THE BOXER
Jen DeNike
THE BOXER (2015) - Video/Art Film Jen Denike
The Boxer displays the spectacle that is male physical power, examining gendered violence through the choreography of fighters in the ring. Movement becomes laden with meaning: swinging arms sign of power and fallen bodies lurch with defeat. The aimlessness of their blindfolded swipes speaks to the meaninglessness of it all – the struggle, the victory, and the defeat are all just components of some antiquated yet established ritual.
Written and Directed by: Jen Denike
Executive Producer: Marcus Vinicius Ribeiro and Charles Gepp
Starring: Benson Williams, Mark Lazo Antalyan, Luis Mermo, Larry Milshleyn, and Christian Robles
PUBLISHED MEDIA
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JEN DENIKE - Director
About Filmmaker & Installation Artist:
The multimedia and performance artist Jen DeNike creates strange alchemy in her work by taking often rigorous forms from photography to ballet and bending them to occult purposes. A one-time student of the photographer Stephen Shore, she became known early on for her pictures of vampire-attack victims lying strewn across the floor and the predator nowhere to be seen.
As a video artist, Denike's works have been featured in numerous museum exhibitions, including at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin (2006) and in 2006 at MoMA/PS1 and Bard's Center for Curatorial Studies. Her performance Twirl, which incorporated a marching band in full regalia, took place at the Brooklyn Museum in 2009 as part of the Performa biennial.