About Tanya Mars

Since the 70s Mars’ work has focused on creating spectacular feminist imagery that places women at the centre of the narrative. Since the mid-90s her performances have included endurance, durational and site-specific strategies. Her work is political, satirical and humourous. She has worked both independently and collaboratively to create both large-scale as well as intimate performances.

Recently retired from teaching at the University of Toronto Scarborough, Mars lives off-grid in Nova Scotia. She has one daughter and 3 grandsons. She is looking forward to whatever comes next, post-retirement, post-covid-19.

Curriculum Vitae

View/Download

Press

Books ignite sparks for performance artist

University of Toronto Scarborough News – September 18, 2017 by Jessica Wynne Lockhart

Read Article

Tanya Mars and Wilfred Moore to receive honorary degrees

NSCAD University – April 30, 2014

Read Article

March 2008, Zoe M. Peled interviews Tanya Mars

Noah Becker’s Whitehot Magazine of Contemperary Art – by Zoe M. Peled

Read Article

Awards

Untitled Art Awards, Toronto, 2005

Artist of the Year

International Residences Grant, 2008

for La Cité Internationale, Paris by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Governor General’s Award, 2008

Visual and Media Arts

Chalmers Award, 1981

innovative collaboration in the performing arts for Picnic in the Drift.

Chronology
The Early Years

1948

Born Tanya Ann Marshall in Monroe, Michigan (USA)

1958

Took tap-dancing and jazz ballet lessons and organized “variety shows” in
her garage with all willing (and some not-so-willing) neighbourhood children
(until 1961)

1960s

1962

Was a cheerleader (until 1966)

1966

Enrolled in Fine Arts courses at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Made first piece of wearable art, Wooden Bikini.

Wooden Bikini

This piece was made while Mars was in George Manupelli’s class at the University of Michigan. The assignment was to make a piece of wearable art out of 1/4-inch pine. With her father’s help, Mars crafted this bikini (and 3 other wooden pieces).

There are no known existing photos of Mars in the bikini, but she did wear it in 1966 during a Happening staged in Ann Arbor.

1968

Became a secretary and worked at various institutions of higher learning in Montreal (until 1979)

1970s

1972

Divorced

1973

Joined Powerhouse Gallery, Montreal

Met Joanna Nash

1974

Codpieces: Phallic Paraphernalia

Codpieces consisted of a series of body sculptures for men. Each piece was made from found objects, such as an oilcan, plastic packaging materials, a pair of stuffed leather gloves, or even a small chessboard with magnetic chess pieces. At the opening of the exhibition, the pieces were modeled by six nude men in a runwaystyle fashion show. After the performance, the codpieces were mounted on lifesized photographs of nude men and on drawings of torsos. Photos of male models wearing the sculptures were also exhibited.

Became Director of Powerhouse Gallery (until 1976).

Became Co-coordinator and Exhibition Committee member for Artfemme ’75, co-produced by Powerhouse, Musée d’art contemporain and Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts, Montreal

1975

Was co-founder and Coordinator of Powerhouse Performance Space with Joanna Nash, Bob White, Paul Ledoux, Jan Pottie, and Michael Springate and Susan Kelemen from Painted Bird Ensemble (until 1977)

Exhibited Tanya-in-the-Box as part of the Toy Show, Powerhouse Gallery

Tanya-in-the-Box

For this ongoing, three-week performance, the artist dressed in a jack-in-the-box costume and placed herself in large box. Next to her, a second, duplicate box contained a plaster replica of the artist. Each box would pop open when a string, attached to its lid, was pulled by an unsuspecting viewer.

Exhibited selected Codpieces in Artfemme ’75, Saidye Bronfman Centre
(group exhibition) and Woman as Viewer, Winnipeg Art Gallery (group
exhibition).

1976

“Crashed” the first Ottawa meeting of artist-run centres, where what became the Association of National Non-Profit Artist-run Centres/ Regroupement d’artistes des centres alternatives (ANNPAC/RACA) was formed

Acted as a representative of Powerhouse Gallery

Presented Our Father at Powerhouse Gallery

Our Father

This work was performed during the vernissage of a group exhibition. Dressed
in a priest’s robe with a red-sequin bathing suit underneath, and wearing black
stockings and tap shoes, the artist tap-danced to the then-popular version of Our
Father, performed by the Singing Nun. Toward the end of the song, Tanya “stripped”
off the priest’s costume to reveal the nightclub outfit and ended the performance
with a split.

Presented Colour Xerox/USA series at Anna Leonowens Gallery, Halifax (group exhibition).

Colour Xerox/USA series

A series of colour Xerox prints on clear acetate, using objects that were either U.S. or Canadian iconography. All images were red and white or red, white and blue. Some images copied were an American flag (in sections), a Canadian Mountie on a candy tin, etc. These were done at the Xerox head office, on the newly accessible colour machine.

1977

Presented selected Codpieces in Concordia Women’s Week Group Show of
Sculpture, Montreal (group exhibition)

Presented Twyla Thump at Powerhouse Performance Space

Twyla Thump

A very short, totally unrehearsed dance “number,” this work was performed during a
fundraising event for the Powerhouse Performance Space. Dressed in black velvet
hot pants, a see-through, 1960s-style blouse, a red bra, black stockings, and a
multi-coloured wig, the artist tap-danced and skipped rope simultaneously. She was
accompanied on electric piano by marshalore, who also sang “Daisy, Daisy, give
me your answer, do…”

Formed 13 Jackies performance collective with Bob White and Odette
Oliver.

Premiered All Alone Am I at Powerhouse Gallery.

All Alone Am I
A 13 Jackies production

Written and performed in collaboration with Bob White and Odette Oliver. Concerned with loneliness, confinement and isolation, the performance consisted of the trio of performers (Mars, White and Oliver) tap-dancing in straitjackets to the pop song, All Alone Am I, by Brenda Lee, while divulging each other’s neuroses. Developed in part through an analogy to baseball as presented in the monologue of the male character, the work investigated the traps and limitations that people set up for themselves and others as they seek to seduce or inflict cruelty upon one another.

Presented first Super Secretary image for What I Did Last Summer, Powerhouse Gallery (group exhibition)

Became Editor of Parallelogramme, published by ANNPAC/RACA (until 1989)

1978

Presented 13 Jackies productions of All Alone Am I and Fat at Le Groupe de la Place Royale, Ottawa.

Fat
A 13 Jackies production

Written and performed in collaboration with Bob White and Odette Oliver, “Fat” took a weight-watcher’s look at North America’s obsession with food and beauty, and the inherent contradiction between advertising beautiful, caloric food and beautiful, anorexic bodies simultaneously.

Parachuted for the first (and last) time to mark turning 30.

13 Jackies disbanded.

Became ad hoc Board member of ANNPAC/RACA.

