Surveying the First Decade (Video Art)

7/27/2019 Surveying the First Decade (Video Art)

1/42

Thi s 17 hour survey, organi zed i nto 8program can be pur chased t hrough t he Vi deo Dat aBank, School of t he Ar t I ns t i t u t e o f Chi cago . Producer Bi ographi es, short bi ographi es of t he over50 a r t i s t s , i ndependent producers, andc o l l e c t i v e s r epresent ed i n t h i s c o l l e c t i o n , i s oneof t heresources prepared f or Rew nd, anunpubl i shed t e x t desi gned t o accompany t he 17 hour t ape .col l ect i onPRODUCERBIOGRAPHESby J ul i aDzwonkoski

Sur veyi ng t he Fi r s t DecadeVi deoArt andI ndependent Medi a i n t heUS . , 1968-1980

Curat edby Chri s Hi l lProducedbyVi deoDat aBank ( 1996)

Vi t o AcconciBorn i n t heBronx i n 1941, Vi t o Acconci r ecei ved aBAf romHol yCross Col l ege andanMFAfrom he Uni versi t y o f I owaApoet of t heNewYorkSchool i n t he earl y andmd1960s,Acconci movedt oward per f ormance, sound, and vi deowork a t t he end of t he decade i n ordert o "def i nemybody i n space, f i n daground f or mysel f , anal t ernat e groundf or t he pageground I hada s a poet . " ( Vi to Acconci , i nt ervi ewwi t h Li za Bear, Aval anche, F a l l 1972, p 71)Acconci ' s earl y per f omance/ s i t u a t i o n s , i ncl udi ngCl ai m1971) andSeedbed ( 1972) wereext r emel y cont rovers i al , t ransgressi ngassumedboundari es betweenpubl i c andpri vat e spaceandbetweenaudi ence andper f ormer . Posi t i oni ng hi s ownbody a s t he s i mul aneous subj ectandobj ect o f t he work, Acconci ' s earl y vi deo t apes t ook advant age o f t he medi ums s e l f -r e f l e x i v e pot ent i al i nmedi at i ng hi s ownandt he vi ewer' s at t ent i on Consi st ent l y expl ori ng t hedynam cs of i nt i macy, t r u s t , andpower , t he f ocus of Acconci ' s proj ect s gradual l ymovedfromhi s physi cal body ( Convers i ons, 19 71 ) , t oward t he psychol ogy of i nt erpersonal t ransact i ons( Pryi ngs, 1971) , and l a t e r , t o t he cul t ural andp o l i t i c a l i mpl i cat i ons of t he perf ormat i ve space


2/42

he s e t up f or t he camer a ( Red Tape s , 1976) . Si nce t he l a t e 1970s, Acconci has desi gnedar chi t ect ural andi n s t a l l a t i o n works f or publ i c spaces .

NancyAngel o&CandaceComptonWorki ngfrom1976- 80 i n vi deo andper f or mance, NancyAngel o wasamember of Si s t er s o fSurvi val , a per f or mance groupwhi ch "used t henuni magesymbol i cal l y" anda f oundi ngmmber, al ongw t hCandaceCompton, Cher i Caul ke andLaur el Kl i c k , o f Femni st Ar tWorkers . Angel oandComptonwereboth act i vel y i nvol ved w t h t heLosAngel es Women' sBui l di ng, anout- gr owt h o f t heFemni st St udi o Workshop (FSW . Est abl i shed i n 1972 as acol l ege andgr aduat e- l evel school f or womeni n t he a r t s , FSWada core f acul ty of Shei l adeB r e t t e v i l l e , Ar l ene Raven, DeenaMetzger , SuzanneLacy, Hel en Rot h, andRuth I s k i n. TheWoman' s Bui l di ngwas f oundedayear l a t e r by J udy Chi cago, Shei l a de B r e t t e v i l l e , andAr l eneRavenand i ncl uded Chr ysal i s, amagazi ne o f womn' s cul t ure . Both or gani zat i ons wereuni que i n t h e i r aimf r ei nvent i ng t he i n s t i t u t i o n accor di ng t o f emni st pr i nci pl es . Angel odi r ect ed t heeducat i onal pr ogr am at t heWomn' s Bui l di ng and, al ongw t h Annet t e Hunt andJ e r r i Al l yn, sheandComptonco- f ounded t he Los Angel es Womn' s Vi deo Cent er (LAWVC) .Angel o andCompt on' s t ape, Nun and Devi ant ( 1 9 7 6 ) , r e f l e c t s many o f t he t heor et i cal concer nsanda c t i v i t i e s gener at ed w t hi n t hese pi oneer i ng i n s t i t u t i o n s . Thevi deot apeandephemer alpr i nt ar chi ves of t heLAWVCar e cur r ent l y housed at t heLongBeachMuseumf Art, LongBeach, CA

Ant FarmASanFranci sco c o l l e c t i v e of a r t i s t s and a r c h i t e c t s worki ngf rom1968 t o 1978, Ant Farmsa c t i v i t y was d i s t i n c t l y i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y , combi ni ng ar chi t ect ure, per f or mance, medi a,happeni ngs, scul pt ure, andgr aphi c desi gn . Wthworks t h a t f unct i oned as a r t , s o ci a l c r i t i q u e ,andpop- ant hr opol ogy, Ant Farmo re i n t o t he cul t ural f a br i c o f post - WWI , Vi etnameraAmeri caandbecamone of t he f i r s t gr oups t o addr ess t e l e v i s i o n ' s per vasi ve pr esence i n


3/42

ever yday l i f e . AsChi pLord, one o f t he group' s f ounder s s t a t e s , "Vi deo becameAnt Farmsequi val ent t o t he archi t ect ural model , t o record t he group' s l i v e - i n desi gn process ( T h eWarehouse T a p e s , 1971) ; t o expl ore t hemul t i - barr el ed i mpact o f el ect roni cs onaut o- amer i ca( Ca di l l a c Ranch, 1974 andMedi a Burn, 1975) ; and t o expl oi t t he structure o f pure el ect roni ccul t ure ( E t e r n a l Frame, 1975 andOff - Ai r Aus t r a l i a , 1976) . " (The Range of Vi deo Al t e r n at i v e sRe t r os pe c t i v e ( AFI Cat al og) , p 64) As graphi c a r t i s t s , Ant Farmcont r i but ed t o numerousundergroundpubl i cat i ons i ncl udi ng Radi cal Sof t ware anddesi gnedM chael Shambur g' sGue r i l l a Te l e v i s i o n ( Ho l t , Rei ngar t , Wnst on, 1971) Ant Farm ncl udedChi pLord, DougM chel s, HudsonMar quez, andCurt i s Schrei er .

J ohn Bal dessar i"Ever ybody knowsa d i f f e r e n t worl d, andonl y part of i t . Wecommuni cate onl y by chance, asnobody knows t he whol e, onl ywhere over l appi ng t akes pl ace. "( John Bal dessar i , "Bet weenQuest i ons andAnswers. " ( . . . . . . . ) p. 11)( Chr i s w l l f i nd f u l l c i t a t i o n)

Born i n 1931, J ohn Bal dessar i st udi ed A r t , L i t e r a t u r e , andAr t Hi st ory at SanDi ego StateCol l egeandUni versi t y o f Ca l i f or n i a , Berkel ey . I nf l uenced byDadaandSurr eal i st l i t e r a r y andvi sual i de a s , he began i ncorporat i ng f oundmat er i al s ( bi l l board posters, phot ogr aphs, f i l ms t i l l s , sni ppet s o f conversat i on) i n t o hi s canvases, pl ayi ng of f o f chance rel at i onshi ps amongot herw se di scr eet el ement s . Al l owi ng popcul t ural a r t i f a c t s t o f unct i on a s "i nf ormat i on" asopposed t o "form" Bal dessari ' s works represent edaradi cal depar t ure f rom andoftenad i r e c tc r i t i que of , t he moderni st s e n s i b i l i t y whichhaddomnatedpai nt i ng f or decades . I n 1968, whi l eworki ngas an a s s i s t a nt prof essor i n t he Uni versi t y o f Cal i f orni a SanD ego' s art depart ment ,Bal dessar i met poet andc r i t i c Davi dAnt i nwhohel ped l aunch Bal desari ' s c a r e e r , i nt r oduci nghi mo l i ke- m ndedgroup o f emergi ng concept ual a r t i s t s i nl udi ng LawrenceWei ner , J osephKosut h, DanGraham andOnKawar a, a l l o f whomwoul dhaveagreat i nf l uenceon t he


4/42

devel opment of Bal dessari ' s work Baldessari ' s vi deotapes, l i k e hi s phototext canvases,empl oy s t r a t e gi e s o f di sj uncti on ( SomeWords I M spr onounce, 1971) , r econtextual i zati on( Bal dessar i Si ngs Lew tt , 1972) , andal l egor y (TheWayWeDoArt Nowand Ot her Sacr ed T al e s ,1973) poi nt i ng t o thegapbetweenper cept i onandcogni t i onLyndaBengl i sBor n i n 1941 i n LakeChar l es, Loui si ana, LyndaBengl i s st udi ed scuptureandpai nti ng atNewcombCol l ege andthe Br ookl ynMuseumSchool . Wel l knownf or her pr ocess - or i entedscul ptur es, Bengl i s was one o f ahandf ul of a r t i s t s associ atedwi th the emer gence o f an ant i -f o r mal i s t , Pos t -M ni ml i s t s e n s i b i l i t y i n t h emd 1960s . Bengl i s f i r s t beganusi ng vi deo i n 1970whi l e teachi ng at the Uni ver si ty o f Rochest er ( NY) . " I got i nvol vedwi th vi deo. I saw t as abi gmachogame abi g, he r o i c , Abst r act Expr ess i oni st , macho, s ex i s t gameHowi g?" (TheNewScul ptur e : 1965- 75, p 312) Be ngl i s ' s vi deo tapes c a l l att ent i on t o t he f or mal pr oper t i es of t hemedi um l ayer i ng mul t i pl e gener at i ons o f i mages whi chr esol ve t hemel ves i n vi sualnoi se( Mumbl e, 1972) andexpl or i ng t he f r ame as gender eddevi ce( Feml e S e n s i b i l i t y , 1973) .

