Ana Voog

Ana Clara Voog (b. April 18, 1966 [ [http://ana.livejournal.com Ana Voog's weblog] on LiveJournal] ) is a singer-songwriter, musician, performance artist, visual artist, and writer from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Voog is the former front woman of The Blue Up?, one of the pioneer bands of the Minneapolis rock/pop scene. [Scholtes, Peter S. [http://www.citypages.com/databank/23/1137/article10716.asp?page=2 The City Pages] , September 18, 2002.] On August 22 1997 she started anacam, the second webcam (after JenniCam) that broadcasts twenty-four hours a day live from a home. [http://www.anacam.com/ anacam] website, accessed 21 July 2006.] She also designs hats and clothes.

Biography

Born Rachael Olson on April 18 1966, she changed her name to Ana Clara Voog just for the fun of it; that is, it isn't a stage name, nor a persona. Although it was never legally changed [ [http://ana.livejournal.com/1903785.html trance missions - updates, co-sleeping, hollow belly ] ] , she prefers to be called by it. Voog dropped out of high school in the year she would have graduated, 1984, got her GED, and embarked on a musical career which spanned two decades. For the first eleven years she was the leader, singer, guitar player, and songwriter in an all-female band called The Blue Up?. She recorded on two major labels, Columbia and MCA, and claims she was dropped for being too eccentric. By the beginning of 2005, Voog had released four albums, an E.P., singles, has been featured on various compilations throughout the world and has stated that she is soon to begin recording a new album.

On July 30, 2007, she gave birth [ [http://ana.livejournal.com/2007/07/31/ trance missions - July 31st, 2007 ] ] to a daughter, Lili Zuzu Voog.

Discography

Recordings by The Blue Up?

* "We are the Garden" b/w "It's My Life" (first single, 1986: vinyl)
* "Now" (EP 1987: vinyl; German version, 1988)
* "Everything Is" (on "Kaleidoscope" — Exploding Underground Compilation, 1988: vinyl)
* "Were You a Friend?" (on "Let's Talk About Boys" — German compilation 1988: vinyl)
* "Introducing Sorrow" (1989; was to be released by Midnight Music London, but they went bankrupt. Was then released in mp3 format in ana2.com, May 1999)
* "Cake and Eat It" (1992: CD and cassette)
* "Pink Turns to Blue" (on "Du Huskers" — Hüsker Dü tribute album, 1993: vinyl, CD, and cassette)
* "Breathe You Out" (1995: CD single)
* "Breathe You Out" (on "Soundbites" — compilation, 1995: cassette)
* "Spool Forka Dish" (1995: promo cassette)
* "Spool Forka Dish" (1995)
* "Frovarp" (on "Minnesota Modern Rock" — compilation, 1995)

Recordings by Ana Voog (solo)

* "Mother Anorexia" (demo) (on "Radioactive" — compilation, 1996)
* "Telepathic You" & "Please God" (on "Radioactive" — compilation, 1997)
* "Please God" (1997: promo CD)
* "Anavoog.com" (promo CD)
* Four remixes (on "Hollywood Remixes", 1998: vinyl)
* "AnaVoog.com" (1998)

anacam

In 1997, inspired by JenniCam, Voog began a webcam project called " [http://www.anacam.com anacam] ". At the time, the idea of a 24/7 webcam watching a person's daily life was still new and unexplored. Due to JenniCam's popularity, a number of camgirl websites had sprung up, but most were online only for a few hours each day, e.g. while the subject worked at their computer. Voog intended anacam to take JenniCam, which was an unfolding view into one personal life, to the next level, which for her involved performance art and visual experimentation.

Voog's webcam activities range from chatting with cam-watchers to playing music to ornate performance pieces involving household items and kitsch garage-sale finds, all unfolding in her elaborately decorated apartment. Other daily activities such as cooking dinner, vacuuming, and hosting visitors filled out the non-interactive periods. Nudity, whether incidental (watching television naked) or part of a staged performance, and sexual activity, ranging from masturbation to intercourse, are additional elements found on her site. Voog distinguishes her site from pornography, stating: :"sometimes I do put on a wicked pair of high heel shoes and prance around nude in a feather boa.. 'cause dammit I'm a girl and I did that before I had a cam, so there :). This site isn't about sex, but sexuality and SENSUALITY is a PART of this site because that is part of my life". In contrast with " [http://isabellacam.com isabellacam] " (self-described as “a completely original take on female produced erotic content”), Voog sees sexuality on her site as simply a normal part of her life. Unexpectedly, many fans enjoyed simply watching her sleep, prompting Voog to spin off a site just for " [http://web.archive.org/web/19991128170952/http://www.sleepstation.com/ sleepcams] ".

Since the advent of "anacam", webcams have become enormously popular both for personal use and commercial exploitation. Additionally, webcams such as "anacam" have been parodied in films such as "EdTV" and "The Truman Show", and prefigured the rise of reality television. With the 2003 closure of JenniCam, "anacam" is the last of the original wave of camgirls, and in its attempt to give an unvarnished view of Voog's life (while making a living), "anacam" remains unique.

Ana says on her site::"Sometimes anacam will get really interesting for a while, then it'll go back to being boring 'cause that's life. Just when you think nothing will happen here...bam...something crazy out of the blue happens. anacam is like the weather...the only predictability it has is that it WILL change. [...] You'll see my dogs or me staring at my monitor glassy-eyed more than you'll see sexual stuff. I'm really good at staring :) and sleeping!..."

Other media

Writings

From the beginning of "anacam", Voog accompanied the webcam with her blog-like musings in a section of her site called "analog" and in her LiveJournal (begun in 1999). She also transcribed her earlier, hand-written journals. In addition, she publishes poetry, stream-of-consciousness work, and other writings on her site.

Visual arts

Voog produces many types of art, from paintings and drawings to digital photography, including photos taken directly from "anacam". She hopes to make films some day as well.

Hats

In May 2002 Voog started to freeform crochet hats. Each one is unique, and she sells them via her website. She also takes part in fashion shows and is expanding into clothing design.

Media coverage

Newspapers and magazines have written about Voog and "anacam", including "Newsweek", "USA Today", "Playboy", and "Yahoo! Internet Life". Television appearances include "Hard Copy", "Vibe", A&E, and E!. Voog has been featured in several documentary films. Art installations by Voog have been hosted by the New York Museum of Modern Art, and in the Walker Art Center and the Weisman Art Museum (both in Minneapolis).

References

External links

* [http://anacam.com anacam] - webcam site
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0425/is_4_59/ai_69294346 Watch Me! Webcams and the Public Exposure of Private Lives] - a critical essay in "Art Journal"
* [http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2005-04-21/cover_story.php Tech Know: Women control their Web images in Aerlyn Weissman's click chick flick WebCam Girls] - cover story in "Now Toronto"