Itziar Okariz (also spelled Itziar Ocáriz, born 1965) is a

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

/Spanish artist based in New York City and

San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...

Biography

Itziar Okariz was born in San Sebastián and studied painting and sculpture at the

Universidad del País Vasco The University of the Basque Country ( eu, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, ''EHU''; es, Universidad del País Vasco, ''UPV''; UPV/EHU) is a Spanish public university of the Basque Autonomous Community. Heir of the University of Bilbao, initially ...

Work

Her work is usually based on photographs or film installations and

performance A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Management science In the work place ...

, in forms inspired by the

Situationists The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution ...

. She is often identified as a

feminist art Feminist art is a category of art associated with the late 1960s and 1970s feminist movement. Feminist art highlights the societal and political differences women experience within their lives. The hopeful gain from this form of art is to bri ...

ist, although she does not like the label because it contextualizes her work too narrowly. According to Javier Hontoria of

Artforum ''Artforum'' is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art. The magazine is distinguished from other magazines by its unique 10½ x 10½ inch square format, with each cover often devoted to the work of an artist. Notabl ...

, she "has always focused on a performativity that also examines the ties between landscape and architecture, sign and ritual, or sexuality and territory. In her quest to render the self, her practice took a turn to the verbal over the spatial, privileging language over the body... Much of Okariz's practice is built upon small linguistic units and signs that produce meaning through emphatic reiteration." She has exhibited works in many countries in Europe and in the United States. ;To Pee In Public And Private Spaces In her own note she describes the artwork, "to execute the action as described in the title (location included) or, one could say, contained in the title." She usually try to do it while there is little movement in the streets because of the illegal aspect of the action and, "find it interesting to delineate what is legally allowed and what is not, as a definition of the individual in society." She has chosen a number of different locations, "always with the aim of expanding the spectrum of meanings." ;Selection of work * ''Faces'' (video installation, 1999) * Publication ''Itziar Okariz'' (Vitoria-Gasteiz : Servicio Central de Publicaciones del Gobierno Vasco, 2001) * ''Mear en espacios públicos o privados'' / ''Peeing in Public or Private Spaces'' * ''Trepar edificios'' * "Irrintzi" (Exhibition ''Chacun à son goût'',

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, and located in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. The museum was inaugurated on 18 October 1997 by King Juan Carlos I of Spai ...

, 2007)

Awards

*1995: 1st prize in Gure Artea of the Basque Country *1993: 3rd prize in the Certamen de Artistas Noveles in San Sebastian

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okariz, Itziar Spanish performance artists Spanish multimedia artists Basque artists 1965 births Living people University of the Basque Country alumni