Rehearsal (1994)

Overview

To a compilation soundtrack of studio out-takes, including excerpts from the Beach Boys recording sessions for Good Vibrations, we see Donegan work through series of painterly gestures. Her head is shaved; she then paints her head to simulate the lost hair. A model hand holding a paintbrush is made to trace randomly across a sheet of paper, producing a set of faux Abstract Expressionist marks. Naked beneath a clear plastic sheet, the artist paints portraits copied from a monitor. Dipping her head in paint, Donegan draws a line by pushing it across a canvas. Rehearsal explores the limitations of concepts of spontaneous creativity and expression.