1979

Moved to Toronto. Took over Clive Robertson’s loft apartment at Richmond St. W. and Bathurst St. Established shared ANNPAC/RACA office with Fuse and Art Metropole at 217 Richmond St. W.

Rekindled friendship with Rina Fraticelli (who had moved to Toronto) and
began working together on Picnic in the Drift.

Presented Kinky the Wonder Dog in Performance Art Series, Cabana Room, Toronto.

Kinky the Wonder Dog
Performed with Kiki the dog

Dressing up in her tap-dancing outfit, and putting balloons around the neck of herdog – a very large Siberian Husky/German Shepherd/Samoyed mix – the artist tried to get him to obey (which he never did). The work was concerned with the illegality
of bringing animals into a public drinking establishment as much as it dealt with the absurdity of Mars’ attempts to dominate and/or control her pet. The “script” for this work was never written out and no longer exists.

1980s

1980

Moved to 410 Queen St. W., downstairs from Elizabeth Chitty, upstairs from Jacob’s Hardware, also next door to the infamous art bar, the Cameron
House

Edited third ANNPAC/RACA retrospective, Spaces by Artists

Learned to typset from Rodney Werden and A. S. A. Harrison

Typeset many Toronto art publications and artist works throughout
the 1980s

Presented untitled performance at Saxe Gallery, Toronto.

Untitled
Performed with Lara Rosenberg

For this short piece, Mars’ daughter read from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, while Mars placed coloured Xerox transparencies and other objects on an overhead projector. The images included biological drawings of skulls, maps of the world, chocolates, diet plans, and wind-up toys crossing the screen.

Presented Competing for Space as part of the A Space project, 222 Warehouse, curated by Robin Collyer at Harbourfront, Toronto.

Competing for Space
Written in collaboration with Richard Shoichet
Performed with Richard Shoichet and Bob White (Barker)

Competing for Space was a narrative investigation into the competition between the sexes, as well as the relationship between audience-asperformer and performer-as-object. Stationed in a dunking booth (a popular fairground entertainment), each performer delivered a monologue about theirnideal partner, abusing and hurling insults at each other, and inciting the audience to participate. Having purchased balls from a barker, members of the audience would throw these at the target of their choice – with the result that the performers got dunked. The work was an experiment with how unexpected interruptions affect narrative structure: the script was abandoned and the performance reverted to improvisation.

1981

Shared studio with Elizabeth Chitty on third floor of 410 Queen St. W.

Presented workshop production of Picnic in the Drift in the Toronto Theatre Festival, Harbourfront, with collaborator Rina Fraticelli. Performed by Margaret Dragu (Celeste); Alex Fallis (Competitor I); Lee Wildgen (Competitor II); and Wendy Springate (The Woman from Munroeville).

Presented the full production of Picnic in the Drift at the Harbourfront Ice House

Picnic In The Drift

Written and produced in collaboration with Rina Fraticelli

Producer: Burke Taylor

Video: Colin Campbell

Choreography: Odette Oliver

Sound: Terry Crack

Director: David McIlwraith

Slide design: Lynne Fernie

Lighting and Set design,

Technical Director: Jim Plaxton

Production Consultant: Peter Freund

Video Technician and Operator: Chris Clifford

Video Operator: Tom Lux

Telidon Graphics: Bill Perry

Board Operator: Peter Gerber

Stage Manager/Sound

Technician: Mark Fine

Master Carpenter: Bob Pearson

Property Master/Slide Operator: Arron Moses

Costume Consultants: Fina MacDonell and Margaret Ramsdale

Technical Consultant: Tim Crack

Technical Assistants: Bob Greene, Caryn Colman, and Sue Gomez

Carpenters: Paul Stoesser and Brian Fowler

Production Assistant: Anna Barron-Schon

Poster Design: Rick/Simon

Publicity: Jane Farrow

Fundraiser: Sheilagh Crandall

Archery Coach: Bill Whitcombe

Boxing Consultant: Tony Unitas, Tim Crack

Camera (precorded video): Rodney Werden

Video cast: Colin Campbell (John the Scientist ); Ann McFarland (Nancy);
and Alex Wilson (The Plumber )

Pianists: Edward Moroney and Gerry Diver

Narration/Announcer: Glenn Luff

Performed by John Blackwood (Competitor I); Alex Fallis (Powerkeeper);
Jim Garrard (Competitor II); Marion Gilsenan (Celeste); Odette Oliver
(Angel/Worker ); Wendy Springate (Woman from Munroeville); and
Roxolana Roslak (Madame Butterfly)

This multi-disciplinary performance/installation focused on the influence of the nuclear industry upon the history and future of our lives. A hybrid explosion of opera, dance, music, video, architecture and collaborative theatre, Picnic in the Drift evolved as a series of tableaux, using a densely choreographed layering of dance and movement to symbolize intense debate, boxing bouts, bow-and-arrow duels, and various other competitive sports or warrior games. Individual narratives interwoven into these images featured a pioneer mother waging battle against the hardships of a solitary life in the wilderness; a scientist (based on the American physicist, Robert Oppenheimer) confessing to love and fearing extinction of either his feelings or his work; two men engaging in dialogue and sport, only to discover their explorations were being undermined to fuel an ailing and threatened enterprise; and a young woman telling her personal story about growing up in a nuclear-powerplant town, being poisoned, and being told that there was no danger. These and other narratives were underlined in turn by large-screen video presentations (filmed action and close-ups, bulletin boards, and staccato, Telidon-flashed messages) and slide images of maps, chemical equations, objects, and nuclear plants. Sound effects included a dense pastiche of ticking, clicking, humming rhythms, bells, voices, and a “red alert” warning that became louder and louder as The Bomb fell.

Received (with Rina Fraticelli) Chalmers Award for innovative collaboration in the performing arts for Picnic in the Drift

Presented selected Codpieces in The Fashion Show – Jaywalking the Intersection of Fashion and Art (cabaret event and group exhibition), Toronto, produced by ChromaZone, curated by Rae Johnson, Tim Jocelyn and Hans Peter Marti

1982

Received first Canada Council B Grant for performance art.

Took first 10-day whirlwind trip to Europe (with Rina Fraticelli).

Quit smoking.

Joined Board of Directors of Arcadia Housing Cooperative, Toronto (until 1985).

Performed Nine Lives with Odette Oliver in Danse Actuelle at Tangente, Montreal, curated by Dena Davida.

Nine Lives

Written in collaboration with Odette Oliver

Original sound: John Wells
Performed with Odette Oliver

This performance focused on movement, sound and hanging set pieces, rather than dialogue, to develop its theme of violence, insensitivity, and the unsavoury characteristics of human nature. Nine Lives took a humorous look at the power relations between the two characters. One soldier’s naïve profession of trust was rewarded by his suffering innumerable cartoon-deaths at the hands of his counterpart.

