| Ana Clara Voog | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Rachael Olson |
| Born | 18 April 1966 |
| Genres | Pop rock |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, Musician, Performance artist, Visual artist, Writer |
| Instruments | Guitar, Bass, Keyboard, Vocals |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Associated acts | The Blue Up? |
Ana Clara Voog (born April 18, 1966)[1] is a musician, visual artist, performance artist and writer from Minneapolis, Minnesota.[2] Voog is the former front woman of The Blue Up?,[3] a pop rock band from the Minneapolis area.[4] On August 22, 1997[5] Voog began anacam, the second webcam (after JenniCam) that lifecasts, i.e., broadcasts twenty-four hours a day live from a home.[6]
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Ana Voog was born as Rachel Olson[2] on April 18, 1966[2] to a Lutheran Minister father.[7] She later changed her name to Ana Clara Voog. Although it was never legally changed,[8] Voog has used it as her primary name. Voog attended high school in Stillwater, Minnesota.
On 22 August 1997, Voog began a webcam project named anacam. Besides a view into Ana Voog's personal life, anacam also incorporated performance art and visual experimentation. Daily activities such as cooking dinner, vacuuming, and hosting visitors fill out the non-interactive periods on anacam. Other activities on the webcam range from chatting with cam-watchers, playing music, and ornate performance pieces involving household items.
While sex and nudity played only a small in what could be seen on cam, Ms. Voog gained considerable attention, and criticism, for the portrayal of nudity and sexual activity, including masturbation and intercourse,[9] on her live webcam.
Voog distinguished the racier elements of her project from pornography, stating that the "site isn't about sex, but sexuality and sensuality".[9] In contrast with one-time collaborator isabellacam, which is self-described as “a completely original take on female produced erotic content”, Voog views sexuality on anacam as a part of her life.
From the beginning of anacam, Voog accompanied the webcam with a blog in a section of her site, analog and in her LiveJournal, started in 1999. Voog transcribed her earlier, hand-written journals to her online blog. In addition, she publishes poetry, stream-of-consciousness work, along with other writings.[10] Voog also produced many varieties of art, including paintings, drawings, video, and photographs.[11] A number of public archives of Voog's work have fallen into serious disrepair, although a representative selection has been published in J.D. Casten's book on Voog, Dreaming On Stage. 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.
In May 2002,[12] Voog began to freeform crochet hats. Each is unique, and she sells them via her website.
On Voog's online work, Jorn Barger, who is credited with coining the word weblog,[13][14] states:
A number of 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, Net Cafe,[15] and E!. She also appeared on an episode of the early "video blog" by Jennifer Ringley of Jennicam.[16]
A documentary, Camgirls, which has been in post-production for years, is still scheduled to be completed, according to Adakin Productions.[17]
In August 2009, Voog turned off her webcam on the 12th anniversary of the site. In total, anacam broadcasted live, 24/7, for twelve years.[18]
After over 10 years of debate, at the age of 30, Ana Voog had had saline breast implants inserted into her chest to increase their size.[19]
On July 30, 2007, she and her husband had their first child, Lili Zuzu Voog.[20] The child was conceived and birthed on cam. A second child, Violet Luna, was born on 8 February 2009.[21] Ana's third child, a son named Henry Rose, died on May 14, 2010, at 36 weeks gestation, from complications resulting from Trisomy 13.[22]