Anderson, Laurie, 1947–, American performance artist, b. Chicago. Originally a sculptor, she was influenced by Philip Glass Glass, Philip, 1937–, American composer, b. Baltimore. Considered one of the most innovative of contemporary composers, he was a significant figure in the development of minimalism in music. Glass attended the Juilliard School of Music (M.A.
..... Click the link for more information. and other avant-garde composers in the early 1970s and soon turned to the creation of multimedia performance art performance art, multimedia art form originating in the 1970s in which performance is the dominant mode of expression. Perfomance art may incorporate such elements as instrumental or electronic music, song, dance, television, film, sculpture, spoken dialogue, and
..... Click the link for more information. . Anderson is best known for quirky, witty, and elaborate events that typically combine such elements as electronic and instrumental music, song, theater, film, and video projections; they include United States I–IV of the 1980s and Nerve Bible (1992). In 1982 she scored a pop music hit with "O Superman," and has since made a number of albums, e.g., Big Science (1984), Strange Angels (1989), Bright Red (1994). She has also made video and film pieces, composed orchestral works and soundtracks, created and performed monologues, and written books. Her first CD-ROM, The Ugly One with the Jewels, was released in 1994.

Bibliography

See study by R. Goldberg (2000).

Anderson, Laurie

(born June 5, 1947, Wayne, Ill., U.S.) U.S. performance artist. After studying at Barnard College and Columbia University, she began giving performances in New York City in 1973 while teaching art history at the City University of New York. Combining elements of music, theatre (dance, mime), film, technology, and speech, she satirized media and mass culture, using the tools they themselves provide. The pop-music success of her song “O Superman” (1980) led her to record two albums, Big Science (1982) and Mister Heartbreak (1984). Her major 1980s piece was the multimedia extravaganza United States. Other works include Stories from the Nerve Bible (1993) and a multimedia work (1999) based on Moby Dick.