Joined A Space Board of Directors (until 1985). Was involved in controversial “coup” with Lisa Steele, Carole Conde and others

Joined A Space Performance Committee (until 1986)

1983

Became a member of the Women’s Cultural Building, Toronto (until 1986).

Presented 24 Postcards of Rage: No Man’s Land at Powerhouse Gallery/Tangente. Caused controversy in feminist community for including pornographic video within the context of the performance.

24 Postcards of Rage: No Man’s Land
Written by Tanya Mars and Rina Fraticelli
Original music: John Wells
Slides: Ann Pearson
Direction: Johanna Householder and Bob White

This performance investigated a woman’s view of her role in society with regard to love, sexuality and feminism. A series of images and texts, including pornographic ones, were projected onto a screen and onto the performer, who attempted to express her own personal feelings about sexuality and about the effects of pornography on her perceptions of herself as a sexual being. While demonstrating women’s confusion and rage about pornography, the work also explored positive
sexual imagery as made and embraced by women.

Presented Nine Lives with Johanna Householder (in the role created by Odette Oliver) for Danceworks at Harbourfront’s Brigantine Room, curated by Margaret Dragu.

Exhibited Wooden Bikini in Chromaliving (group exhibition with opening night fashion show), Toronto, produced by ChromaZone, curated by Tim
Jocelyn and Andy Fabo.

1984

Presented 24 Postcards of Rage: No Man’s Land at Music Gallery, Toronto

Bought land (covered in logging slash) in Nova Scotia: no house

Received first Ontario Arts Council Visual Arts Grant for Pure Virtue

Published The Adventures of Super Secretary photo romance in Incite magazine

The Adventures of Super Secretary
Initial photography: Trevor Goring
Additional photography: J. Northey and Kim Tomczak
Design consultation and layout: Bob Wilcox
Models: Michael Copeman and Wally Street (Businessmen); and Paul Ledoux (Mr. Selectric)

Expanding Mars’ earlier series of Super Secretary images, this photo romance included male characters and a narrative about a young secretary (a closet feminist) who was implored by her IBM Selectric to have sex with “him” so that he could be released and turned into a man.

Presented Pure Virtue for Danceworks’ Modern Art Variety Show at The Rivoli, Toronto, curated by Colin Campbell

Pure Virtue
Written and performed by Tanya Mars
Essex’s monologue: Paul Ledoux
Dress design: Elinor Rose Galbraith
Choreography: Odette Oliver
Original music: Kevin McGugan

In this first of the “Women and Power” trilogy of performances, Tanya Mars used Queen Elizabeth I as an historic icon and archetype. Rather than presenting Queen Elizabeth accurately, Mars appropriated her image to explore the paradoxical conflict between the Queen’s political power and her constraining, Elizabethan dress, and the difficulties experienced by women in trying to balance their sexuality and their ability to maintain political independence and autonomy. Presented in four five-minute segments with live orchestra, this performance used an economical, cabaret-style format, with minimal props and set design, to construct a symbolically layered and highly charged interrogation of the socio-sexual position of women and their claims to empowerment.

Presented an excerpt of Pure Virtue for Dressing Up, Harbourfront.

Participated in first artist residency at Western Front, Vancouver, presenting Pure Virtue.

1985

Presented Pure Virtue at Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal; Images of Sexuality Symposium, Galerie 101 Gallery at SAW Gallery, Ottawa; Performing Arts Festival, Tarragon Theatre, Toronto; and Brave New Works, Factory Theatre,
Toronto.

Presented excerpts of Pure Virtue at 5-Minute Feminist Cabaret, Women’s Cultural Building; A Space Benefit, the Bamboo, Toronto; and 6 Days of Resistance, University of Toronto.

Became President, Board of Directors, Beaver Hall Artists’ Housing Cooperative, Toronto (until 1987).

Adapted Pure Virtue to video with the assistance of Colin Campbell. Screened tape at Cinémama Film Festival, Montreal; and A Space.

Pure Virtue (Video, 15:30)
Camera: Colin Campbell
Editor: Ed Mowbray

Performed with Angelo Pedari (Essex); and Odette Oliver, Johanna Householder, Louise Garfield and Janice Hladki (Girl gang)
Choreography: Odette Oliver
Original music: Kevin McGugan

Conflating the historical image of Queen Elizabeth I with those of popular culture, Mars as an aging Queen Elizabeth I talked about such things as virginity, love and deception, in the process illustrating how the relationship of women to power has
not significantly changed since the 16th century.

Selected purchases:

University of Ottawa Library; Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), Halifax; York University, Toronto; Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa; Art Gallery of Windsor; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Emily Carr College of Art and Design (ECIAD), Vancouver; Art Metropole Collection, Toronto; California Institute of the Arts, Valencia (USA); Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff; Trinity Square Video Archive, Toronto; University of Toronto; University of Guelph; Alberta College of Art and Design (ACAD), Calgary; and Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD), Toronto

1986

Screened Pure Virtue video at ACAD; University of Calgary; Glenbow ///Museum, Calgary; Trinity Square Video; EM Media, Calgary; The New Works Show, Toronto; Medellin Biennale, Museum of Modern Art, Medellin, Columbia

Presented Pure Virtue at Audio by Artists Festival, Eye Level Gallery, Halifax

Presented One Size Fits All at 5-Minute Feminist Cabaret, a fundraiser for the Women’s Cultural Building, Lee’s Palace, Toronto.

One Size Fits All
Performed with Oraf

In this stand-up comedy routine, Tanya Mars inveighed against the concept ofvclothing that supposedly fits all people. Mars produced a pair of one-size-fitsallvpantyhose, which Oraf (a very tall man) put on his head to demonstrate thevabsurdity of this fashion idea.

Presented excerpts from 24 Postcards of Rage for Cultural Desire ProjectsvBenefit, Arts Television Centre, Toronto; and Ooga Booga Benefit, TheatrevPasse Muraille, Toronto.

Presented Keynote Address: Performance Artist: Endangered Species for 6 ofv1001 Nights of Performance, A Space, curated by Johanna Householder andvHeather Allen.

Performance Artist: Endangered Species

In this lecture cum rant, Mars outlined the pitfalls of a performance art career and the vulnerability of the performance artist. Mars was carried to the podium on a stretcher by two orderlies and two nurses (John Greyson, David Roche, Colin Campbell, Johanna Householder). Flourishing a placard entitled “Performance Artist: Endangered Species,” Mars was outfitted in flannel pajamas, a green terrycloth robe and pink and blue hair. While she delivered her lecture, the nurses and orderlies held up placards saying, “Not every dancer with a slide projector is a performance artist,” “Performance art isn’t some adolescent phrase that you go through, like acne,” “charlatan,” and “dilettante.”