DaraBi rnbaum"One of myor i gi nal i nspi rat i ons f or gett i ng i nvol ved i n vi deowas havi ng seen, i n t he 1960s, ademonst r at i on i n SanFr anci sco agai nst t heexpans i on of thewar i n Cambodi a, andthey hadaTVont hepodi umthereandever yonewas f i ght i ng - theNewef t was al r eady f i ght i ngf r agmented- f i ghti ng each other andf i n a l l y someonewi th amllet sai d " a r e we l i steni ng t ot h i s ? " because thenewswas on, showngt he expans i onof t hewar i n Cambodi a, andwi th thema l l e t , they br oke theTVand i t expl oded. At that moment was the f i r s t t i me I thought I ' d goout andbuyaTV- I di dn' t have one f or year s because I was not goi ng t o have one Then Ithought, wel l , we' r enot l i steni ng t o i t , but t h a t doesn' t stop al l those other ml l i ons o f peopl e


5/42

fromheari ng i t . At t hat t i me t heNi el son rat i ngs sai d t h a t t he aver age f am l y watched seven-and-a- hal f hour s o f t el evi si on aday- s o I t hought t hat was t he l anguage I hadt o speak . "

DaraBi r nbaum I nt erv i ewwi t h J udy Cant or , "Dar a Bi r nbaum " I vamCent r e Del Carme, 1990( p . 41)

Ana r c hi t e ct andurban pl anner by t r a i n i n g , Dara Bi rnbaumst udi ed at Carnegi e I ns t i t u t e o fTechnol ogy andt he SanFranci sco Art I n s t i t u t e . Shebeganusi ng i n vi deo i n 1978 whi l et eachi ng a t t he NovaScot i a Col l ege of Ar t i n Hal i f ax andDesi gnwher eshe workedwi t h DanGr ahamRecogni zed as one o f t he f i r s t vi deo a r t i s t s t o expl or e t he appr opr i at i on o f t el evi si onas asubver si ve s t r a t e g y , Bi rnbaumdescri bes her earl y vi deo t apes as "at t empt s at sl owi ngdown' t echnol ogi cal speed' i n order t o ar r es t movements of TV- t i me f or t he vi ewer . For i t i st he speed at whi ch i ssues are absor bed andconsumed t hr ough t he medi um fvi deo/ t e l ev i s i o n, wi t hout exam nat i on andsel f - quest i oni ng, t h a t r emai ns ast oni shi ng . "Recont ext ual i zi ng popcul t ural i cons ( Technol ogyl Tr ansf onnat i on : Wonder Woman, 1978- 79) andTVgenr es ( K i s s t he G i r l s and Make t hemC r y , 1979) t o r eveal t h e i r subt ext s, Bi rnbaumdescri besher t apes as new" r eady- mades" f or t he l a t e t went i et h cent ur y, works t hat "mani pul at e amedi umwhi ch i s i t s e l f hi ghl y mani pul at i ve . "

Peer BodeEducat ed andworki ng i n f i l mu n t i l t he ear l y 1970s, Peer Bode was i n i t i a l l y exposed t oel ect r oni cs t echnol ogy t hr ough hi s f a t h e r , Har al d Bode' s pi oneer i ng e f f o r t s i n devel opi ng oneo f t he f i r s t audi o synt hesi zer s . Bode' s concept ual i nt e r e s t as af i l mmaker i n expl or i ng t hei n t r i n s i c pr oper t i es of t he medi um nf ormed hi s subsequent work i n vi deo . Hi s ear l yi nvol vement wi t h Bi ngham on, NY' s Exper i ment al Tel evi si on Cent er , wher ehe worked f or anumber of years as programcoor di nat or andcol l abor ated wi t h ot her r esi dent a r t i s t / engi neersi n const r uct i ng pr ot ot ype i magi ng t o o l s , r ei nf or ced hi s commt ment t o " t oo l expansi on" and


6/42

"personal studi o maki ng " AsBodeexpl ai ns , "Cl ear l y therewas somet hi ng about const r uct i ngt he per sonal , i ndependent s i de [ o f medi a] t h a t , i n f a c t , t he i ndustr y model s woul dnever agr eet o construct . I t s achal l enge t o t hat commer ci al system and t he peopl ewho chal l enge t hesyst emmost l y won' t be represented w t h i n that system That ' s what i t means t o beout si de . " ( Peer Bode, I nt ervi eww t h Chr i s H i l l , 1995) Recogni zi ng t he l i m t s i mposedbydesi gner s o f i ndustr i al andconsumer t echnol ogy, Bode sought t o external i ze t he medi ums"hi dden codi ngand control structures" by exper i ment i ng w t h di f f e r e nt combi nat i ons o f t ool sandprocesses . Hi s vi deot apes evi dence hi s f asci nat i onw t h t he semot i cs andphenomenol ogyo f t hemedi um s p e c i f i c a l l y t hr ough t he synt hesi s o f audi o andvi deo si gnal s .

Br oadsi deTVAct i ve from1973 t o 1978, Br oadsi de Tel evi si onwasanexper i mental vi deot ape pr oduct i onandcabl e tel evi s i on f a c i l i t y l ocat ed i n J ohnson Ci t y, Tennessee wh chest abl i shed anat i onalr eput at i on a s an i nnovati ve, communi t y- or i ent ed communi cat i oncent er . Growng out o f anAppal achi an Regi onal Commssi ongr ant , Br oadsi de TVproduced vi deot apeswh chuni quel yaddressed Cent r al Appal achi an concerns and i nt e r es t s , among them l and u s e , energy needs,coal mni ng, r egi onal hi s t o r y , andt radi t i onal a r t s andc r a f t s . FoundedbyTedCarpent er, whospent years worki ng w t h r esi dent s o f t he backhi l l s o f Appal achi a, Br oadsi dewasuni quel ydedi cat ed t o educat i on andcommuni ty i nvol vement i n pr oduci ngwhat was t er med " t h el i v i n g newsl et t er . " Wtht he ai m f encour agi ngmut ual di al ogue, Car pent er has wr i t t en, " Ial most never tape anys i tuat i on unl ess the peopl e i nvol ved f i r s t l earn about t he machi nery,f o o l w t h i t t hemsel ves, and then l i s t e n t o a tape by someonee l s e i n t he mount ai ns who sharest h ei r experi ence . The t echni ques ar e not medi aor i ent ed, but or i ent ed t o educat i onandconver sat i on . " Br i dgi ng communi t i es wh chwere geogr aphi cal l y i sol ated f romone another ,Br oadsi de t apeswere di str i but ed vi a f our cabl e TVsys t ems ser vi ng t he r egi on . Br oadsi de al sor an a tape di s t r i but i on systemt o c i r c u l a t e t apes betweenpubl i c school s, uni versi t i es and


7/42

i ndi vi dual s . I n 1979, a f t e r ear l y years of f i nanci al s e l f - s u f f i c i e n c y , Br oadsi dewent bankr upt ani t s tapes andwr i t t en records were donated t o the archi ve at EasternTennessee Uni ver s i ty .

(SOURCEOFDESCR PTION?)

Bar bar a BucknerBor n i n 1950, Bar bar a Bucker attendedNewYork Uni ver s i ty andbeganworki ngwi t h vi deoandcomputer s i n 1972 whi l e s tudy i ng wi th engi neer andel ectroni c t o o l desi gner B i l l Etra . I n1976, Bucker movedt o Rhi nebeck, NYwhereshe andf e l l owmedi a a r t i s t s Gary H i l l , Davi dJ ones, andSt ephen Kol panl i v e d c ol l ec t i v el y a t a f ar mhouse under t he auspi ces of WoodstockCommuni tyVi deo ( Woodst ock, NY) an ear l ymdi aaccess center under t he di rect i on of KenMarsh Whi l e t h e r e , andas anart i st - i n- resi dence a t t he Exper i ment al Tel evi s i on Center(Owego, NY) Buchner gai ned access t o andexper i ment ed wi th acompl exarray o f el ectr oni ci magi ng tool s andsystem ( Pai k/ Abe Synthesi zer , J ones Col or i zer , Si egel Col or i zeer , Rutt - Etr aScan Processor) . Buckner ' s pr edomnant l y s i l e n t andnon- nar r ati ve tapes andi n s t a l l a t i o n s ,sought t o unl eash t he t r ansf ormati ve pr opert i es of t he el ectr oni c si gnal . " I nmywork I havebeen concerned wi t h t he s p i r i t u a l consci ousness of the i ndi vi dual andhowone vi ew' s one' sposi ti on i n Eterni ty . I n t h i s wor k, I -as soul -ani mmor t al andeternal physi cal essence, vi ewsom aspects of the physi cal l i f e as a f i n i t e yet ever changi ngphenomnon i n space/ t i me . "(Barbara Buckner , quoted i n8th Annual I t h a c a Vi deo F e s t i v a l , 1981)

Peter Bul l&l ex GbneyPeter Bul l andAl ex G bney were both bor n i nNewYorkCi ty i n 1953 . Whi l e st udyi ng a t t heUni ver s i ty of Cal i f orn i a SanDi ego, they pr oduced exper i mental f i l m andworkedas as s i s t a ntpr oducer s i n commer i cal tel evi s i on bef or e col l abor ati ngon The Rul i ng Cl assr oomi n 1979 . Usi ngvi deo f or i t s capaci t y t o record i n r ea l t i me andf or i t s r e l a t i v e l y l owc o s t , they spent a semest erdocument i ng t he exper i ment conducted i n a M l l Val l ey seventh gr ade c l ass r oom n whi ch


8/42

students i nvent edandenact ed t he p o l i t i c a l , s o c i a l , andeconomc r e a l i t y o f an i magi nar ycountry . Thecompl et ed t apewas ai red nat i onal l y onPBSands t i r r e d up a l o c a l cont rover seywhent he school ' s p r i n c i p a l , whocal l ed o f f t he exper i ment when i t unear t hed a story aboutt eacher sl appi ng a student, t r ied t o prevent i t s f urt her rel ease .

Peter CampusBorn i n 1937, Peter Campus st udi ed Exper i ment al Psychol ogy andF i l ma t Ohi o State Col l egeandCi ty Col l ege F i l mI n s t i t u t e respecti vel y . Hi s earl y t apes expl ore t he anatom o f t he vi deosi gnal i n rel at i on t o humanpsychol ogy andpercept i on . "The vi deo camer amakespossi bl e anext eri or poi nt o f vi ew si mul t aneous w t h one' s own Thi s advance over t he f i l mcamer a i s duet o t he vi decon t ube, s imlar t o t he r e t i na o f t he eye, cont i nual l y t r ansposi ng l i g h t ( phot on)energy i n t o e l e c t r i c a l energy . . . i t i s easy t o u t i l i z e vi deo t o c l a r i f y percept ual si t uat i ons becausei t separat es t he eye surrogat e from he eye brai n exper i encewe are a l l t oo faml iar w t h. " ( P e t e rCampus, "Cl osed Ci rcui t Vi deo . " SyracuseNewYork EversonMuseum 1974) Campuswasoneo f a groupo f a r t i s t s i n t hemd1970s t o producework t hroughWGBH-TV( Bost on) andWNET-13( NYC) ' s Tel evi si on Labs . I n addi t i on t o numerous si ngl e channel works, he hasi nvest i gat ed t he c ha r a c t e r i s t i c s o f " l i v e " vi deo t hr ough cl osed- ci rcui t vi deo i n s t a l l a t i o n s andel aborat e scul pt ural workswhose structrual components i ncl ude vi deo camer as, p r o j e c t o r s ,andmoni t or s .

