Tony Oursler

Tony Oursler (b. 1957) is an American artist whose practice centres on video, installation, and performance. A close collaborator of Mike Kelley from their time together at CalArts in the late 1970s, Oursler has produced a body of work that engages with psychology, media, surveillance, and the projection of identity onto objects and surfaces.

His early collaborative performances with Kelley — including works presented at Artists Space, New York — are among the most significant documents of the CalArts-adjacent performance and video art scene of the 1980s. He is credited as an assistant on the 1986 Artists Space performance of Plato's Cave, Rothko's Chapel, Lincoln's Profile.

Publications gathered here include exhibition catalogues and printed matter documenting Oursler's practice. Original period items.

  • Mike Kelley Plato’s Cave, Rothko’s Chapel, Lincoln’s Profile (with Sonic Youth) / The Peristaltic Airwaves (2012) double CD in sealed jewel case. Purple-toned cover image featuring cave-like formations with white typography. Published by Compound Annex Records. Reverse of sealed Mike Kelley double CD showing track information, recording credits, performance details, and a black-and-white photograph of Kelley. Includes references to Sonic Youth, Artists Space, New York, and KPFK Radio, Los Angeles.

    Mike Kelley — Plato's Cave, Rothko's Chapel, Lincoln's Profile (with Sonic Youth) / The Peristaltic Airwaves, Compound Annex, 2012

    Mike Kelley — Plato's Cave, Rothko's Chapel, Lincoln's Profile (with Sonic Youth) / The Peristaltic Airwaves, Compound Annex, 2012