Presented Pure Sin at A Space.

Pure Sin
Written by Tanya Mars
Garden of Eden dialogue: Paul Ledoux
Choreography: Odette Oliver
Acting coach: Ferne Downey
Dress design: Elinor Rose Galbraith
Stage manager: Johanna Householder
Original music: Rusty McCarthy
Performed with Colin Campbell, John Greyson, Kevin McGugan, Andrew J. Paterson and Angelo Pedari (The Men)

The second work in the “Women and Power” trilogy took as its subject the complex and multi-faceted connections between physical, political and sexual power. In a high/low-tech, contemporary reconstruction of classical creation myths, Mars
presented Mae West as Eve, Lilith, Pandora and God, in the Garden of Eden, in the Cosmic Void, and in Hollywood. Surrounded by her entourage of male cohorts (who played cosmic particles, trees, heroes and/or Zeus), Mae shimmied her way through myth after myth, seeking the truth as she wielded her own particular brand of power. In Pure Sin, Mars offered the audience a richly layered, non-linear narrative that integrated the use of costume, props, and slides with music, dance, magic and theatrical devices in a visual feast.

1987

Presented Pure Virtue at Artspace, Peterborough, located in a large mall. While practicing fire-breathing before the performance, Mars set off the fire alarm in a stairwell, causing evacuation of the entire mall.

Screened Pure Virtue video at Women in Focus; Vancouver, OCAD; Kingston Artists’ Association Inc.; Sheridan College, Oakville; Festival international de film et video de femmes, Montreal; Video Theatrics V ideo Series, Walter Phillips Gallery; Piccadilly Film and Video Festival, Canada House, London (England); 10e Festival des filles des vues, Vidéo Femmes, Quebec City; and Only Human: Sex, Gender and other Misrepresentations, American Film Institute Video Festival, Los Angeles (USA).

Presented Pure Nonsense at the Music Gallery, produced by Cultural Desire Projects, curated by Elizabeth Chitty.

Pure Nonsense
Written by Tanya Mars
Tea Party dialogue: Paul Ledoux
Dress: Elinor Rose Galbraith
Choreography and direction: Odette Oliver
Action coach and direction: Ferne Downey
Original music: Rusty McCarthy
Projections: Bob Wilcox
Performed with Vic d’Or a.k.a. Victor Coleman (Freud/White Rabbit); Kevin
McGugan (Jung/Mad Hatter); and Andrew J. Paterson (Adler/Hookah-
smoking Caterpillar/Dormouse)

In this third and concluding performance in the “Women and Power” trilogy, Tanya Mars was Alice, Lewis Carroll’s innocent adventurer in a nonsensical Wonderland. A synthesis of the 1880s cocaine craze and the 1960s psychedelic explosion with a 1980s twist, Pure Nonsense had the archetypal Alice in concert with the two giants of patriarchal psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud and C. G. Jung. The Tweedledee and Tweedledum of psycho-babble participated in Alice’s hallucination as she plummeted into the abyss of dream and nightmare, hysteria and power, infantilism and youth cult. An unsuspecting Alice was forced to confront the relationship of girls to men and women to authority; to unravel the mysteries of women’s imagination and intuition; to challenge the male refusal to perceive reality despite the very clear facts presented. Above all, she had to confound the patriarchy and analyze such complex issues as incest, penis envy, and the father figure. Pure Nonsense can be viewed as the meeting in one performance of Constructivism and Psychedelia.

Exhibited Wooden Bikini and selected Codpieces in Wearable Art, Edmonton Art Gallery (group exhibition).

Presented excerpt from Pure Sin at Late Night With Fuse, Lee’s Palace.

1988

Presented Pure Virtue at Definitely Superior, Thunder Bay; and the Banff Centre.

Presented an excerpt from Pure Nonsense at Euclid Theatre Benefit, Toronto.

Screened Pure Virtue video at OCAD; Hampshire College, Amherst (USA); Video Re-codes: The Documentary History – Persona, Institute of Contemporary Art, London (England); The Best of Only Human…, Los Angeles Contemporary Art Exhibitions, Los Angeles (USA); Only Human…Excerpts, Intermedia Art, Minneapolis (USA); Starck Club, Dallas (USA); Gender Bender, Cincinnati Artists Groups Exhibitions (USA); ECIAD; La mésure des temps, Axe Néo-7, Hull; Galerie Powerhouse; Vidéo/graphe, Galerie Yahouda Meir, Montreal; Sheridan College; and NSCAD.

Took first teaching job at the insistence of Bruce Barber, working as Performance Workshop Instructor, NSCAD.

1989

Screened Pure Virtue video at OCAD; University of British Columbia, Vancouver; ECIAD; and Rebel Girls, National Gallery of Canada

Moved to Shelburne, Nova Scotia (until 1994). Built a house on the property: no indoor plumbing or electricity. Raised chickens and pigs.

Worked as Sessional Instructor, NSCAD (until 1996).

1990s

1990

Saved Woofie from going to theYarmouth pound.

Received first Canada Council A Grant for performance art.

Joined editorial collective, Roseway Publishing, Lockeport, Nova Scotia (until 1995).

Screened Pure Virtue video at EuclidTheatre,Toronto; Centre for ArtTapes, Halifax;AKA Gallery, Saskatoon; OCAD; andThe Power Plant,Toronto.

Adapted Pure Sin to video. Screened tape at Centre for Art Tapes; AKA Gallery;The Power Plant; and Images Film andVideo Festival,Toronto.

Pure Sin (Video, 22:00)
Written and produced by Tanya Mars
Associate producer: Ann Fuller
Director: Colin Campbell
Garden of Eden dialogue: Paul Ledoux
Script Development: Colin Campbell, Paul Ledoux
Camera, Lighting and Editing: Margaret Moores, Almerinda Travassos
Choreography: Odette Oliver with the collaboration of the dancers
Original music: Rusty McCarthy
Performed with Ferne Downey; Alex Fallis; David Findlay; David McIlwraith; Peter Oliver; Andrew J. Paterson; Angelo Pedari; Clive Robertson; Tom Brouillette, Eddie Kastro, Allen J. Norris-Kaeja, Stephen Osborne, Bohdan Romaniw (Dancers); and Fred Smye (Voice impersonations)

In this video adaptation of the Pure Sin performance, Mars embellished on the original script, adding a few more male roles and taking advantage of post- production trickery. The script is true to Mars’ original investigation into women’s relationship to power: physical, psychological, political, and sexual. Selected purchases: ACAD; University of Lethbridge; York University; and Mount Allison University, Sackville

Presented Pure Hell at The Power Plant, curated by Barbara Fischer.