CandaceCompton(SeeNancyAngel oandCandaceCompton)

TonyConradWthabackgr ound i nmat hemat i cs andcomput er pr ogr ammng, TonyConradbecameact i vei n per f ormance andmusi c composi t i on dur i ng t he 1960s andwasassoci at edw t h t he f oundi ngo f bot h mni mal musi c andt he undergroundf i l m nNewYorkCi ty . Conradwas aco- f ounder ,al ong w t hMari anZeezel a, LaMont Young, J ohnCal e, andAngus MacLi se, o f t he Theat er o f


9/42

Eternal Musi cwhi chu t l i l i z e d non-west er n musi ci al f orms andsust ai ned sound t o pr oducewhat they cal l ed "dreammusi c . " Conr ad' s work i n f i l mr anged fromexper i ment s i n physi cal l ytransformng t he f i l m s s ur f a ce , t o t h eat r i c al pr oduct i ons f eat ur i ng Newor k' s undergoundscene . Hi s f i l m, The F l i cker , i s consi der ed one of t he keyear l yworks o f t he st r uct ur al f i l mmovement . Conradbeganworki ngi n vi deo i n t he l a t e 1970s whi l e t eachi ng at Anti och Col l ege( Ohi o) andt he Cent er f or Medi aStudy, State Uni ver si t y o f NewYork a t Buf f al o . As Conrads t a t e s , hi s ear l y t apes "deal w t h t he const ruct i on of t he vi ewer , i n t he aut hor i zi ng cont ext oft he ar t envi r onment or w t hi n abr oader s o c i o p o l i t i c a l cont ext . " Conr ad' s commtment t odevel opi ngandsustai ni ng adecent r al i zed cul t ur al i nfr astr ucture i s evi dent i n hi s acti vei nvol vment w t h Hal l wal l s Cont empor ar y Arts Cent er , SqueakyWheel Medi aCoal i t i on, andBuf f al o Cabl e Access Medi a

Davi dCor tWthabackgr ound i n t heat er andworki ng as anant i povert y outreachworker a t t he Br ookl ynChi l dr en' s Museum Davi dCort beganusi ng vi deo i n t he l a t e 1960s t o document p o l i t i c a levent s and"br i ng t oget her di ver gent peopl es . " Attracted t o t he i nt i macy of t he port abl emedi umandi t s i n t e r a c t i v e p o t e n t i a l , Cort ' s i ndi vi dual work r anged fromdocument ar y andvi deo theater t o i nteract i ve vi deo games, i n s t a l l a t i o n s and l i v e vi deo envi r onment s whi chl i t e r a l l y act i vat ed t h e i r audi ences, of t enby keyi ng vi ewer s d i r e c t l y i nt o t he f r ame . Cor t wasaf oundi ngmember of bot h Commedi at i on, anear l y a c t i v i s t medi agroup, andt he Vi deof r eex, api oneer i ng c o l l e c t i ve of medi aa c t i v i s t s and t echni ci ans f ormed i n 1969 t o expl or e al t er nat i vecommuni cat i ons pr ocesses . Ref l ect i ng on t he i mpet us behi nd t hese gr oups, Cor t wr i t e s , " It hi nk a l ot o f peopl e ar e i n vi deo because they have no choi ce - i t ' s s o over whel m ngl y aroundyou I t ' s al most l i k e ar esponsi bi l i t y youhave t o take, t hat youhave t o workw t h because i t ' sal l pervasi ve . "

Car a DeVi to


10/42

Born i n 1951, Cara DeVi t o recei ved aBAfromBel oi t Col l ege i nWsconsi n Shebeganproduci ng vi deo t apes i n 1972 andwent on t o workas aproducer/ di rector o f t he i ndependentdocumentary s e r i e s "Changi ng Channel s" sponsor ed byKTCATel evi si on i n M nneapol i s .documentarywor k, f ocusi ng pri mari l y on s o c i a l andcul tural i s s ue s , has earned anumber o fawards, i ncl udi ng anEmmyAwardf or Out st andi ng I ndi vi dual Cr af t i n f i l mmaki ngProduced a t at i mewhenwdespread i nci dence o f rape andwomanbat ter i ngwas f i r s t bei ngpubl i ci zed, Ama L ' uomo Tuo ( Al ways Love Your Man) ( 1 9 7 5 ) , was a radi cal cont ri but i on t o t hei ndependent document ary f i e l d .

J uanDowneyBorn i n Sant i ago, C h i l i , J uanDowney studi ed archi t echture at t he Cathol i c Uni versi t y of Chi l e .Hecont i nued hi s studi es at S.WHayter' s Atal i er 17 i n Pari s and at Pratt Uni versi t y i nNewYorkCi ty . Downeywas al ready experi ment i ngw t h audi o del ays andi nstant pl aybackwhenhe heard about vi deo i n 1966 andbeganhi s earl y workw t h t hemedi umcreat i ng el ect roni cenvi ronment s andmul t i - channel i n s t a l l a t i o n s . Begi nni ng i n 1971, Downeyembarkeduponwhat he t ermed " c ul t ur a l expedi t i ons" t hroughMexi co andCent ral and Sout h Ameri caw t h aport abl e 1/2i nch camera : "Af ter exposure t o t heNewYork ar t wor l d, I deci ded t o returnSout h andrecuperatemy cul ture . " The resul t i ng "Vi deo Trans Ameri ca" s e r i e s , whi chhedevel oped i n si ngl e andmul t i - channel f ormat s, combi nes aut obi ography andant hropol ogycross- ref erenci ng west ernandnon- west ern cul tural practi ces anda r t i f a c t s . Later works ( L a sMeni nas ( Mai ds o f Honor) , 1975, The Looki ng Gl a s s , 198 1 ) , are medi t at i ons on t he archi tecture andpsychol ogy o f p i c t o r i a l space .

DowntownCommuni tyTel evi si on Cent erFounded i n 1972 by J onAl per t andKei koTsunoi nNework' s Chi natown" t o provi de f r e emedi aservi ces t o astr uggl i ng andof tenexpl oi t ed communi t y, " DowntownCommuni tyTel evi si on Center (DCTV) has of f ered vi deo t r a i n i n g , equi pment access and s o c i a l - i s s u e


11/42

programmng I n 1974, DCTVmade hi story as the f i r s t Ameri can te l evi s i on crewt o be i nvi t edt o Cuba si nce t he 1959 revol ut i on. The resul t i ngCuba : The P eo pl e ( 1 974) wasoneof t he f i r s thal f - i nch col or vi deot apes t o be shownnat i onal l y onpubl i c te l ev i s i on andone of t he f i r s ti ndependent document ar i es ever t o be broadcast . As part o f t he f i r s t teamof Ameri canj ournal i s ts al l owed i n t o Vi etnam f t e r t heUS . w t hdr awal , DCTVcont i nued t o breaknewgroundw t h Vi etnam Pi cki ng Up t he P i e c es ( 1 9 7 8 ) , whi chexamned t he af t ermat h o f Ameri cani nvol vement i n t he war . Employinga di r ec t i nt er v i ewapproach anda si gnat ur e up- cl osereport i ng strategy t hat f ocuses on t he voi ces of ordi nar y peopl e, DCTVhas pr oduced anext ensi vebody of work t hat consi stent l y addresses i nequal i t y and i n j u s t i c e i n Ameri cansoci et y . DCTVs i n i t i a l success i n broadcast i ng i t s workwas c r i t i c a l i n openi ng te l evi s i on t oot her i ndependent document ar i ans .

EdEmshw l l erBor n i n 1925, EdEmshw l l er st udi ed graphi c desi gn a t t he Uni vers i t y o f M chi gan andL' Ecol edes Beaux Arts i n Pari s . By t he l a t e 1960s Emshw l l er wasworki ng as a sci ence f i c t i o ni l l u s t r a t o r andhadest abl i shed hi s pl ace i n t he Ameri canavant - gar de ci nema w t h such worksa s R e l a t i v i t y ( 1 966 ) andI mage, F l esh and Voi ce ( 1969) . Hi s ear l y f i l m f eat ured col l aborat i onsw t h dancers andchoreographers, atheme he carr i ed over i n t o hi s v i deoworks As bot h ana r t i s t anda t eacher, Emshw l l er ' s pi oneer i ng ef f o r t s t o devel opanal t ernat i ve t echnol ogi call anguage i n v i deowereenormous l y i n f l uent i a l . Hi s earl y exper i ment s w t h synt hesi zers andcomput er s i ncl uded t he el ect roni c r ender i ng of t hree- di mensi onal space, t he i nt erpl ay ofi l l u s i o n and r e a l i t y , andmani pul at i ons of t i me, movement, andscal e- expl ori ng, as hedescri bes, t he rel at i onshi p between "ext ernal r e a l i t y andsubj ect i ve f eel i ngs . " Emshw l l er wasamong t he f i r s t a r t i s t s t o part i ci pat e i n t h e resi dency programf fered by WNET-13 ( NYC) ' sTel evi s i on Labwherehe pr oduced t he gr oundbr eaki ng Scapemat es i n 1972 . Sunst one ( 1979) wasmade over aperi od of 8 months as t heNewYork I n s t i t u t e o f Technol ogy ( NYI T) . Emshw l l erpassed away i n 1990 .


