Tara Lyn Subkoff (born December 10, 1972) is an American actress,
conceptual art
Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called insta ...
ist, director, and
fashion designer
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
. Subkoff made her film debut in the thriller ''
When the Bough Breaks'' (1994) opposite
Martin Sheen
Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...
, and has had supporting roles in ''
As Good as It Gets
''As Good as It Gets'' is a 1997 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by James L. Brooks, who co-wrote it with Mark Andrus. The film stars Jack Nicholson as a misanthropic, bigoted, and obsessive–compulsive novelist, Helen Hunt ...
'' (1997), ''
The Last Days of Disco
''The Last Days of Disco'' is a 1998 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Whit Stillman, and loosely based on his travels and experiences in various nightclubs in Manhattan, including Studio 54. Starring Chloë Sevigny and Kate Bec ...
'' (1998), ''
The Cell'' (2000), and ''
The Notorious Bettie Page
''The Notorious Bettie Page'' is a 2005 American Biographical film, biographical Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Mary Harron. The screenplay by Harron and Guinevere Turner focuses on 1950s Pin-up model, pinup and fetish model, ...
'' (2005).
In 2001, she co-founded an art collective-turned-fashion line,
Imitation of Christ
In Christian theology, the imitation of Christ is the practice of following the example of Jesus.''A concise dictionary of theology'' by Gerald O'Collins, Edward G. Farrugia 2004 page 115''Imitating Jesus: an inclusive approach to New Testament ...
, which featured pieces hand-sewn solely from
recycled
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
vintage and thrift store clothing, and has since worked primarily as a conceptual artist. In 2015, she made her feature film directorial debut with the horror film ''
#Horror'' (2015), which was picked up for distribution by
IFC Midnight
IFC Films is an American film production and distribution company based in New York. It is an offshoot of IFC owned by AMC Networks. It distributes mainly independent films under its own name, select foreign films and documentaries under its ...
.
Early life
Subkoff was born in
Westport, Connecticut
Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, along the Long Island Sound within Connecticut's Gold Coast. It is northeast of New York City. The town had a population of 27,141 according to the 2020 U.S. Census.
History
...
. Her father was an
antiques dealer
An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...
who owned an antique store on 13th Street in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, and her mother was a schoolteacher in
East Harlem
East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...
.
She grew up in what she described as a "
bohemian
Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to:
*Anything of or relating to Bohemia
Beer
* National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst
* Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors
Culture and arts
* Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...
" family, and attended boarding school at the
Williston Northampton School
Williston Northampton School (simply referred to as Williston) is a private, co-educational, day and boarding college-preparatory school in Easthampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1841.
History
Williston Seminary ...
in Massachusetts. After graduation, she attended the
Parsons School of Design
Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhatt ...
, but dropped out within a year of enrolling.
She relocated to
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
in 1991 to study acting, and took classes alongside
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...
and
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in '' Youngblood'' (1986). ...
.
Career
Early acting: 1994–2000
Subkoff made her debut as an actress on television, appearing in ''
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
''Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman'' is an American Western drama television series created and executive produced by Beth Sullivan and starring Jane Seymour, who plays Dr. Michaela Quinn, a physician who leaves Boston in search of adventure in the O ...
'' in 1994, followed by her feature film debut, a lead role in the 1994 crime thriller ''
When the Bough Breaks'', opposite
Martin Sheen
Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...
and
Ron Perlman
Ronald Perlman (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor. His credits include the roles of Amoukar in ''Quest for Fire'' (1981), Salvatore in ''The Name of the Rose'' (1986), Vincent in the television series ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1987–199 ...
. In 1996, she had a minor supporting part in the film ''
Freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
'', and in the horror film ''
Black Circle Boys
''Black Circle Boys'' is a 1997 American drama film written and directed by Matthew Carnahan and starring Scott Bairstow, Eric Mabius and Donnie Wahlberg. It is Carnahan's feature directorial debut.
Cast
*Scott Bairstow as Kyle
*Eric Mabius a ...
'' (1997).
This was followed with lead roles in the drama ''
All Over Me'' (1997), and the comedy ''Lover Girl'' (1997), co-starring
Kristy Swanson
Kristen Noel Swanson (born December 19, 1969) is an American actress. She is best recognized for having played Buffy Summers in the 1992 film '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and appeared in the 1996 film ''The Phantom''.
Her first starring role w ...
. She had minor parts in ''
As Good as It Gets
''As Good as It Gets'' is a 1997 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by James L. Brooks, who co-wrote it with Mark Andrus. The film stars Jack Nicholson as a misanthropic, bigoted, and obsessive–compulsive novelist, Helen Hunt ...
'' (1997),
Whit Stillman
John Whitney Stillman (born January 25, 1952) is an American writer-director and actor known for his 1990 film ''Metropolitan'', which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He is also known for his other fil ...
's ''
The Last Days of Disco
''The Last Days of Disco'' is a 1998 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Whit Stillman, and loosely based on his travels and experiences in various nightclubs in Manhattan, including Studio 54. Starring Chloë Sevigny and Kate Bec ...
