Name Cynthia Maughan | ||
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Cynthia Maughan (born 1949) is a visual artist who is renowned for her early video art and films. Maughan currently lives and works in Los Angeles, California.
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Early life
Cynthia Maughan was born in Bell, California in 1949. She grew up in Norwalk, California. She attained a Masters in Fine Arts from California State University in Long Beach, California in 1974.
Career
Between 1973 and 1980 Maughan created nearly three hundred short, self-directed performances for camera in Pasadena, California. These early video works are characterized by their humor and low-fi aesthetic. These videos were often titled descriptively, such as "Tell Three Cats About Jail" (1977-8) and "Two Sticks Mourning At Another Stick's Funeral" (1973-4). Maughan has since cited the artist William Wegman, who was a teacher at California State University as an influence on her decision to try film.
In the 1980s the artist moved into the punk music scene. She was a member of several bands, such as Auto De Fe, the Nihils, Primitive State and The Shrews.
In 2008 Maughan was included in the exhibition, California Video, at the Getty Center.