12/42

Exper i ment al Tel evi si on Cent er ( ETC)The Exper i ment al Tel evi si on Center ( ETC) wasan out gr owt h of t heStudent Exper i ment s i nTel evi si on (SET) programestabl i shed i n 1969 byRal phHocki ngon t hecampus of Bi nghamon( NY) Uni versi t y . As t hedemandf or communi tyaccess i ncr eased, t he Center f ormal l yorgani zed as a not- f or- prof i t organi zat i onandmovedt o a l o f t space i n downtownBi nghamon ETC' s pr ogr ams addressed potent i al uses of newt echnol ogy by three maj orcommuni t i es : a r t i s t s ; s o c i a l , cul tural andeducat i onal organi zat i ons ; andi nterested c i t i z e n s .Workshops andequi pment access were of f ered a t no charge t o f a c i l i t a t e aw de- r angi ngexpl orat i on of vi deo . Tapes produced a t t heCenter werescreened t hroughout t he r egi on a swel l as on t he Center ' s weekl y communi ty cabl e access show "Access . "

The i nvesti gat i on of vi deo a s acontempor ary ar t - maki ngmedi umwas an i ntegral par t of theCenter ' s a c t i v i t i e s . Under Hocki ng' s di r e c t i on, aResearchProgramwas i n i t i a t ed t o devel op amore f l e x i b l e set of i magi ng tool s f or a r t i s t s . One of t heearl y proj ects resul t ed i n t heconst ruct i on of t he Pai k/ Abevi deo synthesi zer , under t he di recti on o f Namune Pai k andShuyaAbe, f or t he Tel evi si onLaba t WNET-13 (NYC) . I n 1972, t he Cent er beganaResi dencyProgramwherePai k, Shi kego Kubot a, poet J acksonMacLow andgl ass art i st/ vi deo a c t i v i s tRudi Sternwereamongt he f i r s t a r t i s t s i nvi ted t o produceworkw t h t he Center ' s growngs eto f tool s . TheCenter ' s i mage processi ng systemwas f ur t her expandedi n 1974w t h t he addi t i ono f t he f i r s t J ones Col ori zer andi n 1975, a s et of keyers, amul t i - i nput synchabl e sequencer andabank o f o s c i l l a t o r s , a l l desi gned and constructedbyDavi dJ ones . Aomput er - based d i g i t a li magi ng system desi gnedby J ones, Wal t er Wi ght , andDonMacArthur i n col l aborati onw t hStei naandWoodyVasul kaandJ e f f r e y Sc hi e r , wasal so i nt r oduced i n 1975, l ayi ng t hegroundwork f or subsequent i nnovat i ons i n art i st- ori entedsof t ware and t o ol s , i ncl udi ngaf r ame buf f er and2- Dpr i nt sof tware desi gnedbyJ ones . Al ongw t h thesepi oneer i ng techni calachi evement s, t he Center ' s Resi dency Programgai ned i nternat i onal r ecogni t i on t hr ough t he


13/42

works of v i s i t i ng a r t i s t s , amongthemPeter D' Agost i no, Peer Bode, Shal omGor ew t z, BarbaraHammer, KenJ acobs, andGaryHi l l .

Ri char dForemanBor n i n 1937, Ri char dForman st udi ed a t BrownUni ver si t y andYal e Uni ver si t y bef or ef oundi ng t he Ont ol ogi cal - Hysteri c Theat er i n 1968 . Si nce t hat t i me he has wr i t t en, di r ected,anddesi gned over 20maj or pr oduct i ons i nc l udi ng Rhoda i n Pot at ol and andV e r t i c a l Mobi l i t y i nNewYork andEurope For eman' s acc l ai med t h e a t r i c a l andoper at i c pr oduct i ons arechar act er i zedby compl ex i nt er pl ays betweenspoken l anguage andvi sual t abl eaux . Foremanrepresents t he cr oss- over betweenvi deoand t h e a t r i c a l t r a d i t i o n s , a genre o f vi deo t hat wasent husi asti cal l y expl or ed by a r t i s t s dur i ng t he l a t e 1960s and70s . Duri ng t h i s per i od, vi deodance andvi deo t heat er emergedasmore t hanmere r ecor di ng, a s a r t i s t s l i k e Foremanstrovet owar d aconceptual t ransl at i on of agi ven pi ece t hr ough t he pr oper t i es o f t henewmedi umEmpl oyi ngdi srupt i ve devi ces t hat punct ure t he a t r i c a l i l l us i ons andaudi ence assumpt i ons,For eman' s works are d i s t i n c t i v e i n t hei r r i gor ous l y contr ol l ed composi t i ons, compl exl i n g u i s t i c s t r u c t u r e s , andi n t r i c a t e col l usi ons of l anguage andi mage, anda s such areconsi deredmai nst ays of t heAmeri canavant - gar de . For eman' s pl ays andessays have beencol l ected i n t he publ i cat i ons, Ri char d For eman Pl ays andMani f est os ( 1 976 ) andRever berat i onMachi nes, The Lat er Pl ays and Essays ( 1 985 )

Terry FoxBor n i n 1943, Terry Fox st udi ed a t t he Cor ni sh School o f Al l i ed Arts, S e a t t l e anda t t heAcademaDi B e l l i Arti bef or emovi ngt o t heBayArea i n l a t e 1960s . Aent ral par t i ci pant i n t heWest Coast per f ormance a r t , vi deo, andConcept ual Ar t movements of t he l a t e 1960s andear l y1970s, Foxbecamewel l - known f or hi s p o l i t i c a l , s i t e - s p e c i f i c per f ormance act i ons t h a t expl oredr i t u a l andsymbol i c cont ent i n t he o bj e c t s , pl aces, andnat ural phenomenaof ever yday l i f e .Foxmade hi s f i r s t vi deo t apes i n 1969- 70 as document at i ons of per f ormances t hat were t aped


14/42

byGeorge Bo l l i ng , t hen curator a t t he de Sasset Ar t Gal l ery andMuseumt Santa Cl araUni versi t y, Santa Cl ara Cal i f orni a . Descr i bi ng hi s 1974 Chi l dr e n' s T apes , oneof hi s f i r s t e f f o r t st o set up si t uat i ons s p e c i f i c a l l y f or avi deo camera, Fox s t a t e s : "Themedi umf vi deowaschosen l argel y because t he subj ect s were t oo i nt i mate f or per f ormance andbecause of t hespeci al appearance andatt ent i on- hol di ngpower o f TVf or chi l dren . "

HermneFreedBorn i n 1940, HermneFreed st udi ed pai nt i ng a t Cornel l Uni versi t y andNewYork Uni versi t y .Duri ng t he l a t e 1960s she t aught andcurated at NYU, worki ngas programdi t or f or anNYUsponsored s e r i e s onar t books f or WNYC-TVAssi st ed by col l eagueAndyMann, shebeganusi ng vi deo t o produce as e r i e s of cont empor ar y a r t i s t p o r t r a i t s , begi nni ngw t hpai nt er J amesRosenqui st . Al t hough t heprogram s broadcast qual i ty di d not meet WNYCs product i onstandards, Freed cont i nued t o produce t he s er i es , showngt he t apes t o her students and i nother venues . I n 1972 shewas i nvi ted t o part i ci pate i n at hegroundbreaki ng exhi bi t i on,"Ci rcui t : AVi deo I n v i t a t i o n a l " by EversonMuseumurator Davi dRoss whoseencour agementl eadher t o expl ore other aspects of t hemedi umandproduceanewbody o f work Freedcont i nued t o produce bot h document ar i es andart worksexpl ori ng f emal e percept i on and s e l f -i mage, produci ngAr t Herstory ( 1 974 ) whi l ean a r t i s t - i n - r e s i d e n c e a t t he Tel evi si on LabatWNET-13(NYC i n 1974 . Si nce 1972, Freed has t aught a t School o f Vi sual Arts, NYC

Ar t hur G nsburg ( SeeVdeoFree Amer i ca)Agraduate of Yal e Uni versi ty' s DramSchool , Arthur G nsbergbeganworki ng i n f i l mandvi deo i n t he l a t e 1960s . Hi s i dea o f i nt roduci ng aWst Coast branch o f G obal Vi l l age , anearl yNYC-basedmedi acol l ecti ve/ t h e a t e r , was squashedwhenG obal Vi l l age demnded10 percento f t he p r o f i t s f or use of thename Af t er f orm ngan i ndependent product i on company, cal l edMassProduct i ons andBl ess ed Vi si ons, G nsbergmet Ski pSweeneyand t hetwoj oi ned f o r c e s ,


15/42

pr oduci ng vi deo/ t heat er hybr i ds anddocument i ng count er - cul t ural event s w t h t heSanFranci sco- based c o l l e c t i v e Vi deoFree Ameri ca

G obal Vi l l ageWth t he mot t o, "TVi n YourOwnI mage, " andw t h t heMcLuhanesque i deal of aworl dl i beratedby advances i n communi cat i ons t echnol ogy, G obal Vi l l agewas f oundedby J ohnRei l l eyandRudySt ern i n 1969 as one o f t he f i r s t i ndependent vi deo gr oups i n t heUS .Commttedt o experi ment i ngw t h andpr oduci ngnewform o f t e l ev i s i o n, t he groupconsi dered i t s e l f avi sual count erpoi nt t o t he undergroundpress, chroni cl i ngandf uel i ng t hecounter c u l t u r e ' s cl ashw t h t he est abl i shment . Banki ng on t he revol ut i onary pot ent i al ofi nst ant pl ayback, f oot age fromcurrent event s, i ncl udi ngWoodst ock, t heRFKassassi nat i on,Ni xon' s Vi et namzat i onSpeech t o Bl ackPant her Party ac t i ons , ( bet t e r const ruct i on) and a n t i -war demonst r at i ons, wer e shownt o audi ences i n regul ar screeni ngs/ per f ormances a t G obalV i l l a g e ' s downtown l o f t space . These event s i nt roduced a newformof j ournal i smcharacter i zedby t he l i v e , i conocl ast i cmx o f cont empor ar y i mager y : "We orchest rat e t hesei mages fromper f ormance t o per f ormance t o gi ve a sense of t he ongoi ng vi ol ence, wast e,pol l ut i on, andemot i on of t h i s soci et y Wehoped t o move t o apoi nt whereG obal Vi l l age i sopen24 hour s aday, 7days aweek t o o f f e r peopl e acont i nuous vi deo i mmediacy o f news andk i n e t i c s . ( G obal Vi l l age, Radi cal S o f t w a r e , no. 1, 1970, p. 19) . I n addi t i on t o t hese spont aneousl ygenerat ed " r e p o r t s " , G obal Vi l l age produced a number of si ngl e- channel t apes knownf ort h e i r radi cal cont ent , i ncl udi ng Transsexual s ( 1 9 7 0 ) , L i f e s t y l e s : ASt udy i n Feedback ( 1 9 7 0 ) , TheP o l i t i c s of I nt i mcy ( 1 9 7 2 ) , andThe I r i s h Tapes . ( 1 9 75 ) .

