About the Exhibition
The most recent video work by Elena Dorfman, The Pleasure Park, is a three-channel projection with sound that combines original and found footage that not only captures the poise and resilience of the fleeting image of the animal in multidimensional space, but also places the spectator directly in the racing environment, overwhelming them with sensation and the power of the physical form and sheer force of these trained athletes.
This work is part of a larger series of photographs and video. Pleasure Park: The Jockeys (2009) is a one-channel series of video portraits, allowing the viewer to confront the riders in their most vulnerable and unprotected state. While Pleasure Park: The Horses is a series of photographs that portrays the powerful and sinewy animals off the track, in a studio setting deprived of visual cues, suspended in motion, and removed from the culture of commodity. Pleasure Park: The Horses (2009) was displayed at Proof on Main from April 2009 to April 2010.
About the Artist
Dividing her time between Los Angeles and New York, Dorfman is represented by Modernism Inc, San Francisco. The New York Times has said of her work, “… Dorfman casts her subjects in a regal, almost poetic light.” Her work is often characterized by the isolation of the subject from its typical environment or context. Dorfman’s has had two previous exhibitions in the Proof on Main restaurant: Still Lovers Series (2005) and Fandomania Series (2006-2007).