Pure Hell
Script development: Paul Ledoux and Odette Oliver
Director and Choreographer: Odette Oliver
IRONIC TO ICONIC / TANYA MARS
Associate director: Paul Ledoux
Original music: Rusty McCarthy and Kevin McGugan
Voice-over: Fred Smye and Wendy Springate
Set design and props: Tanya Mars and Ann Fuller
Costume design: Elinor Rose Galbraith with Tanya Mars
Projection design: Bob Wilcox
Lighting design: Peter Freund
Stage manager: Sandra Whiteley
Production assistant: Jennifer Keith
Sound technician: Louise Garfield
Set construction: McWood Studios Inc.
Fight choreography: Robert Lindsay
Wigs for Mae West and Alice: Ivan Lynch
Performed with Guy Bannerman (Freud/White Rabbit); Ferne Downey (Alice); Kim Renders (Mae West/Lilith); James Kirchner (Jung/Mad Hatter/ Adam); Allen Kaeja (Earl of Essex/Stanley Kowalski/Wilhelm Reich); Kevin McGugan (Plato/Zorro/Alfred Adler); and Andrew J. Paterson (Hookah- smoking Caterpillar).

Pure Hell was a re-working of the “Women and Power” trilogy of Pure Virtue, Pure Sin, and Pure Nonsense, each of which focused on a female archetype: Queen Elizabeth I (played by Mars), representing political power; Mae West, representing the power of femininity, sexuality, and seduction; and Alice, of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, representing the power of creativity and the imagination. In this 90-minute spectacle, Elizabeth sought truth, Mae West looked for her rightful place in history, and Alice searched for her missing penis (or phallus). Through these fictional and real personalities, Tanya Mars addressed a range of feminist issues, including the construction of femininity and subjecthood, the processes of socialization, the formation of feminine role models, and the psychological, sexual and social implications of the relation of women to power.

1991

Screened Pure Virtue video at University of Western Ontario, London; Sheridan College;Art Gallery of Windsor; NSCAD; and OCAD.

Screened Pure Sin video at NSCAD; Calgary Film Festival; Independent Film andVideo Alliance/Alliance de la vidéo et du cinéma indépendants (IFVA/ AVCI) Showcase, Calgary; Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge; ARCO, Barcelona (Spain); Concordia University, Montreal; La Mondiale, Quebec City; and Atlantic Film Festival, Halifax.

Presented The End of Nature:An Auction in ShiftingTerritories (without leaving home) at Neutral Ground, Regina, curated by Tom Sherman.

The End of Nature: An Auction
Soundtrack: John Wells, Andy Dowden, and Tanya Mars
Performed with Leigh Mayoh, Wendy Peart, David Sellinger, Wendy Struck (Ball players); and Daron Sebelius (The Coach)

The End of Nature: An Auction was a performance about the wholesale bankruptcy of nature in the name of saving the economy. It was also about our bizarre relationship to other species on the planet. Mars used the “fear of bugs” syndrome as the over-riding metaphor to explore our exploitation and extermination of plants and animals; and further, how our obsession to dominate nature by killing has backfired – poison in our food, our water, our air, and even a poisoned economy. Performed on a baseball diamond, the performance unfolded in a series of incongruous images juxtaposing the competitive sport of baseball with environmental issues. In Saskatchewan, at the end of the performance Mars auctioned off her $1,000 artist fee (a framed $1,000 bill) for $980 dollars. This was Mars’ first foray into unconventional performance sites.

1992

Presented It’s that Fabulous Relax-a-cizor, an early version of Mz Frankenstein, at SAW Gallery, Ottawa.

Screened Pure Virtue video at The New Gallery, Calgary; and OCAD. ¬Screened Pure Sin video at OCAD; and The New Gallery.

Presented Mz Frankenstein at The New Gallery.

Got indoor plumbing using gravity-feed.

Mz Frankenstein
Sound: Steve Heimbecher
Photography: Marc Hutchinson
Make-up: Bryon Callaghan of Studio 512
Performed with collaborators Colleen Kerr and Sandra Vida

Mz Frankenstein was a short, unglamourous piece about the body, science and (cont’d) ethics. The performance focused on society’s obsession with physical perfection and the deification of the ideal female. The piece exposed the pitfalls of relying on fad diets and plastic surgery as a quick fix. Dr. Frances Stein demonstrated the hook-up of a revolutionary reducing machine called the “Relax-a-ciser,” a machine actually manufactured in the United States in the 1950s and sold to thousands of women for home use. The machine included Beauty Belts, Beauty Pads and a detailed instruction manual with reassurances that “…through simple attachment the Relax-a-ciser allows you to achieve your desired results without the need for strenuous exercise! So simple! So easy! With no effort!” The piece was performed in locker rooms (when possible), where, as a requirement to enter, each audience member was asked to fill out a short form selecting the part of their body they would change if they could. A “doctor” weighed audience members and then seated them in designated areas according to body part (e.g. nose jobs, tummy tucks, thighs, hips). The performance featured slide images of the ideal female body throughout history and a relentless soundtrack of diet plans and statistics.

Presented End of Nature at Open Space,Victoria, performed with Chris Cairns; Roy Green; Carolyn Mark; and Jill Swartz.

Presented Mz Frankenstein at Le Lion d’Or Cabaret, Montreal.

Presented Mz Frankenstein, performed with Russ Dionne; Joanne Ducharme; and Keith Langergraber, Okanagan Artists Alternative at Okanagan College.

1993

Screened Pure Virtue video at Concordia University.

Presented Mz Frankenstein at Western Front, performed with Judy Radul and Brice Canyon as part of six-week residency, curated by Kate Craig. ¬Adapted Mz Frankenstein to video.

Mz Frankenstein (Video, 15:30)
Written and directed by Tanya Mars
Camera: Kate Craig and Paul Lang
Editing: Robert Kozinuk
Sound: Peter Courtemanche
Original music: Grant Gregson
Performed with Margaret Dragu (voice-over)

This video adaptation of Mars’ Mz Frankenstein performance takes the form of an imagistic narrative presented in the classic “infomercial” style. Mars as Dr. Frances Stein demonstrates the hook-up of a revolutionary reducing machine called the “Relax-a-ciser,” while ominous jingles and scrolling text provide a litany of warnings and statistics related to the health and beauty industries. Multi-layered, humourous and abrasively aggressive, Mz Frankenstein asks the viewer to consider the question: How far will you go to achieve the kind of perfection you want? (cont’d) Selected purchases: Canada Council Art Bank; NSCAD; Mount St. Vincent University Library, Halifax

1994

Presented Mz Frankenstein at Centre for Art Tapes.

Screened Mz Frankenstein video at Post Graduate Society of McGill University, Montreal; Carleton Film and Video Society, Ottawa; Beauties and Monstrosities, Toronto; Images Film and Video Festival; SAW Video, Ottawa; Body and Soul IFVA/AVCI Showcase,Toronto.

