DMing with Maya Ben David
"People might find furries jarring but have probably had a crush on an anthropomorphic cartoon character like Lola Bunny."
Maya Ben David is a Toronto-based contemporary artist. Ben David’s artwork plumbs the depths of Internet subcultures to dredge up the URL fantasies that show us who we really are IRL. Her characters, like Pregnant Harry Potter or Snake Moses, are spun into a narrative web that spans platforms—from the gallery to Instagram, Vimeo to the stage, and then back again—to build worlds that blur the lines between fanfic, performance art, cosplay, and comedy.
Mask DMed with Ben David in advance of her upcoming visit to the Yale School of Art in New Haven, CT. On Thursday, October 10th, at 12:30 pm, Ben David will give an artist talk at 36 Edgewood in Room 204, and a selection of her videos will screen at 8:00 pm at 36 Edgewood in Room 417.
Popcorn Ceiling Maiden from Maya Ben David on Vimeo.
James Payne is a journalist and copyeditor in New York City. He taught in the History of Art and Visual Culture department at the Columbus College of Art & Design in Columbus, Ohio. He has studied at the Ohio State University, Indiana University, the Freie Universität Berlin, and the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia. Payne's poetry collection Things Just Aren't They was published by Monster House Press in 2015. www.jamespayne.info
Maya Ben David Maya Ben David (MBD) is a Toronto-based Jewish-Iranian Anthropomorphic Airplane. Working in video, installation and performance, she creates worlds and characters that aid her ongoing exploration of anthropomorphism, cosplay and performative personas. Ben David presents the origin stories of her characters in the form of video and performance, and expands on them via her online presence. They often inhabit alternate universes accompanied by nostalgia, such as the worlds of Pokémon and Spiderman. In addition, Ben David also plays a character called MBD who is known for having multiple feuds with her many alter egos as well as the art world. Most infamously, MBD has ignited online feuds with artists such as Jon Rafman and Ajay Kurian.
