Me and Rubyfruit

Sadie Benning, Me and Rubyfruit, 1990, single-channel video, black and white, sound; 05:30 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Samuel and Blanche Koffler Acquisition Fund, 2015.8.5, © 1990, Sadie Benning
Sadie Benning, Me and Rubyfruit, 1990, single-channel video, black and white, sound; 05:30 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Samuel and Blanche Koffler Acquisition Fund, 2015.8.5, © 1990, Sadie Benning

Artwork Details

Title
Me and Rubyfruit
Artist
Date
1990
Location
Not on view
Copyright
© 1990, Sadie Benning
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Samuel and Blanche Koffler Acquisition Fund
Mediums
Mediums Description
single-channel video, black and white, sound; 05:30 minutes
Classifications
Subjects
  • Allegory — life
Object Number
2015.8.5
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2015.8.5

Artwork Description

Sadie Benning recorded personal video diaries in the late 1980s and early 1990s while they were in high school. Using a toy PixelVision camera made by Fisher Price, Benning speaks to the machine as if they could make it understand. Their camera’s intimate field of view contrasts that of a cold and impersonal surveillance system, as they describe their feelings of alienation and the experience of self-discovery. These diaries are prescient works that portend YouTube and youthful digital culture with an extraordinary eloquence.


Watch This!: Revelations in Media Art, 2016

Works by this artist (40 items)

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Saul Steinberg, Collection, 1971, mixed media on wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Susan Morse Hilles, 1973.39A-M
Collection
Artist
Date1971
mixed media on wood
Not on view
Saul Steinberg, (Untitled), 1967, pen and ink, ink wash and color pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1974.14.15
(Untitled)
Artist
Date1967
pen and ink, ink wash and color pencil on paper
Not on view
Saul Steinberg, (Official Document), n.d., screenprint, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1967.109.2
(Official Document)
Artist
Daten.d.
screenprint
Not on view
Saul Steinberg, Guaranty, 1966, watercolor and ink, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1967.102.2
Guaranty
Artist
Date1966
watercolor and ink
Not on view

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William H. Johnson, Kerteminde Hillside, ca. 1930-1932, pen and ink, watercolor, and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.49
Kerteminde Hillside
Artist
Dateca. 1930-1932
pen and ink, watercolor, and pencil on paper
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Awa Tsireh, Black Mountain Lion and Black Fox, ca. 1925-1930, watercolor, ink, and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Corbin-Henderson Collection, gift of Alice H. Rossin, 1979.144.48
Black Mountain Lion and Black Fox
Artist
Dateca. 1925-1930
watercolor, ink, and pencil on paper
Not on view
Awa Tsireh, Buffalo Dancers, ca. 1930-1940, watercolor and ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Corbin-Henderson Collection, gift of Alice H. Rossin, 1979.144.45
Buffalo Dancers
Artist
Dateca. 1930-1940
watercolor and ink on paper
Not on view
Xavier González, Tung Oil Industry (Study for Covington, Louisiana Post Office Mural), 1939, gouache, pen and ink, and pencil on paper mounted on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Internal Revenue Service through the General Services Administration , 1962.8.30
Tung Oil Industry (Study for Covington, Louisiana Post…
Artist
Date1939
gouache, pen and ink, and pencil on paper mounted on paperboard
Not on view