Screened Pure Virtue video at Owens Art Gallery, Sackville; and National Gallery of Canada.

Was member of Animating Team, ANNPAC/RACA/Artist-run network. ¬Moved back toToronto.

Shared apartment with daughter, Lara; lived next door to Ann and Tom Dean.

Taught as sabbatical replacement at OCAD.

Presented Comme Il Faut/Doom at Les 20 Jours du Théâtre à Risque, Montreal.

Comme Il Faut/Doom
Original music: James Brooks, Crisis Music
Performed with Odette Oliver and Woofie
For this performance, 18 guests were welcomed into a dining room and seated around a large table. In front of each person was a serving of wispy feathers and a glass of wine. Woofie, the dog, sat at the head of the table, facing a large meat bone hanging from a hook. Mars served up five performance “courses,” all on top of the table, towering above her audience, challenging social (and theatrical) conventions and politeness. At the same time, Oliver, as the Waiter, accompanied her with text from Emily Post on proper decorum, while feeding Woofie chunks of meat with a fork. The performance ended with a slide show of extinct birds, and Mars smashing a tall pyramid of ice-cream dishes against a brick wall. In this odd conflation of dinner theatre and table dancing, Mars investigated the relationship between audience and performer as well as the relationships between daily life, theatre and power.

1995

Screened Pure Virtue video at EM Media.

Screened Mz Frankenstein video at Calgary Status of Women Action Committee; The Food Show, Mount St.Vincent University; Women Film and Video, National Film Board, Montreal and John Spotten Theatre, Toronto; Headbones Gallery,Vernon

Presented G7-Live Chess Event in Halifax (group exhibition).

G7-Live Chess Event
Organized with students and faculty at NSCAD during the G7 conference in 1995 held in Halifax, this outdoor performance was a live chess game between two opposing teams, one headed by Mars as Queen Elizabeth I and her consort Essex played by David Clark. Moves were called out by Lucy Pullen.

Worked as Tutor, University of Toronto St. George (until 2001).

1996

Screened Pure Virtue video at Sheridan College.

Screened Mz Frankenstein video at Galerie Connexion, Fredericton; and OCAD.

Received first Toronto Arts Council grant for Bronco’s Kiss.

Presented Bronco’s Kiss at Trinity Bellwoods Park, produced by A Space, curated by Paul Couillard.

Bronco’s Kiss
Performed with Lillian Allen and Alexandra Webb.
A fascination with the O. J. Simpson trial and cars prompted Mars to create this piece which took place in an urban park. Lillian Allen created a non-stop dub-like poem based on the transcripts of the trial, while Alexandra Webb sang random O. J. trial excerpts from inside the white Ford Bronco. Dressed as a campy Marilyn Monroe, Mars moved in slow motion tai chi steps wielding large kitchen knives; applied red lipstick; and kissed the car leaving lipstick traces on its shiny white surface. A haunting soundtrack of didgeridoo and dogs chewing bones emanated from the treetops throughout. At the end of the performance, all three women returned to the car, which was then taken away by a tow-truck.

Presented Molto Jag at the Art Gallery of Ontario,Toronto, curated by Christina Ritchie.

Molto Jag
Performed with Alexandra Webb
Molto Jag was Mars’ second performance focusing on the theme of women and cars. The piece began with Webb, dressed in a jacket covered in bones, playing Satie on a grand piano, as Mars, dressed in a jacket made of thousands of brass tacks, set mousetraps with cinnamon hearts around a car, which was fitted with a gold lamé car cover. The cover was removed to reveal a 1973 TR7, which Mars had bought from a local junkyard and sanded down to raw metal, leaving scars and marks on its surface. A videotape collage of disaster clips and car crashes from popular films was projected from the inside of the car onto the windshield. Throughout the five-hour performance, Mars approached audience members and whispered “none escape” into their ears. At the end of the piece, the traps were set off, releasing the scent of cinnamon into the air. This performance was a precursor to the durational performance Hot.

1997

Became Senior Tutor at University of Toronto, Scarborough (until 1998).

Presented Molto Trap at Performance Bytes, Centre for Art Tapes.

Molto Trap
For this internet exchange of performances between Halifax and Toronto, Mars set mousetraps with cinnamon hearts and sprang them. The “performance” focused only on the artist’s hands doing the activity.

1998

Daughter Lara married James Brooks.

Screened Pure Virtue and Pure Sin at Carleton University, Ottawa.

Joined 7a*11d collective, producers of the biennial 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art (until present).

Presented Hot at Ace Art,Winnipeg as part of Ground Zero Performance Series, curated by Grant Guy.

Hot
Hot offered a sensitive look at middle age and the persistent desire for intimacy. In an elegant, slowly evolving tableau, Mars considered the search for unconditional love. Forsaking the “hot” sexuality of youth for the “hot” flashes of menopause, Mars presented the image of a bearded lady, setting thousands of household mousetraps with red cinnamon candy hearts as a video projection of a woman rassling with a dog suggested where true companionship and uncomplicated bonding might be found. Performing for a total of 24 hours over two to three days, Mars explored duration as the unifying formal element of the image, using her presence as a performer not so much to provide narration or theatrical relief as to breathe life and layer meaning into the tableau by animating its rhythm.

Presented untitled intervention at Area, 401 Richmond St.W.,Toronto.

Untitled
In this somewhat aggressive intervention, the artist, dressed in a straitjacket, ranted about the high cost of being an artist.

Presented untitled performance for Songscapes at the Music Gallery, curated by Istvan Kantor.

Performed with Ginger Dean, Yvonne Dean, Cosmo Dean, Woofie and
(Lara’s dog) Baloo
This performance featured a surreal collage of actions, including a series of wind- up monkeys singing the Macarena, Woofie chewing on bones, three young blond children playing ukulele, and Mars holding a small television set on her lap with a man playing drums.

Presented Homage to Hannah Wilke and Virginia Woolf in Pousse-Café, produced by 7a*11d and Mercer Union at DeLeonWhite Gallery,Toronto, curated by Paul Couillard and Louise Liliefeldt.

Homage to Hannah Wilke and Virginia Woolf
This homage to two dead artists was a quiet durational performance that referenced popular and contemporary art iconography. Dressed as a bearded lady in a male Elizabethan doublet, Mars unwrapped Spice Girls bubblegum packs that contained temporary Spice Girls tattoo “prizes.” After chewing the gum, she put the gooey pink wads on a large colour projection of her disembodied breasts. Mars offered the packets to audience members, who were welcome to the gum, but who were obliged to apply the tattoo to Mars’ bare legs. All the while, Linguaphone French lessons were playing on an old-fashioned record player.

Screened Mz Frankenstein video at La Centrale, Montreal.

Presented Hot at La Centrale.