As amedi ac e n t e r , G obal Vi l l age organi zedworkshops, semnars, andanannualdocumentaryvi deo f e s t i v a l ( no l onger r unni ng . ) G obal Vi l l agewent on t o serve as aproduct i on cent er f or nat i onal publ i c t el evi si on ( PBS) t hr oughwhi cht he c r i t i c a l l y accl ai medGi vi ng Bi rt h : Four P o r t r a i t s , by Rudi S t e r n , J ohn R e i l l y , andJ u l i e Gust af sonwas produced, i n


16/42

col l aborat i onw t hTheTel evi s i on Lab a t WNET-13(NYC) . Ear l ymembers of Gl obal Vi l l agei nc l uded : J oe Kos, J onat han Br andei s, KarenMooney, Lars R e i l l e y , Sean O' Nei l , TannyaQui nt i er e, SusanLandr y, J u l i e Gust af son, Lor r ai ne Cor f i el d andBarbara Mayf i el d .

DanGrahamDanGrahamwas born i n 1942 i n Ur bana, I l l i n o i s . I n 1964 hebecame t hemanager o f t he J ohnDani el ' s Gal l ery, NewYork Ci t y, wherehe f eat ur ed t hework o f t hen emer gi ng a r t i s t s ,i nc l udi ng Sol Lewt t , Donal d J udd, Rober t Smt hson, DanFl avi n, andCar l Andre Hi s ownwork a t t he t i me r anged f r omc r i t i c a l wri t i ng about a r t , a r c h i t e c t u r e , andt he te l evi s i on cul t uret o per f or mances expl or i ng s e l f awar eness, ar chi t ectural space, andgr oup behavi or , t oconcept ual works desi gned f or popul ar andar t magaz i nes . Gr aham s i nvest i gat i on i n t o t hei deol ogy behi nd, and re l at i onshi p bet ween, mass f o rm o f ar chi t ecture andmedi a cont i nuedt hr ough t he 1970swhenhebeganworki ngi n f i l mandvi deo . I ncor por at i ng mrrors, wndows,survei l l ance camer as , andvi deo pro j ect i on as devi ces f or st r uctur i ng t he vi ewer ' s at t ent i onandpercept i on, Gr aham s i n s t a l l a t i o n s addressed t he s o c i a l f unct i on o f ar chi t ecture andt el evi s i on i nmedi at i ng publ i c andpr i vat e l i f e r especti vel y . Hi s s i ngl e channel works i nc l udedocument at i ons o f per f or mances andl a t e r , document ar i es/ essays expl ori ng, among ot hert hi ngs , subur bi a andpunkmusi c . Grahamhas publ i shednumerous c r i t i c a l andt heor et i calessays i nc l udi ng Vi deo - Ar c hi t e c t ur e - Te l ev i s i o n ( 1980) and RockMyRe l i gi o n ( 1 993) .

Ernest Gusel l aBorn i n Cal gar y, Al ber t a, Canada i n 1941, Ernest Gusel l a st udi ed c l a s s i c a l musi c as achi l d andr ecei ved aBAandMFA n pai nt i ng fromt he SanFranci sco Ar t I n s t i t u t u t e . Gusel l awasi nt r oduced t o t he vi deo movement a f t e r movi ng t o NewYork Ci t y i n 1969wherehe becamef r i ends w t hWody andSt ei na Vasul ka, f ounder s of TheKi t chen andNamune Pai k, t he"grandf at her o f vi deo a r t . " Between 1971 and1974 he produceda s e r i e s o f abstract vi deo t apeswhi chwere gener at edby anaudi o synt hesi zer . I n 1974hebegana s e r i e s o f dadai st r i t u a l s and


17/42

f ormal procedur es i n front of t he camer a, u t i l i z i n g el ect roni c mani pul at i on of soundandi mage I n addi t i on t o pr oduci ng hi s own t a p e s , Gusel l aworked t hroughout t he decade as acamer aman, audi o and speci al e f f e c t s t echni ci an f or vi deo a r t i s t s andmusi ci ans i ncl udi ngSara Hor nbacher , Dor i s Chase, Shegeko Kubot a, Namune Pai k, Count Ba s i e , andBennyPowel l .

J ul i e Gust af sonBor n i n 1949, J u l i e Gust af son st udi ed at Br andei s Uni vers i t y bef or e she beganpr oduci ng vi deodocument ar i es concer ned pr i mar i l y w t hwomen' s i ssues i n t heear l y 1970s . I n 1978, shebecame a c o- di r e c t o r , w t h J ohn R e i l l y , o f Gl obal Vi l l age, oneof t he premeremedi a a r t scent er s f or vi deo document ar y i n t he count r y a t t he t i me . One of t he f ounder s of TheDocumentary F i l mFest i val of NewYork ( o r i g i n a l l y t he Gl obal Vi l l age Documentary F i l mF e s t i v a l ) , Gust af son al soworkedas the di rect or of t heDocumentaryCent er a t t heNewSchoolf or Soci al Research (NYC) . Ut i l i z i ngavi deo- ver i t e approach and l i t e r a r y nar r at i ve t echni que,t hepi oneer i ng documentaryteamo f J ul i e Gust af sonandJ ohn R e i l l y producedabody ofcol l aborati ve workf rom1972 t o 1986whi chscrut i ni zed Ameri can soci et y andt r enchantp o l i t i c a l ands o ci a l i ssues .

GaryH l lBor n i n 1951, Gary H i l l st udi ed scul pt ur e at t he Ar t St udent s League i nWoodst ock, NewYorkH i l l was i nt r oduced t o vi deo i n 1973 t hroughWoodstockCommuni tyVi deo, anear l ymedi aaccess cent er andpubl i c a c c e s s , andi t s t hen d i r e c t o r , KenMarsh Worki ngasWCV s TVLabcoordi nat or , and l a t e r at t he Exper i ment al Tel evi si on Cent er i nOwego, NY, Hi l l ' s earl yvi deot apes "arose out of adi al ogue w t h t he propert i es of t hemedi um andmade use o f avari et y of t ool s i ncl udi ng theRutt /E tra Scan Processor andDavi dJ ones col ori zer ( whi ch H i l lhel ped t o bui l d) . Hi l l ' s work upunt i l 1980 r anges fromearl y i nvesti gat i ons of synt hesi zedi mager y (Wndows, 1978, Summs and Di f f e r e nc es , 1978) t o exam nat i ons o f t he rel at i onshi p


18/42

between t e x t and i mage ( Soundi ngs, 1979, Around and About , 1980) . Si nce 1980, H i l l has gai nedan i nter nat i onal r eputat i on f or hi swork i n vi deo i n s t a l l a t i o n .

NancyHol tNancyHol t studi ed at J ackson Uni ver si t y andTuf t s Uni ver si ty i nMassachusett es . I n t hemd-1960s, Hol t was amonga groupo f a r t i s t s t o i nt r oduce aPost- M ni mal i st s e n s i b i l i t y i n t he f i e l do f scul pture Hol t used vi deo f or t he f i r s t t i me i n 1969 "whenPeter Campus r ent ed avi deocamer a andcam over . Ther ewas a t r emendous sense of di scover y because i t was soaccessi bl eandso Bob (Smthson) andI i mmedi at el y di d awork of ar t . Wei nvi ted a l ar gegroup of peopl e over t o our l o f t that ni ght , i ncl udi ng Ri char d S e r r a , M chael Hei zer , NancyGr aves, andKei t hSonni er t o see i t . I t wasver y unusual [ t o ] di scover amedi ummake aworko f art andshow t i n t he sameday That br oke the i c e andgaveme asense of what i t wasabout- what were f i l mi deas andwhat werevi deo i deas . " ( Nancy Hol t, quoted i n "The F i r s tGener at i on : Wmen n Vi deo, 1970- 75" ( 1993) p 24) Hol t ' s ear l y tapes, l i k e her s i t e - s p e c i f i cscul ptures, expl or e the r ecor ded exper i ence of apar ti cul ar t i meandpl aceand the f uncti on ofmemory i n decodi ng medi a spaces .

J oan J onas"Spacewasal ways a pr i mar y concer n, and i n consi der i ng t he space of themoni t or I then deal tw th the boxl i ke s t r u c t u r e , posi ti oni ng i t i n r el ati on t o mysel f . I t r i ed t o cl i mb i nto t he box,attempt i ng t o turn the i l l u s i o n of f l a t ne s s i nt o one of depth . "

J oan J onas, quot ed i n L i z z i e Bordon "Di r ecti ons i n Vi deo Ar t . " Vi deo Art, Phi l adel phi a I CA,1976 ( p . 83)

J oan J onas was t r ai ned i n scul ptur e andar t hi stor y at Col umbi a Uni ver si t y, Mount Hol yokeCol l ege, andthe BostonMuseumchool where she st udi ed dancew th Tr i c iaBrown Wdel y


19/42

know or her work i n per f or mance i nt hemd1960s, J onas f i r s t i ncor por at ed a l i v e vi deocamer a andmoni t or i nto a 1972 per f or mance, Or gani c Honey' s Vi sual Tel epathy I n t h e sameyear , shebeganpr oduci ng s i n g l e channel t a p e s , amongthemVer t i cal Rol l ( 1 9 7 2 ) , whicharer ecogni zed as l andmar k i nvest i gat i ons i n t o t he structural andper f or mat i ve nat ur e of t hemedi umExpl or i ng mythi cal f emal e ar chetypes andt he di s l ocat i on of physi cal space, J o na s 'workoccupi es an i mpor t ant pos i t i on i n t he devel opment of both ear l y f ormal i st andear l yf emni st vi deo .

