Elizabeth Vander Zaag

Bio

Born 1952 in Alliston, Ontario.
Daughter born in 1983.
One child.

I received my masters in interdisciplinary studies from UBC in 2007. My research in affect in speech began with an interactive voice installation entitled Talk Back (1999) in which the volume of a user’s voice changes the outcome. The task at hand was getting a tween to do the dishes. My custom software was enhanced with the detection of uptalk at end of phrase and the creation of an interactive voice installation, Talk Nice (2001) in which the user has to talk up at the end of phrase to interact with teen girls.

Early digital art experiments included the Digit series (1975-80). Informing my digital practise with the practice of mothering inspired new works in the 80’s and 90’s such as Baby Eyes, Hearts Beat and Kids in China.

A recent shift to producing work in analog material reflects a growing impatience with the impermanence of digital media. Weaving spectrographs of bird songs on a jacquard loom and now experimenting with carving spectrographs into yellow cedar slabs. Exhibitions of videos and interactive installations have circled the globe and several works are in the collections of

Kamloops Art Gallery, Belkin Art Gallery, Museum of Modern Art, Walker Art Centre, National Gallery and Vancouver Art Gallery.

Projects

Videos

Digit Goes to Hawaii and Digit Responds (1975-80)

Baby Eyes (1984)

“Reality” is explored through the solipsistic point of view born baby. Gates, doors, and movement between them, as well as the pre- and post-natal stages of the baby parallel the inward and outward motion of the tape. The computer lends itself well as a tool to describe the uniqueness of an individual perception. The non-verbal soundtrack suggests the primitive nature of the communication that is taking place. The intrinsic newness of the infant and the computer is also inferred.

Hearts Beat (1984)

A minimal journey into the world by a young adult and a young child. The curve of the globe is set up as a vanishing point. Yet they reappear and go on. Hearts beat. Life is so strong even irregularities depicted in ultra-sound imagery of the heart and the fractal computer imagery are regenerative.

Kids In China (1990)

A high energy documentary of children in and around Kunming, China, from the unique point of view of the six-year old narrator. Much of the multi-cultural assimilation in Canada is taking place in our urban elementary schools. There are surprisingly few tools to help this process. KIDS IN CHINA shows the interaction between Chinese kids and their Canadian visitors with performances of songs and dance, learning English, and playing. Visits to bird markets, the zoo, and food markets intersperse the classroom scenes. Animation of Ôfriend and Ôpanda stimulates Mandarin character recognition. Rural life is contrasted to urban life.