'' (1998), and an uncredited appearance in the 1999 teen sex comedy ''
American Pie''. She also appeared in a supporting role in the
sci-fi
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...
-
horror film
Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes.
Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
''
The Cell'' (2000) with
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...
and
Vincent D'Onofrio
Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (; born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.
His roles include Private Leonar ...
.
In 2017, Subkoff joined the group of women making the
Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations, saying that the producer had sexually harassed her in the 1990s when she applied for a role in one of his films, and then had her
blacklisted when she resisted. "It became impossible for me to get work as an actress after this, so I then had to start a new career path and started Imitation of Christ", she said.
''Imitation of Christ'': 2001–2011
In 2000, Subkoff began working on a project called
Imitation of Christ
In Christian theology, the imitation of Christ is the practice of following the example of Jesus.''A concise dictionary of theology'' by Gerald O'Collins, Edward G. Farrugia 2004 page 115''Imitating Jesus: an inclusive approach to New Testament ...
with designer Matt Damhave, enlisting
Chloë Sevigny as the project's creative director.
Originally conceived as an art project, it has been described as "DIY art collective misconstrued as a luxury fashion label."
Every piece of clothing in the line was sewn by hand and
recycle
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
d from
vintage
Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine (see Harvest (wine)). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certa ...
,
thrift and
Goodwill shops. Subkoff created pieces of
wearable art
Wearable art, also known as Artwear or "art to wear", refers to art pieces in the shape of clothing or jewellery pieces. These pieces are usually handmade, and are produced only once or as a very limited series. Pieces of clothing are often made w ...
with her fashion shows which garnered her a
cult following
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
.
Models who wore the pieces for runway shows included actress
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...
.
Reflecting on the line, Subkoff said: “We were talking about
waste
Waste (or wastes) are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste prod ...
, throwing things away, and taking something that’s old and making it new again, putting the human hand back into a world that reeks of manufacturing. It felt very appropriate to do that in 2000."
Subkoff and Damhave created four collections together, and the shows were described as "guerilla-style, at least as much
performance art
Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...
as they were about
ubkoff'srefashioned, hand-sewn vintage clothes,"
with the project's earliest exhibitions taking place in a
funeral parlor in the
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
's
East Village.
In 2003, she also collaborated with
Bernhard Willhelm
Bernhard Willhelm (born 3 November 1972 in Ulm) is a German fashion designer.
Education and first season
Bernhard Willhelm studied fashion design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, during which he assisted Walter van Beirendonck, Alexa ...
on a fashion collection inspired and authorized by
Roberto Capucci
Roberto Capucci (born December 2, 1930 in Rome) is an Italian fashion designer.
Biography
Capucci attended art school at Accademia di Belle Arti, where he studied with the artists Mazzacurati, Avenali, and Libero De Libero.
In 1950, he opened ...
.
After Subkoff and Damhave parted ways, she continued to design pieces for the line through 2006. In 2007, Subkoff sold the label to Josh Sparks, the former chief executive of the Australian label Sass & Bide, for a reported $2 million.
The following year, in 2008, the label went out of business. In 2012, Subkoff revived the label and began working on more pieces, shortening the brand name to simply "Imitation."
Directing, other projects: 2012–present
![Milla Jovovich in Tara Subkoff's Future Perfect](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Milla_Jovovich_in_Tara_Subkoff%27s_Future_Perfect.jpg)
In 2012, Subkoff created a ten-day art installation and continuous performance piece at the Carlton Festival of the Arts in
São Paulo, Brazil
SAO or Sao may refer to:
Places
* Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD
* Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso
* Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S ...
.
She also conceptualized a performance piece in a group show curated by Dimitri Antonitsis in
Hydra, Greece
Hydra, or Ydra or Idra ( el, Ύδρα, Ýdra, , Arvanitika: Nύδρα/Nidhra), is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece, located in the Aegean Sea between the Myrtoan Sea and the Argolic Gulf. It is separated from the Peloponnese by a narrow str ...
.
She exhibited a three hour long installation at the Bortolami Gallery in New York City during the 2012
New York Fashion Week
New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning 7–9 days when international fashion collections are shown to buyers, the press, and the general publ ...
titled "This is Not a Fashion Show," which featured a girl's choir in leotards performing “
Carol of the Bells
"Carol of the Bells" is a popular Christmas carol, with music by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in 1914 and lyrics by Peter J. Wilhousky. The song is based on the Ukrainian folk chant " Shchedryk". The music is in the public domain; Wil ...
” (intimated as a "slight to Yuletide consumerism") and "performers aging from 8 to 70 pruned and posing in front of antique mirrors lining the gallery walls."
In explaining the idea behind the show, Subkoff said: "We are a society that only sells
commodities
In economics, a commodity is an economic good, usually a resource, that has full or substantial fungibility: that is, the market treats instances of the good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to who produced them.