Paul andMarl eneKosWorki ngas ahusband/ w f e col l aborat i ve t eam Paul andMar l ene Kospr oduced numerousvi deot apes t hr oughout t he 1970s expl or i ng t he hynot i c and i l l u s o r y aspects of t he t el evi sedi mage Thei r i n s t a l l a t i o n works treated t he vi deomoni t or as anessenti al l y scul pt ur al el ementw t h i t s owni nher ent structural l anguage . I n several c a s e s , t hemoni t or was o f tenmade t of unct i on as awndowof f er i ng avi ewof event s occur i ng si mul aneous l y i n anot her l ocati on.They l i kew se r eass esed t he r o l e o f t heaudi ence, act i vel y st r uct ur i ngvi ewer s i n t o t heper f or mance of t hework ( St . El mos F i r e, 1977) . Paul Kosbeganusi ng vi deo whi l e t eachi ng a tt heUni ver si t y of Sant a Cl ar aandt hr ough hi s associ at i onw t h t he de Sasset Ar t Gal l er y andMuseumwhosecur at or Geor ge Bol l i ngownedt he onl y por t apak i n town

Shi geko Kubota" I want t o create a f us i on o f ar t andl i f e , As i aandAmer i ca, Duchampi anaandLevi - St r aussi ansavagi sm cool formandhot vi deo, deal i ngw t h al l o f those compl expr obl em , spanni ng t het r i b a l memory of t henomadi c As i ans whocr ossed over t he Ber i ng S t r a i t over 10 , 000 year sago . Then, I came, f l yi ng i na Boei ng 707, onJ u l y 4t h i n 1964, drawnt o t he g l i t t e r i n g PopAr tworl do f NewYork. "

Shi geko Kubot a, "Shi geko Kubota APor t f ol i o 1972- 1979" i n Vi deo 80#4, Spr i ng 1982 ( p . 3 5 )


20/42

Shi gekoKubotawasborni n Ni i gata, J apan i n 1937 . After r ecei vi ngabachel or ' s degree i nscul pt ure f r omTokyoUni ver si t y, Kubotamvedt o t he Uni t ed St at es whereshe st udi ed atNewYork Uni versi t y andTheNewSchool f or Soci al Resear ch i n t he md1960' s . Kubotawasi nt r oduced t o vi deo t hr ough her i nvol vement w t h t he t heNewYor k- based Fl uxus Movementwhi ch i ncl udedNamune Pai k, Al l i sonKnow es, Al l an Kaprow andGeor ge Maci unas . I n1972 she pr oduced t he f i r s t of her ongoi ng vi deo di ari es ( Eur ope on 1/ 2 I nch aDay), whi l e a tt he same t i me expl or i ng t he i magepr ocess i ng equi pment a t WNET- 13TVLab ( Vi deo G r l s andVi deo Songsf or Navaj o Ski es, 1973) . The f us i on of spont aneous aut obi ogr aphy andel ect roni cpr ocess i ng charact er i zed her subsequent workwhi chr anged i n f ocus fromever yday event s t omedi t at i ons on t hework of Mar cel Duchamp Kubota cur ated t he f i r s t annual Wmen' sVi deoFest i val at t he Ki t chen i n 1972whi ch featured work by, amng o t h e r s , SusanM l ano, Charl ot t eMoorman, J acki e Cassen andSt ei na Vasukl a .

KQED-TV/ Nati onal Cent er f or Exper i ment s i n Tel evi s i on (NCET)I n 1967, broadcast TVs t a t i o nKQEDSanFranci sco est abl i shed t he f i r s t exper i ment al vi deoworkshop under t he vi s i onary di recti on of Bri ceHowardandPaul Kaufman I n addi t i on t oopeni ng t heworkshop t o a r t i s t s worki ng i n a var i et y of d i s c p l i n e s , Howardt arget ed a r t i s t sandt echni ci ans who concent r at ed s p e c i f i c a l l y on t el evi s i on . Acore group of pr oducer s begant o formwhi ch i ncl udedW l l a r d Rosenqui st , B i l l Gwn, St ephen Beck, DonHal l ock, B i l l Roar t yandat var i ous t i mes, twocomposer s , Ri char d F el i c i ano , who hadbeen amngt he f i r s t groupo f KQEDesi dent a r t i s t s , andWrner J epson. Roar t y descr i bes anaverage daya t t heworkshop dur i ng t h i s per i od : "War ner and woul dbeworki ngona compl ex soundcompos i t i on andi mmedi at el y t o our l e f t woul dbe St ephen, desi gni ng a c i r c u i t andt hen on t heother si de o f t hat woul dbe B i l l Gwn, l ooki ng f or at ape andover t her ewoul dbe Wl l ard,worki ngon l i g h t formYoucoul dn' t hel p but be compl et el y exci t edby t he t hought s and


21/42

percept i ons o f a l l t he peopl e worki ngaroundyouappr oachi ng t hi ngs each i n t h e i r ownway "( "Vi deo : State o f t he A r t , " 1976)

I n 1969 t heworkshopbecame t he Nat i onal Cent er f or Exper i ment s i n Tel evi s i on ( NCET) , s t i l lunder t he di rect i on of Howardwho, byremovi ng t he pressures o f t he broadcast s i t u a t i o n ,created anatmospher e where exper i ment at i on coul d thr i ve . Network t el evi s i on per sonnelfromar ound t he nat i on par t i ci pat ed i n t he Cent er ' s i nt ernshi p programwhere they wereexposed t o often shocki ngnewappr oaches t o t hemedi umBy 1972, t he Cent er hadbegunanout r each programwherer esi dent producer s canvass ed col l ege anduni vers i t y ar tdepar t ment s, scr eeni ngworkandencour agi ng these i n s t i t u t i o n s t o devel op thei r ownvi deoproduct i on pr ogr ams, whichseveral went ont o do Fol l ow ngahi ghl y pr oduct i ve per i od i n1973, whenJ epsonandBeck toured t he country per f or m ng w t h t h e i r audi o andvi deosynt hesi zers, andDonHal l ock present ed hi s "Vi deol a" a t t heSanFr anci sco Ar t Museum achange i n NCET' s l eadershi p l ead t o t he l o s s of i t s exper i ment al edge . Subsequent proj ectscont i nued t o i ncor por at emany o f t he s t r a t e gi es devel oped i n precedi ngyear s whi l e t heCent er ' s over al l f ocus turned t oward t he di ssemnat i on of s o c i a l andp o l i t i c a l i deas t hr oughte l evi s i on .

Lanesvi l l e TV(See Vi deof r eex/ Medi a Bus I nc . /Lanesvi l l e TV)

MediaBus I nc . (See Vi deof r eex/ Medi a Bus I nc . / Lanesvi l l e TV)

Paul McCarthy( Mar i a i s compi l i ng i nf ormat i onwhi chwew l l f orwar d t o youa. s . a . p . )

Li ndaMontano


22/42

Or i gi nal l y t ra i ned as ascul pt or , Li nda Montanobeganus i ngv i deo i n t he 1970s . At t empt i ng t oo b l i t e r a t e t he di s t i nc t i on betweenar t and l i f e , Mont ano' s ar t pract i ce i s s t ar k l yaut obi ogr aphi cal ando f ten concerned w t h personal and rel i gi ous d i s c i p l i n e ; Montanospenttwoyears i n aconvent andhas s t udi ed YogaandZenf or manyyears . Her avowed i n t e r e s tl i e s i n " l ear ni nghow o l i v e better through l i f e l i k e ar t wor ks, " w t h personal growthevol vi ngout o f shared exper i ence, r o l e adopt i on andr i t u a l . Expl o r i ng aw de range of phenomena,fromper sonal t r ansf ormat i on andal tered consci ousness t o hypnosi s andeat i ng di sorder s,Mont ano' s work from he 1970s andear l y 1980s i s o f c r i t i c a l i mpor t ance i n t h e devel opment o fvi deo by, f o r , andabout women

Rober t Mor r i sBor n i n 1931 i n Kansas C i t y , M ssour i , Rober t Morr i s st udi ed at the Uni vers t i t y o f Kansas,Kansas Ci t y Ar t I n s t i t u t e , Cal i f orni a School o f Fi ne Arts, SanFranci sco, andReedCol l ege,Por t l and, Oregon Wel l knownf or hi s mni mal i st s cul pt ures i n t he ear l y 1960s, Morr i s mrkedt he t r ans i t i on t o aPost - M ni mal i s t s e n s i b i l t y by re i nt roduc i ng ever yday processes i n t o hi sscul pt ur al works andthrough hi s c r i t i c a l texts wh chprovi ded t hemvement w t h at he or e t i c al f oundat i on . I n 1969, Morr i s or gani zed Ni ne at C a s t e l l i , oneo f t he f i r s t exhi bi t i ons ofPost- M ni mal i s t , Ant i - Formal i st ar t wh chfeatured t he work of EvaHesse, Ri char d S e r r a ,Kei t h Sonni er, andBruceNaumn, amongothers . I nvol ved i n t he E. A. T . ( Exper i ment s i n Ar tandTechnol ogy) pr o j e ct , Morr i s workedbr i e f l y i n f i l mandvi deo i n t h e l ate' 60' s / ear l y 1970s,empl oyi ng structural devi ces ( l ay er i ng, f r amng, mr r or i ng) i nanexamnat i on of t he medi umsd i s t i n c t features andi t s us e as means of communi cat i on .

Phi l MortonBor n i n 1945, Phi l Mortonr ecei ved degr ees i n Ar t Educat i on and Fi ne Ar t s fromPennsyl vani aState Uni vers i t y andPer due Uni ver si t y, I ndi ana, r especti vel y . Hebegant eachi ng at t heSchool o f t he Ar t I ns t i t u t e o f Chi cago i n 1969 . Wt hi n ayear hehadest abl i shed t he f i r s t Vi deo


23/42

Depar tment i nt hecountry to of f er bothBAandMFAdegrees i nvi deo product i on . I nf ol l ow ng years, Mortoncont i nued t o expandt hemedi aresources andeducati onalopport uni tes a t t heSchool o f the Art I n s t i t u t e , establ i shi ng theVi deo Dat aBankas a researchanddi stri buti on center f or i ndependent and a r t i s t vi deo tapes i n 1972 and, i n col l aborat i onwi thDanSandi n, di stri buti ng pl ans f or the I mageProcessor ( I P ) , avi sual equi val ent t o t heMoogaudi o synthesi zer . I n 1974, heestabl i shed " P - P i ' s " or Pi ed Pi eper I nteracti oni ng Systemacabl eTVstati on i n South Haven, M chi gan .