Promoted to Senior Lecturer, University of Toronto Scarborough (until present).

1999

Presented Hot at Latvian House,Toronto, as part of Fado Performance Inc.’s Time Time Time series, curated by Paul Couillard

Joined the Board of Directors of Fado Performance Inc. Became President (until 2002).

Joined Absolute Choice Collective with Nina Czegledy and Johanna Householder (until present).

Presented The Archaeology of Performance, an early version of Performance Art Starter Kit, at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Presented Performance Art Starter Kit at the 360,Toronto, produced by A Space.

Performance Art Starter Kit
In a lively lecture-format performance, Mars delivered an historical look at the “archaeology of performance” as she transformed from a classic, artist-in-black to a Klein-blue performance artist, all with the help of her suitcase full of performance art’s most loved and frequently used objects. Among the objects in the kit: corsets, wigs, chicken, ketchup, bodily fluids, rope, honey, etc. At the same time, overhead projections footnoted Canadian performance artists, inserting them into the history from which they are usually omitted.

2000s

2000

First Grandson born: Jacob John Eric Brooks.

Presented Performance Art Starter Kit at Owens Art Gallery.

Served as Board member, the Parkdale andToronto Horticultural Society.

Became Program Supervisor, Undergraduate Studio Program, University of Toronto, Scarborough.

2001

Presented Performance Art Starter Kit at University of Regina.

Exhibited in TheYoung and the Restless, A Space, (group exhibition), curated byWill Kwan and Peter Kingstone.

The Young and the Restless
This group exhibition paired senior and emerging artists. Collaborating with Andrew Mallis, both artists made self-portrait jigsaw puzzles in an edition of two. Each set of puzzles was displayed on a table, where the audience could put the pieces together.

Created My Dinner with Woofie for Midi Onodera’s Alphagirls, a DVD collection of “cyber performances,” exhibited at InterAccess Electronic Media Arts Centre,Toronto.

My Dinner with Woofie (DVD, 15:00)
Directed by Midi Onodera for Alphagirls DVD project
Producer: Midi Onodera and Mehernaz Lentin
Writer: Paul Ledoux
Story Editor: Barbara O’Kelly
Editor: Rick Clark and André Lapalme
Director of Photography: Adam Swica
Camera operator: David Patrick
Additional camera: Midi Onodera
Performed with David McIlwraith and Woofie; Ray Landry (Woofie’s voice); Shannon Cochrane, Colin Campbell, Will Kwan, Aubrey Reeves and George Hawken (Extras)
This multi-layered, interactive “cyber” performance was loosely based on the film, My Dinner with André. Parallel tracks featured Mars or her dog Woofie dining at a fancy restaurant with David, who pontificated on the pros and cons of cloning as Mars and Woofie considered both the emotional and the ethical implications. In this last performance work featuring her dog, Mars took a look at the unconditional love and uncomplicated companionships people develop with their pets.

Exhibited Soft Warm Safe (giclée print) in Powerhouse:Who We Are Now at (cont’d) Centre des Arts Visuels, Galerie McClure, Montreal, curated by Gail Bourgeoisand PatWalsh (group exhibition).

2002

Second grandson born: Joshua Robert James Brooks.

Exhibited Soft Warm Safe at Zsa Zsa Gallery,Toronto (group exhibition).

2003

Appointed to the Faculty of Graduate Studies for the Master of Visual Studies Program, University of Toronto (until present).

Third grandson born: Jonathan Richard Colin Brooks.

Screened Pure Virtue and Pure Sin videos at Musée d’art contemporain, Montreal.

Received first Canada Council Inter-Arts grant for Tyranny of Bliss.

Received Chalmers Fellowship for Tyranny of Bliss.

Presented My Dinner with Woofie (installation and screening) at Union Gallery, Queen’s University, Kingston.

2004

Presented Performance Art Starter Kit at Union Gallery.

Screened My Dinner with Woofie DVD in Home Invasion,Toronto, curated by Jocelyne Salem.

Presented Tyranny of Bliss at various Toronto outdoor locations (Queen’s Park, University Ave. and Queen St.W.) as part of Fado Performance Inc.’s Canadian Performance Art Legends series, curated by Paul Couillard.

Tyranny of Bliss
Co-Director: Odette Oliver
Choreographer (Sloth): Tom Brouillette
Production Manager: Angelo Pedari
Production Assistants: Craig Leonard and Louise Liliefeldt
Missile Construction (Wrath): Brian Davies
Cake Construction (Gluttony): Victoria Shepherd
Camera (limousine video): Midi Onodera (Shelburne) and John Shisko (Toronto)
Editing and additional camera (limousine video): Tanya Mars
Production Assistant (limousine video): Tara Smith
Computer Graphics (limousine video): Derek Sodoski
Performed with Jamie Rowson (black limousine); Shannon Cochrane and Alexandra Webb (Envy); Julie Fiala and Louise Liliefeldt (Gluttony); Rick Johnson and Angie Nardiello (Greed); Alissa Firth-Eagland and Darren O’Donnell (Lust); Erika Defreitas, Hollie Gemmill and Mark Prier (Pride); Tom Brouillette and Fiona Drinnan (Sloth); Japhet Bower and Rizelle Guya (Wrath); Keith Fernandes and Andrew Scorer (Courage); Ginger Dean, Yvonne Dean and Carmen Pedari (Hope); Tonik Wojtyra (Justice); Michael Lam, John Shisko and Tara Smith (Love); Brenda Goldstein and Zoë Stonyk (Tolerance); Martin Downes and Bob Nasmith (Truth [is relative] ); and Christine Peplinski and Kristen Theriault (Wisdom)
Inspired by a variety of sources ranging from the fourteenth century frescoes of Ambrogio Lorenzetti on the Effects of Good and Bad Government to Fellini’s Satyricon and Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, Tyranny of Bliss was a modern day social satire loosely based on the pageant structure of the medieval miracle/mystery plays. Tyranny of Bliss looked at the current human condition from both utopian and dystopian perspectives. The performance featured a richly layered, fragmented landscape of 14 spectacular and incongruous tableau images based on the seven deadly sins and the seven heavenly virtues. In addition to the tableaux spread along a walking tour of the city’s major thoroughfares, political buildings and entertainment sites, Tyranny of Bliss also included two roving stretch limousines, one white and one black, in which audiences could take an intimate, mysterious and magical ride through the city.

Presented the seven deadly sins tableaux of Tyranny of Bliss in Hamilton, produced by the Art Gallery of Hamilton, coordinated by Katja Canini, performed with Jamie Rowson (black limousine); Shannon Cochrane and Brenda Goldstein (Envy); Julie Fiala and Louise Liliefeldt (Gluttony); Rick Johnson and Angie Nardiello (Greed ); Alissa Firth-Eagland and Darren O’Donnell (Lust); Erika DeFreitas, Mark Prier and Zoë Stonyk (Pride);Tom Brouillette and Fiona Drinnan (Sloth); and Japhet Bower and Rizelle Guya (Wrath).