The price of a comm ...
. We do not create anything unless it's to be bought and sold, so the idea of doing something where there isn't a commodity to sell, or what the commodity is to sell is very confusing, is extremely interesting to me."
In 2013, she collaborated with
Milla Jovovich
Milica Bogdanovna Jovovich; sr-Latn, Milica Bogdanovna Jovović; russian: Милица Богдановна Йовович; uk, Милиця Богданoвна Йовович ( ; born December 17, 1975), known professionally as Milla Jovo ...
on a filmed installation in
Venice, Italy
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islan ...
titled "Future/Perfect," which had Jovovich enclosed in a glass house, surrounded by boxes with consumer logos, artwork, and clothing.
Though working predominantly in art, Subkoff also had a minor appearance in the film, including ''
Tanner Hall
Tanner Hall (born October 26, 1983) is an American freeskier.
Biography
Hall, nicknamed 'Ski Boss', was born in Kalispell, Montana where he grew up skiing at Big Mountain, now named Whitefish Mountain Resort, starting at age three. He joine ...
'' (2009) and ''
Abandoned
Abandon, abandoned, or abandonment may refer to:
Common uses
* Abandonment (emotional), a subjective emotional state in which people feel undesired, left behind, insecure, or discarded
* Abandonment (legal), a legal term regarding property
** Chi ...
'' (2010), with
Brittany Murphy
Brittany Anne Murphy-Monjack (; November 10, 1977 – December 20, 2009) was an American actress and singer. Born in Atlanta, Murphy moved to Los Angeles as a teenager and pursued a career in acting. Her breakthrough role was as Tai Fras ...
. Subkoff made her directorial debut in 2014 with the
horror film
Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes.
Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
''
#Horror'' (2015), which details a group of wealthy adolescent girls who experience a night of violence and terror after a
social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
game is tinged with
cyberbully
Cyberbullying or cyberharassment is a form of bullying or harassment using Electronic communication network, electronic means. Cyberbullying and cyberharassment are also known as online bullying. It has become increasingly common, especially ...
ing. The film was screened out of competition at the 2015
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
, and was picked up for distribution by
IFC Midnight
IFC Films is an American film production and distribution company based in New York. It is an offshoot of IFC owned by AMC Networks. It distributes mainly independent films under its own name, select foreign films and documentaries under its ...
, slated for a
limited release
__FORCETOC__
Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...
in November 2015. According to Subkoff, she conceived the film after a conversation she'd had with her friend's daughter: "
he ideastarted because I asked my friend's daughter, "What is horror, to you?" This girl was cyberbullied very badly... Now, I was bullied badly as a kid, but I could always change schools. I could always go home. Now you can't…when bullying follows you home, and there's no escape and no end, to me, that's horror. And to so many girls, that's just life."
Personal life
Subkoff has been formerly romantically linked to
Wes Anderson
Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. His films are known for their eccentricity and unique visual and narrative styles. They often contain themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Cited by so ...
, and was formerly engaged to director
Tom Hooper
Thomas George Hooper (born 5 October 1972)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005''. 5d: 2485. is a British-Australian filmmaker.
Hooper began making short films as a teenager and had his first professional short, ...
.
In the fall of 2014, Subkoff married artist
Urs Fischer
Urs Fischer (born 2 May 1973) is a Swiss-born contemporary visual artist living in New York City. Fischer’s practice includes sculpture, installation and photography.
Education and early career
Born to two doctors as the second of two children ...
.
Subkoff gave birth to a daughter, Grace, in May 2016. In June 2016, it was reported that Subkoff and Fischer had filed for divorce.
[ Subkoff resides in Los Angeles, California, where she bought a three-story house designed by architect Saul Harris Brown in the ]Silver Lake
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
neighbourhood for $2.25 million in 2021.
In 2009, Subkoff was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma
A vestibular schwannoma (VS), also called acoustic neuroma, is a benign tumor that develops on the vestibulocochlear nerve that passes from the inner ear to the brain. The tumor originates when Schwann cells that form the insulating myelin sheath ...
, a benign brain tumor
A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...
that required her to undergo a craniotomy
A craniotomy is a surgical operation in which a bone flap is temporarily removed from the skull to access the brain. Craniotomies are often critical operations, performed on patients who are suffering from brain lesions, such as tumors, blood clot ...
in September 2009. Her symptoms had originally been diagnosed as TMJ
In anatomy, the temporomandibular joints (TMJ) are the two joints connecting the jawbone to the skull. It is a bilateral synovial articulation between the temporal bone of the skull above and the mandible below; it is from these bones that i ...
by her doctor in 2003.
Filmography
Film
Television
As director or producer
References
External links
*
ArtInfo interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Subkoff, Tara
1972 births
American conceptual artists
Women conceptual artists
American fashion designers
American film actresses
Living people
People from Westport, Connecticut
Actresses from Connecticut
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Williston Northampton School alumni
Parsons School of Design alumni
American women fashion designers