Carter Kustera

1962–

Details, Tell Me Something I Don’t Already Know by Carter Kustera.

Born in Canada but residing in New York, Carter Kustera studied at the Algonquin College in Ontario and the Ontario College of Art. Invested in performance art, conceptual pieces, drawings, and sculpture, Kustera’s work is one of inquiry, identity, and the subjective nature of truth. In 1991, the artist renounced a former identity (Kevin Carter) and reconstructed himself as Carter Kustera, completing the transformation with a funeral that served as a social debut for his current self. Kustera was invited to the Arts Center for an Arts/Industry residency in 1996, during which he worked on a series of silhouettes on ceramic tiles. These drawings were part of a larger series of works loosely informed by talk shows, which combine individual profiles with fragmented statements that punctuate an individual’s identity with often outrageous proclamations. His washroom, Tell Me Something I Don’t Already Know, continued this investigation with Arts Center members, over 900 of whom sent in their first name and a brief sentence about themselves. Kustera’s work is in the collections of several museums, including Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College and The Israel Museum in Jerusalem. He also provided artwork for the rock band U2’s “PopMart” tour.

For more information regarding this artist, go to:

http://www.solomonprojects.com/artistpage/kustera/bio.html