The video Make Up--Make Down, 1976, tests out the promises of the cosmetics industry on the artist’s own body. The monitor shows the upper body of a woman who keeps opening a new lipstick or powder jar, fussing with mascara, revealing the application of makeup as an intimate ritual. Her face is not shown, so her hand movements are the sole focus of the camera. They are shown in slow motion: The feminine hands turn a lipstick lasciviously out of its case; run lovingly over the tip of an eyeliner pencil, like a displaced striptease.
The CDA's archives are operating with the support of the Ostrovsky Family Fund and Artis
