Transfigurations: Lecture and Discussion on Transgender Identity with Jana Marcus

Jana Marcus will be accompanied by four people featured in the photography exhibit, Transfigurations, currently on show at Serra House, 589 Capistrano Way, Stanford (through March 21). She will describe her artistic process, and the genesis of the project, and then throw the floor open for questions from the audience. Everyone welcome. Jana Marcus is a Santa Cruz based artist. Consisting of large black and white images with accompanying texts, Transfigurations explores transgender people and their notions of masculinity and femininity as they change gender identities. Marcus' photographs shed light on the transformation from one sex/gender to another, forcing us to discover that gender is both real and illusory, natural and constructed. The series also explores the importance of the body to gender identity as well as the effects of transformative practices on the body. Blurring the lines of gender separation and stereotype, Marcus' photographs ask us to question what it means to be a man or a woman. Transfigurations was awarded the prestigious Best Photos of The Year in both 2004 and 2005 by Photo District News of New York. It was also included in The International Photography Awards 2005, the Phelan Art Award 2005, the Excellence in Photography Award from San Jose State's School of Art & Design, and The Center for Photographic Arts Awards 2004.