Nat i onal Cent er f or Experi ment s i n Tel evi si on ( SeeKQED-TV)

BruceNaumanBorn i n 1941 i n Fort Wayne, I ndi ana, BruceNauman i n i t i a l l y studi edmathemat i cs andphysi csa t theUni versi t y o f Wsconsi n bef ore recei vi nganMFAt fromt heUni versi t y o f Cal i f orni aDavi s i n 1966 . By the l a t e 1960' sNaumanhadestabl i shed a reputat i on f or hi mel f a s aconceptual pi oneer i n the f i e l d o f scul pture H s workswere i ncl uded i n the groundbreaki ngexhi bi ti ons, Ni ne a t C a s t e l l i ( 1 968 ) andA n t i - I l l u s i o n ( Whi t neyMuseum 1969) . Naumanbeganworki ngi n f i l m n col l aborat i onwi th Robert Nel sonandW l l i amAl l enwhi l e teachi ng a t t heSanFranci sco Art I n s t i t u t e andpr oduced hi s f i r s t vi deotapes i n1968 a f t e r recei vi ngagrantfromtheNat i onal Endowment f or theArts . I n descri bi ng the transi ti on from i l mt o vi deo,Naumanremarks, "Wth t he f i l m I wou dwork over an i dea unti l therewas somethi ng t h a t Iwanted t o do, then I wou d rent the equi pment f or a day or two So I wasmore l i k e l y t o have as p e c i f i c i dea of what I wanted t o do Wth the vi deotapes, I hadt heequi pment i n t he studi o f oral most ayear ; I coul dmake t e s t tapes andl ook a t them watchmysel f onthemoni t or or havesomebody e l s e there t o hel p . Lots of t i mes I woul ddo awhol eperf ormance or tape awhol ehour and then change i t . I don' t thi nk I wou dever e di t but I wou d redo thewhol e t hi ng i f Idi dn' t l i k e i t . " ( BruceNauman, i ntervi ewwi th W l l oughby Sharp, May1970) . Usi nghi s bodya s apr i marymateri al t o expl ore t he l i m t s of everday s i t u a t i o n s , Nauman' s works have


24/42

expl or ed t he medi ums a t hea t r i c al stageandas asurvei l l ence devi ce w t h i n an i n s t a l l a t i o ncont ext . Hehas somewhat s i mpl i s t i c l y descr i bed hi s earl y t apes as t hi ngs he di d " t o keephi msel f busy . " Naumanhas often commentedupont he i mpact t he exper i mental work bei ngdonebyMerceCunninghamMeredi t hMonk, LaMonteYoung, St eve Rei ch, andP h i l l i p Gl asshadonhi s t hi nki ng at t h i s t i me .

Opt i c NerveOpt i c Nervebegani n 1970 as a s t i l l phot ogr aphy andf i l ms t r i p pr oduct i on group Twoyearsl a t e r , w t h t he advent of t he Sony Por t apak, t heSanFranci sco c o l l e c t i v e embraced t hemedi umo f por t abl e v i deo andpr oduced several i mport ant works of t he per i od i nc l udi ng P s y cho l o gi c a lB u l l r i d e r , ( 1 973 ) adocumentaryonr odeo cowboys , andF i f t y Wonder f ul Yea r s , ( 1 973 ) abehi nd-t he- scenes l ook at t heM ss Cal i f orni a Pageant . These earl y works shareanaest het i c f ound i nvary i ng degr ees i n al l subsequent Opt i c Nerve pr oduct i ons : f r e e - s t y l e narr at i ve, l i t t l e or nonarr at i on, anda strong commtment t o personal contact . Opt i c Ner ve' s f oundi ngmembersi nc l uded LynnAdl er , J ul es Backus, MyaShore, Sherry Rabi now t z, B i l l Bradbury, J ohn Rogers,andJ i mMayer . Fi ndi ng c o l l e c t i v i t y achal l engi ng andexci t i ng creat i ve process, t he groupexpl ored arange of pr oduct i on f orms ands t r a t e g i e s : documentarypr oduct i on, workingw t hcommuni tygroups t o produce or gani z i ng t apes, worki ngw t h a r t i s t s , andpr esenti ng vi deo t ot he publ i c . AnOpt i c Nerve s t y l e emergedthat stressed non- hi er ar chi cal pr oduct i on, s k i l ldi vers i t y andc o l l e c t i v e edi t i ng . Theresul t i ng t apes vary i n subj ect mat t er , from nt er vi ewsw t h Anai s NnandDenni s Banks of t heAmeri canI ndi anMovement ( AI M) t odocument at i ons o f l oc a l p o l i t i c a l st ruggl es . I n addi t i on t o pr oduci ng t hei r own t a p e s , Opt i cNerve col l abor at ed w t hmembers of Ant FarmandT. R Ut hco, twoother BayAreac o l l e c t i v e s ,co- pr oduci ngMedi a Burn andEt ernal Fr ame i n 1976 . I n t h i s sameyear andl i k e many otheri ndependent medi a producers, Opt i c Nervebegant o f ocus onpubl i c tel evi s i on as a s t r a t e g i co u t l e t . On t he Boul evard (1979) andPushed Out For P r o f i t ( 1978 , i n col l aborat i on w t h l o ca ls t a t i on, KQED-TV) were twoproj ect s desi gned s p e c i f i c a l l y f or broadcast . I n t he face o f a


25/42

worseni ngeconomy, Opt i cNerveceased t o f unct i on as a produci ng group i n 1979 . For mermembers cont i nue t o be act i ve i ndocumentaryvi deounder t hename I deas i nMot i on

Namune Pai kBorn i n 1932, Namune Pai k studi edmusi c andar t hi story at t he Uni versi t y of Tokyo, J apan,produci ng a t h es i s onAr nol d Shoenber gandgraduat i ng w t h a degree i n Aesthet i cs . Pa i k ' sstudi es cont i nued i nGermanyat t he Unversi t i es o f Muni chandCol ogne, andat t heConservat ory of Musi c i n Frei burg . Dur i ng t h i s t i me ( 1 95 8- 6 3) , Pai k met avant - gardecomposer / t hi nker J ohnCageandworkedw t h Kar l hei nz St ockhausen at t heWDRSt udi o ForEl ect roni c Musi c i n Col ogne . Af t er meet i ngFl uxus f ounder George Maci unas i n 1961, hepart i ci pat ed i nnumerous EuropeanFl uxus per f ormances, a ct i o ns , andevent s . Pai k ' s f i r s t one-manexhi bi t i onwas t he1963 Exposi t i on o f El ect roni c Musi c- El ect roni c Tel evi si on at t heGal er i eWuppert al , West Germany, whi chf eatured hi s s e r i e s of " a l t e r e d" TVs e t s . Pai k came t oNewYork i n 1964 wherehepart i ci pat ed i n t he Fl uxus sceneandbegandevel opi ngperf ormances i n col l aborat i onw t h c e l l i s t Charl ot t eMoorman I n 1969, Pai kwas i ncl uded i nt he l andmark TVas a Cr ea t i v e Medi umshowat t heHowardWseGal l ery . I n t h i s sameyear,Pai k andel ectr oni cs engi neer ShuyaAbe desi gnedandbui l t t he Pai k/ AbeSynt hesi zer atWGBH-TVi nBost on Manyof Pai k ' s t apes, i ncl udi ng G obal Groove ( 1973 ) andA r i b u t e t o J ohnCage ( 1973 ) were produced t hrough t heart i st- i n- resi denceprogramt WET-13( NYC) ' sTel evi si on Lab I n addi t i on t o hi s pi oneer i ngwork as an a r t i s t , per f ormer, andi nvent or, one o fPa i k ' s maj or cont ri buti ons t o t he f i e l d was hi s earl y e f f o r t as aspokesmanf or t hemedi uml obbyi ng ( consul t ant ) t he Rockef el l er Foundat i onandNYSCAo establ i sh f undi ng syst emswhi chwoul dsust ai n t hemovement t hroughout t hedecade .

( Descri pt i on t aken i n part fromE. A I . cat al og)

Charl emagnePal est i ne


26/42

Born i n 1945, Charl emagnePal est i ne st udi ed at NewYork Uni versi t y, Col umbi aUni versi t y,Mannes Col l ege o f Musi c, andCal i f orni a I n s t i t u t e of t he Arts . Throughout t he 1970s, Pal est i neproduced asemnal body o f per f ormance- based, psychodramat i c vi deot apes andi n s t a l l a t i o n si n whi chhe used r i t u a l i s t i c physi cal i t y, moti onandsoundt o achi eve anoutward art i cul at i ono f i nt ernal s t a t e s . Pal est i newasamnganumer o f v i deo a r t i s t t o work at Ar t / Tapes/ 22 i nFl orence, I t a l y , whereheproduced BodyMusi c I and I I ( 1973- 74) . Pal est i ne t apes havestressed t he camera' s f unct i on as a per f ormer , rather than aneut ral observer of event s .

Peopl e' s Vi deoTheat er"The whol ei dea o f commni ty based theater i s t h a t t he peopl ewho generat e t he i nf ormat i onandt he audi ence ar e one andt he same" ( KenMarsh, t aped i nt erv i ewwi t hGerdStern, 1973)

Founded i n 1970 by E l l i o t Gl ass, thenaspani sh l anguage doct oral st udent a t Col umbi aUni versi t y, andpai nt er/ pr i nt maker KenMar sh, Peopl e' s Vi deoTheat er ( PVT) sought t o bri ngvi deo t o t he s t r e e t s andvi ce versa . PVT' s uni que brandof j ournal i smi nvol ved gat heri ng mn-on-the-street i nt ervi ews and then i nvi t i ng part i ci pant s t o watch t he t ape at a l ocal "hardwares t a t i o n , " or l o f t space o u t f i t t e d wi t h pl ayback equi pment . Post - screeni ng di scussi ons wereal sot aped andonce agai n f ed back t o part i ci pant s . Thi s process i nt roduced hundreds of peopl e t ot he v i deomedi umand i t s pot ent i al use out si de of broadcast te l evi s i onandw t hi n t he sphereo f everyday l i f e . PVT' s exper i ment s wi t h "vi deo medi at i on" t ook t hemedi ums f eedbackpot ent i al i n yet anot her unpr ecedent ed di rect i on "The process i s concei ved t o deal wi t h i ssuesi n creat i ng l i nes of communi cat i onbetweenant agoni st i c groups whereby each can exper i encet he i nf ormat i on o f t he ot her wi t hout d i r e c t conf ront at i on t h e r e f o r e , worki ngf or and t owar d aresol ut i on o f c o n f l i c t t hrough di al ogue . " ( KenMar sh, Radi cal Sof t ware #2, 1970, p. 1 8 ) . PVT' sot her a c t i v i t i e s i ncl uded t he product i on of "vi deonewsr eel s" doumnti ngcount ercul t uralevent s ( Washi ngt on Peace Demonst r at i on, Women' s Li berati on Day) and "vi deo col umns" onsubj ect s r angi ng frommusi c t o l ead poi soni ng . KenMarshwent on t o establ i shWoodstock


27/42

Communi tyVi deo, anear l ymedi aaccess cent er whi chor gani zed an a r t i s t r esi dency programt hr ough near by Rei nbeck TVHow eGut st adt , whopar t i c i pat ed i n manyPVTa c t i v i t i e s , wenton t o f ound Survi val Ar t s Media i n J amest own, NY

