt, New York University Press 1981, pp. 71, 91 (photo), 95, 96 (photo).

Photographs published in Avalanche, Bomb Magazine, X-magazine, Art-Rite and numerous catalogues, 1976 - 1984.

Soho Weekly News, (New York, NY), “New York Performance: ‘70s into ‘80s,” February 1980.

Fandangos Magazine, (Maastricht, Netherlands) “Plumbing,” collages, 1978.

SPACE catalog (Amherst, Ma: University of Massachusetts) “A Boy’s Own Bridge,” 1978.

Ten in Situ catalog, (Colgate University, Hamilton New York) “Colgate Catalog Translated into Chinese,” 1976.

Syracuse Post-Standard, (Syracuse, NY), “Ten New York Artists Visit ‘Exotic’ Colgate for Show,” review, 1976.

ArtNews, (New York, NY), “Auto-art: Self-indulgent? And how!” Peter Frank, p.44 September 1976.

Ideas at the Idea Warehouse catalog, (The Clocktower, New York), “Options” 1975.

Artforum (New York, NY), “Leave Me Alone,” Alan Moore, review, Summer 1975.

Avalanche Magazine (New York, NY), photographs of Robert Wilson and Christopher Knowles for Avalanche XII, October 1975.

EDUCATION:

BFA, Painting, Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, PA, 1974.

Acting studies with William Hickey, Herbert Berghof, and Joan MacIntosh, New York NY 1979 – 1983.

German studies at the New School for Social Research, New York NY 1978-1983, French studies at Alliance Francais, New York NY, 1982-1984, Italian at the Italian Cultural Institute, NYC 1981-1982.

Writing studies with Fielding Dawson of Black Mountain College, 1995.

KIRSTEN R BATES BACKSTORY 

     After graduating from Moore College of Art in Philadelphia, I arrived in NYC in the
mid 1970s having studied painting, photography, and 3 dimensional design. In the 1970s I
was known for pieces that combined projected images with sound and set pieces, work that continues to this day. I travelled as photographer for Willoughby Sharp’s performances in the U.S. and Europe, and collaborated with Willoughby Sharp on several pieces. My own work in the 1970s was exhibited at The Kitchen, Ideas at Idea Warehouse, the Franklin Street Arts Center, and other venues. I had a one person show at U. Mass., Amherst, and am a founding member of CoLab (Collaborative Projects, Inc.). My credits include participation in numerous artists’ films, both super 8mm and 16mm, including Scott and Beth B, Jamie Nares, and Cara Perlman. As well, I was shooting my own super 8mm, largely abstract and performative work, some of which was exhibited. I also exhibited sound pieces and recorded sound along with photographs.

     In the late 1970s I moved from Tribeca Loftland to a studio apartment in the East
Village, right into a heady heyday of CBGB, the Mudd Club, and downtown artists’ theater. I continued donating labor to no budget film and theater, with directors including Lizzie Borden Born In Flames, Amos Poe’s directed Robert Fripp Exposure, and Andrew Horn, as well as working as artist in collage, photographs and sound. I was a regular on Glenn O’Brien’s TV
Party as both crew and audience. Theater credits include Gary Indiana’s The Roman Polanski Story at the Performing Garage, Stage Manager and numerous characters, acted as Poe’s child bride in Cookie Mueller and Mark Baker’s Edgar Allan, the Poe Story at Dance Theater Workshop. With Allen Frame and Elizabeth Walker, formed the theater group Turmoil and wrote, directed and performed in NYC and Germany. With Allen Frame, the first to adapt monologues from David Wojnarowicz’ Sounds in the Distance for stage and video, staged in New York and Berlin, video shown at Reina Sofia in 2019 as part of the David Wojnarowicz travelling exhibition. Co-wrote, directed, performed in Stuck in Stuttgart in Stuttgart. 

      After the bifurcated life of Artist-with-Interesting-Day-Jobs, pursued a paid career in film
production, eventually becoming to Production Executive for SGE with yearly trips to the
Cannes Film Festival. SGE made and distributed genre films, Mixed Martial Arts, action and
horror films, fun sets but complicated to produce on a budget. Following this, produced my own projects, including a documentary on the glass artist, Paul Stankard: Inventing Illusions,
distributed nationally on public television, and several other documentaries.

   In 1994, I began using plants to shape nature, including bringing woodland plants into the garden before native plants were a “thing,” expanded in 1999 to a larger scale: 22 acres with mountain stream, making larger pieces, culling trees and growing giant swaths of fern.

Selected: Reviewed Artforum, included in ARTnews Peter Frank’s “Auto-art: Self-indulgent? And How!”
1976, included in books 112 Workshop/112 Greene Street, The Kitchen: 1974/1975, C Carr David Wojnarowicz, Duncan Hannah 20th Century Boy, MoMA PS1: A History , and Allen Frame’s Whereupon. Further details in C.V.

B.F.A. Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, 1974.