The notorious "generation gap," between old and young, now and then, can be bridged by actions that might appear radically different in approach but are united by intent. In the case of performance artists Sylvie Laliberté and Ursula Hodel, generational difference gives way to similarities of purpose-both being boldly post-feminist. Laliberté, a young French-Canadian artist, possesses a subversive cuteness that sets her performance off as part coquette, part critique. Sitting in a bubble bath (or elsewhere), she launches into perversely naïve, enchantingly seductive monologues about love, jewelry, and what holds up bridges. The tiny candies of Bonbons bijoux (1996, 12:45 mins), the magic wand of L'Outil n'est pas toujours un marteau (1999, 9:40 mins), the colorful floats of Mes amis les poissons (1998, 11:16 mins), are familiar props that lead back to notions of domesticity or the grand allure of romance. Fading romance and cagey domesticity also inform the faux-opulent works of Ursula Hodel, an older artist from Switzerland. The unrepentantly aging Hodel's performances are infused with desire, driven by ritual. She mocks ideas of youthful beauty, while embracing acts of pleasure, often through fetishized objects. In Godiva (1997, 4:31 mins), lush chocolates arouse more than mere appetite; in Makeover (1998, 11 mins), an exotic array of cosmetics disfigure her body like derisive doodles. Where Laliberté can make you giggle, Hodel can make you gasp.

Also included: Speedo (Hodel, 1997, 7:34 mins) and Papillon cerise (Laliberté, 1997, 8:10 mins).