Published Caught in the Act: An anthology of performance art by Canadian women, co-edited with Johanna Householder,YYZ Books,Toronto.

Moved into loft space on Ossington in building owned by Ian Carr-Harris andYvonne Lammerich, found by Johanna Householder.

2005

Presented performance remnants and documentation from Tyranny of Bliss in an exhibition celebrating the Sixth Annual Bill Huffman Award for Excellence in Studio Practice (given to University ofToronto student,Tejpal S.Ajji) at the Alliance Française Gallery,Toronto (group exhibition). ¬Screened Pure Virtue video at Trinity Square Video.

Presented (r)Age Defying Gravity at the Powerball,The Power Plant.

(r)Age Defying Gravity
Performed with Louise Liliefeldt
This three-hour tableau vivant for public party situations addressed issues of the aging body and desire. One hundred helium balloons inscribed with the seven deadly sins surrounded the middle-aged Mars, who was dressed in a black cocktail dress, long black gloves, elaborate jewelry and stiletto heels. Holding a flask in one (cont’d) hand, Mars assumed a pose, feet planted apart and arms slightly outstretched, implying both strength and vulnerability. In the meantime, a beautiful assistant collected the balloons and one by one attached them to different parts of her dress. As more balloons were attached, the dress crept up her body to reveal a pair of white frilled underwear, reminiscent of the underwear worn by toddlers (or strippers). Once all of the balloons were attached to the dress, Mars began to circulate in the room, selling the balloons in an attempt to get her the hem of her dress back down.

Performed Tolerance at the Drake Hotel,Toronto, curated by Paul Couillard.

Tolerance
Performed with Louise Liliefeldt
This performance was an adaptation of the Tolerance tableau from Tyranny of Bliss. In the busy lobby of a downtown club, the two performers drew a chalk line on the floor and begin a staring match. Periodically, one performer would poke or shove the other, inciting her to push back. Initially the actions were civilized, more taunting than aggressive; however, the action devolved into more violent behaviour as the performance evolved over the three-hour period. The piece was an investigation into the thin line between tolerance and retaliation; action and retribution.

Awarded “Artist of theYear,” Untitled Arts Awards,Toronto.

Presented (r)Age Defying Gravity for the Toronto Alternative Art Fair International at the Gladstone Hotel,Toronto, with Shannon Cochrane. ¬Performed outside of Canada for the first time, presenting (r)Age Defying Gravity with Shannon Cochrane at the International Congress of Performance Art, produced by PerfoPuerto, curated by Alexander Del Re and Alejandra Herrera inValparaiso (Chile).

2006

Screened Pure Sin video at OCAD.

Presented (r)Age Defying Gravity at the Gladstone Hotel with Shannon Cochrane.

Presented In Pursuit of Happiness in Civic Insomnia, curated by Kim Simon, part of Toronto’s first Nuit Blanche.

In Pursuit of Happiness
Performed with Gale Allen

A provocative meditation on excess and consumption in city life, this durational tableau was developed from the Gluttony tableau in Tyranny of Bliss. For 12 hours, the two elegantly dressed performers – seated at a long, lavishly set table – ate six enormous cakes. Audience members were welcome to watch, but not to partake. All requests for a piece of cake were met with the response, “We don’t share!” Toward the end of the performance the women wrapped the now unkempt table in plastic wrap, creating a beautiful, glowing pod of decadence. The performance took place in an outdoor parkette, lit by streetlights and twinkle lights.

Presented The Granny Suites, Part 1: Happy Birthday to You video installation in Where She’s At, York Quay Gallery, Harbourfront (group exhibition).

The Granny Suites, Part 1: Happy Birthday to You
This five-minute video projection loop featured a collage of footage from all of the birthday parties of Mars’ three grandsons: Jacob, Joshua and Jonathan. Included were endless scenes of candles being blown out, packages unwrapped, and the occasional crying jag. All of this activity was set against a very, very slow-motion version of “Happy Birthday to You.” Despite the proliferation of “identity” videotapes over the last 20 years, artists have been reluctant to speak about aging, except in relation to retaining one’s youthfulness and desirability. Even women artists focus more on sexuality and desire and less on motherhood. In this work, Mars pointed to and yet another taboo subject: even artists are grandmothers.

2007

Presented Rocky at Là-Bas Performance Art Festival, Helsinki (Finland), curated by Irma Optimist.

Rocky
Rocky was a commentary on the betrayal of the body. As the theme song from the movie Rocky played, Mars appeared in a short velvet cocktail dress and high heels, her mouth stuffed with money. She prepared for her “battle” with stretches and strengthening exercises, ending her warm-up with a flash of flame from her fingertips. She then wrote a text in large letters with chalk on the floor: “We Thicken, We Wrinkle, We Sag.” Bending over with her back to the audience and peering through her legs, Mars spat out the money and challenged audience members to a leg wrestle for $20 U.S. Taunting the audience with remarks like, “Come on, I’m an old woman after all, you can beat me,” she went on to win three consecutive rounds.

Presented Everything I EverWanted (and Never Got) in ArtThat Binds Performance Line-Up, QueenWest Art Crawl,Trinity Bellwoods Park,Toronto, curated by Shannon Cochrane.

Everything I Ever Wanted (and Never Got)
In this performance, adapted from the Envy tableau in Tyranny of Bliss. Mars delivered a non-stop, stream-of-consciousness litany of everything that she has ever wanted in life but been unable to attain, achieve or acquire. Dressed in a wetsuit, brandishing a homemade megaphone, Mars taunted passersby on a cold, (cont’d) September afternoon with a barrage of comments; e.g. “I want your stock portfolio. I want your beauty. I want your shoes. I want your….” Next to the performer stood a large barrel filled with cold water, along with buckets that the audience could use to toss water onto Mars in an attempt to cool down her desire for “things.”

Performed In Pursuit of Happiness with Alissa Firth-Eagland as part of the LIVE Performance Art Biennale in the elegant atrium of the Vancouver Art Gallery, curated by Randy Gledhill.

Became a Canadian citizen.

2008

Invited for three-week artist residency at Lilith Performance Studio, Malmö (Sweden), curated by Elin Lundgren and Petter Pettersson.

Awarded International Residencies Grant for La Cité Internationale, Paris by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Received the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts.

Presented performance artifacts and video of Pure Virtue as part of Governor General’s Awards inVisual and Media Arts (group exhibition), National Gallery of Canada.

About Tanya Mars

Untitled Art Awards, Toronto, 2005

International Residences Grant, 2008

Governor General’s Award, 2008

Chalmers Award, 1981

1948

1958