Authenticity as Illusion

At the Rochester Contemporary Art Gallery (RoCo) on March 6th, a new exhibit opened titled “Authenticity as Illusion.” The exhibit features two videos: one done in stop-motion animation of clay puppets and the other a video performance piece. The exhibit was curated by Myles Calvert, the director of the Institute for Electronic Arts at Alfred University. It’s in a little viewing room at the back of the gallery on the right through the black curtains.

I went there on opening night, and was able to see both pieces. They played on repeat, one after the other. I came into the room right in the middle of “Mall, Interrupted” by Jake Brush and was immediately drawn in by the chaotic visuals and overlapping audio. It’s set in what appears to be a deserted mall, focused on the main character caked in makeup. The visual distortion and seemingly random readings of transcriptions of interruptions/skits from the Amanda Show playing one after the other create a unique effect. One quote from in the video is “I never actually meet myself.” It seems to be playing on the effect of reality TV on identity and self as a performance. 

The second video I saw was “Feed” by Kelli S Williams. It was the stop-motion clay piece and was more of a commentary on social media. It was almost a horror piece. At the artist talk over Zoom on March 26th, Williams talked about social media and how it affects our daily lives, politics, and how we craft identity. She also talked about the virtual self, identity and performance. On her website (https://kelliswilliams.com) on the page for “Feed,” Williams says that “Feed is a stop-motion animated short film that explores the themes of loss and powerlessness in a time where we are bombarded with information. It is hard to decipher what is real or fake, fact or fiction. Feed explores this concept through the story of a young woman.” It definitely explores themes of being sucked into social media and the conflicting information available online.

RoCo’s website (https://www.rochestercontemporary.org/) has the following information on the exhibit: “New media, particularly reality TV and queer culture, creates a chaotic, hyperreal digital identity crisis. The self is a fluid performance, warped by societal pressure and cultural appropriation, blurring the line between authentic and edited. Artists explore this, revealing that reality is fiercely crafted, not fixed, and that authenticity is an illusion.”

I think that both artists did a good job conveying that our authentic selves may not exist, and that numerous factors influence what we view as our self and our identity. My personal favorite of the two is “Mall, Interrupted.” The commentary on reality TV and self as a crafted performance is very interesting to me. I also find myself drawn to the fever-dream quality of it.

Authenticity as Illusion runs until May 9th, 2026.