Tanya Mars: Pure Virtue

Tanya Mars is a feminist performance and video artist who has been involved in the Canadian art scene since the early 1970s. Her work is often characterized as visually rich layers of spectacular, satirical feminist imagery and the 15 minute video, Pure Virtue (1985) is no exception. In the artist’s words: “By conflating the historical image of Queen Elizabeth I with those of popular culture, I am able to illustrate how the relationship of women to power has not significantly changed since the 16th century. An aging Queen Elizabeth I talks to you about such things a virginity, love and deception, This fast moving, humorously provocative tape was adapted with the assistance of Colin Campbell from a performance of the same name which was first presented in the spring of 1984.”