Michele O’Marah *Box Set* Gifted to the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles in 2019
Valley Girl, 2002 SD video Color & sound TRT 01:53:00
Valley Girl is a feature-length reconstruction of the original 1983 movie of the same name. Set in the San Fernando Valley, the film explores Southern California suburban teen culture via a love-conquers-all story. In O’Marah’s staging, many of the conventions of film and narrative structure are intentionally broken; the sets are obviously fake; the editing is stagnant and the acting is, at many points, absurd. There is, however, a reverence for the story that maintains the sweetness of the original movie while also becoming a time-capsule portrait of LA’s art community. Valley Girl stars Casey Sigenfeld and Zack Jennings and features a supporting cast of artists and collaborators, including Samara Caughey, Tim Jackson, Molly Schaffer, Paola Weintraub, Karin Gulbran, Jason Meadows, Mark Grotjahn, and Mary Clare Stevens, with cameos by Evan Holloway, Joe Sola, Kori Newkirk, Kirk Nelson, Ken Fandell, Daria Martin, Torbjorn Vevji, Liz Larner, Ruby Neri, Mari Eastman, Mary Weatherford and Nicole Panter. The video also features a remake of the original soundtrack by the artist Jonsey with contributions by Kelly Marie Martin, Dara Dworman, and Paul Bonomo.
WORD UP!, 2010 SD video Color & sound TRT 5:14 min.
Don’t Call Me Babe, 2010 SD video Color & sound TRT 7:30 min.
The Death of Barb Kopetski, 2009 SD video Color & sound TRT 9:12 min.
The trilogy of WORD UP!, Don’t Call Me Babe and The Death of Barb Kopetski are based on Pam Anderson’s film Barb Wire.Set in the imagined aftermath of a second Civil War, Anderson's "Barb" is a disaffected mercenary whogets caught in the middle of the revolutionary activities of a former flame working to expose theruling Neo-Fascist government for its ruthless behavior. Each section of O’Marah’s trilogy features a different actress in the role of Barb, deconstructing the film’s representation of femininity and offering a variety of interpretations of the lead character.
For Those About to Rock, 1997 SD video Color & sound TRT 63:00 min.
One of O’Marah’s earliest video projects, For Those About to Rock is comprised of seven short movie trailers for rock biopics of various bands. Culled from rumor, innuendo and legendary gossip, they were made as humorous deconstructions of DIY punk culture. The bands featured include The Velvet Underground (Stain the Carpet), The Runaways (Girls Rock the Boys), The Germs (Blue Circle), Pussy Galore (Pretty, Fuck, Look), Dinosaur Jr. (Buggin’), Babes in Toyland (Kat’s Kradle) and Bikini Kill (Quiet RRRiot).
Donors: Kelly Akashi Jamie Bennett David Berezin Andrea Bowers Brian Calvin Matthew Chambers Zoe Crosher Sarah Crowner Gracie DeVito Nadia Dougherty Catherine M. Eastman Shannon Ebner and Erika Vogt Vincent Fecteau Christina Forrer Rachel Foullon Erik Frydenborg Liz Glynn Sayre Gomez Katie Grinnan Mark Grotjahn Karin Gulbran and Evan Holloway Jane Hait and Justin Beal Matthew Higgs Julian Hoeber Michael Ned Holte Bettina Hubby Suzanne Hudson Daniel Hug Kristin Beinner James and Christopher James Pamela Jorden Matthew Keegan Ann Greene Kelly Kristina Kite Bettina Korek Lisa Lapinski Sarah Lehrer-Graiwer Adam Linder Andrea Longacre-White Shana Lutker Lauren Mackler Monica Majoli Nicole Miller Dianna Molzan Simone Montemurno Rebecca Morris Claire Morton Shahryar Nashat Viet-Nu Nguyen Alex Olson Laura Owens Corrina Peipon Megan Plunkett Jenelle Porter and Conny Purtill Virginia Poundstone Sara Rafferty Jason Rothenberg Kimberly Schoen Anna Sew Hoy Ana Vejzovic Sharp and Brian Sharp Matt Siegle Allison Smith Joseph Sola Linda Stark Mary Stevens Despina Stokou Mateo Tannatt Caroline Thomas Kerry Tribe Lia Trinka-Browner Lesley Vance and Ricky Swallow Mary Weatherford Kate Wolf Rosha Yaghmai
Still from Valley Girl, 2002
Still from Don't Call Me Babe, 2010 (from A Girl's Got To Do What A Girl's Got To Do)
Still from Stain the Carpet, 1997 (from For Those About to Rock)