Por t abl e ChannelPor t abl e Channel was f oundedi n Rochest er , NYi n 1972 a s acommuni tymedi a/ document ar yvi deo cent er . Thec e n t e r ' s a c t i v i t i e s i ncl uded pr ovi di ng equi pment access andworkshops i nt he t echni ques andaest het i cs of t he por t apak, programmngf or br oadcast andcabl e as wel l a spubl i shi ng t he quar t er l y newsl et t er , Feedback/ Feedf orward . Por t abl e Channel wasone of t hef i r s t smal l f ormat vi deo centers t o have anongoi ng r el at i onshi p w t h aPBSa f f i l i a t e , WXXI -TVi n Rochest er . Thi s col l abor at i on r esul t ed i n t he regul ar broadcast o f "HomemadeTV, a s e r i e sf eat ur i ng vi deot apes by s t a f f , i nt e r ns , workshopmember s , andguest a r t i s t s . Af t er 15 years ofser vi ng t he Rochest er communi t y, Por t abl e Channel cl osed i t s door s due t o decl i ni ngeconomc condi t i ons . Thearchi ves o f Por t abl e Channel ar ehoused a t Vi sual St udi es Workshopi n Rochest er , NY

Rai ndance Cor por at i onFounded i n 1969 by Frank G i l l e t t e , Paul Ryan, M chael Shamberg andI r a Schnei der ,Rai ndancewas a s e l f - descr i bed " counter cul t ur al t hi nk t ank" whi chembracedvi deo a s anal t ernati ve formo f cul t ur al communi cat i ons . Thename " Rai ndance" al l uded t o whatmembers t er med "cul t ur al R&D" (researchanddevel opment . ) I nf l uenced by t hecommuni cat i ons t heor i es of Mar shal l McLuhanandBuckmnst er F u l l e r , t he c o l l e c t i v epr oduced t apes andwr i t i ngs t hat expl or ed t he rel at i on of cyber net i cs, medi a, andecol ogy .From1970 t o 1974, Rai ndance publ i shed t he semnal vi deo j our nal Radi cal Sof twar e ( edi t edbyBeryl Kor ot andPhyl l i s Gershuny f or t he f i r s t twoy e a r s ) , whi chpr ovi ded anetwor k o fcommuni cat i ons for the emer gi ng al t ernat i ve vi deo movement, r eachi ng aci rcul at i on of 5, 000I n 1971, Shambergpubl i shed G u e r r i l l a T el e vi s i on, a summary of t he gr oup' s pr i nci pl es anda


28/42

bl ue- pr i nt f or a decent r al i zat i on of t el evi s i on . The or i gi nal Rai ndance c o l l e c t i v e di sper sed i nt hemd- 1970s ; t he nonpr o f i t Rai ndance Foundat i on cont i nues t o exi st today .

AnthonyRamosBor n i n 1944, AnthonyRamos s t udi ed Fi ne Ar t s at Sout her n I l l i n o i s Uni ver s i t y andUni vers i t yo f Cal i f or ni a SanD ego . Hebeganworki ng i n v i deo i n t he ear l y 1970s when, i n addi t i on t opr oduc i ng hi s owntapes, he served as av i deo consul t ant t o t he Uni t ed Nat i ons as wel l as f ort he Nat i onal Counc i l of Chur ches . Us i ng v i deo as a t o o l f or br eaki ng downmass medi at ed" t r u t h " andas means of cul t ur al document at i on, Ramos r emar ks, " I nmy tapes I at t empt t odevel op adi f f erent per cept i on of event s . . . The i nf ormati on t e l l s ones t o ry but i t i s notdevel oped as a l i nea r nar ra t i ve . " Af t e r s er v i ng an18- mont h pr i son sent ence f or draf t evasi on,Ramos pr oduced About Medi a ( 1 9 7 7 ) , j ux tapos i ng networknews s t o r i e s wi t h hi s ownunedi t edf oot age . Ramoshas t ravel ed wi del y i n Eur ope, Af r i c a, Chi na, andt he M ddl e East,document i ng t heend of Por t ugal ' s Af r i c an col oni al i smi n CapeVerdeandGui nea- Bi ss au, andt he 1980 I r a n host age c r i s i s .

MarthaRosl er" I f i n d i t i mpor t ant t o c al l at t ent i on t o formandt o r a i s e somequest i ons about r epr esent at i onandt he re l at i onshi p of a r t i s t t o audi ence . I us e what ever meansseemappr opr i at e : vi deo,photo-text, per f or mance, postcards, books andeven l ectures andc r i t i c a l wr i t i ng . Most o f mywork takes t he formof a ' decoy . ' I t mmc s somewel l - known cul t ur al form acooki ng show,agarage s a l e , abanquet , a doct or ' s examnat i on, a postcard mes s age . I rearrange t he content sot h a t i t yi el ds acomment about t he formt s e l f and serves as amet apho r f or s omet hi ng e l s e : i t i sboth l i t e r a l andmet aphor i c . "

MarthaRosl er, fromat al og - - Vi deoAet r ospec t i ve . LongBeachMuseum f Ar t 1974- 1984( p . 4 0 )


29/42

Born i n 1944, MarthaRosl er st udi ed at NewYorkUni versi t y andFordhamUni versi t y, movi ngt o SanDi ego i n 1968 . Whi l eworki ng as a f reel ance edi t or and rai si ngason, Rosl er becameacti ve i n t h ewomen' smovement andw t h ant i - war organi zi ng . Worki ngas a t eachi nga s s i s t e nt a t UCSD Rosel er produced assembl ages andphot omont ages about t hewar as i tprogressed . She beganmaki ngvi deot apes i n t h e l a t e 1970s . Descri bi ng her work i n vi deo,Rosl er s t a t e s , "The subj ect i s t he commonpl ace I amryi ng t o use vi deo t o quest i on t hemyt hi cal expl anat i ons of everyday l i f e . Waccept thec l ash o f publ i c andpri vat e as natural ,yet thei r separat i on i s h i s t o r i c a l . Theant agoni smof t he two spheres, whi chhave i n f a c tdevel oped i n t andem i s ani deol ogi cal f i c t i o n - apotent one . I want t o expl ore t herel ati onshi ps betweeni ndi vi dual consci ousness, f am l y l i f e , andcul t ure under capi ta l i sm" I naddi t i on t o her work as i n photography, per f ormance, andvi deo, Rosl er has publ i shednumerous c r i t i c a l essays .

Paul RyanPaul Ryanrecei ved aBA n Engl i sh fromNewYorkUni versi t y andworkedon graduatest udi es at FordhamUni versi t y (NYC) where hewas t he pri nci pal vi deo research a s s i s t a ntunder Marshal l McLuhani n 1967- 68 andaMcLuhanFel l ow i n t heMedi aCenter f rom1967-1970. A f oundi ngmember of t heNewYorkCi t y- basedmedi ac o l l e c t i v e , Rai ndance, Ryanwasapracti t i oner andt heoreti ci an of t he earl y vi deomovement . Respondi ng t o the rapi dl ys h i f t i n g t echnol ogi cal andp o l i t i c a l cl i mate of t he l a t e ' 6 0s , Ryan r e f l e c t s , " I gave upmyambi t i on t o become a ' w r i t e r ' anddetermned t o used el ectr oni c t echnol ogi es t o work t owar d asoci et y t h a t coul d avoi d Vi et nams . " Devel opi ng a vocabul ary aroundvi deowhi chsuggest edt he t r ansf ormat i on of i ndi vi dual andgl obal consc i ousness t hrough t hemedi ums d i s t i n c t i v ef e a t u r e s , Ryan l i kened vi deo, w t h i t s pot ent i al f or f eedback, t o amobi us s t r i p : "Themobi uss t r i p provi des amodel f or deal i ngw t h t he power vi deot ape gi ves us t o t a k e i n our ownout si de . " I nf l uenced by Mars hal l McLuhanandemer gi ng di scours es ar ound cyberneti cs,


30/42

ecol ogy, andi nf ormat i on, Ryan' s ear l ywork evol ved from ree - fo rmcol l abor at i ons w t hmembers of Rai ndance t o exerci ses i n humanbehavi or and rel at i onshi ps, andst udi es o f urbanandnatur al ecol ogi cal syst ems . Worki ng as aconsul t ant t o t heNewYork State Counci l f or t heArts i n t he ear l y 70s, Ryanwasanear l y advocat e f or t he i ndependent vi deo movement . Theauthor of anant hol ogy of essays, Cybernet i cs of t he Sacred ( 1974) andVi deo M nd, EarthMnd( 1992) , andar egul ar cont r i but or t o Radi cal Sof t ware, Rai ndance' s al ternat i ve medi aj ournal ,Ryanhas a l s o publ i shednumerous t heoreti cal a r t i c l e s .

DanSandi nBor n i n 1942, andw t h a background i n physi cs, DanSandi n became i nvol ved i n vi deo whi l et eachi ng a t t he School o f t he Ar t andDesi gn at t he Uni ver si t y of I l l i n o i s , Chi cago i n 1970,when, a f t e r t he Kent State k i l l i n g s he recorded st udent p r o t e s t s , broadcast i ng them i v e oncl osed c i r c u i t TV Sandi n' s ear l y i nt er es t i n comput er gr aphi cs/ vi deo i mage processi ng andi nt eract i ve computi ngenvi r onment s mot i vat edhi s pi oneer i ng work i n devel opi ng vi deoi nst r ument s f or a r t i s t s . " I was i nt er ested i n l i ght showsandk i n e t i c event s, pr oduci ng s l i d e s f ort hose shows I was i nvol ved i n usi ng opt i cal andchem cal processes t o create i mages t hat If ound i nterest i ng and i t occurred t o me t hat I coul d do i t e l e c t r o n i c a l l y . " ( Dan Sandi n, quot edi n Fur l ong, "Not es TowardaHi story of I mageProcessedVi deo, " p 37) . I n 1973, Sandi nsuccessf ul l y desi gned andbui l t t he ImageProcessor ( I P ) as a modul ar , patch pr ogr ammabl e,anal og comput er opt i m zed f or t hemani pul at i on of gray l evel i nf or mat i on of i nput vi deosi gnal s . The I P pr ovi dedmany a r t i s t s w t h t h e i r f i r s t oppor t uni t y t o f r e el y pl ay w t h the col orandcomposi t i on o f avi deo i mage Desi gned t o t r ans fo rmext ernal l y f ed source mat eri al , t heI Pwas al so used as a per f or mance i nstr ument , gener at i ng i mages i nternal l y under t hespont aneous i mprovi sat i on of t he cont rol l er . Sandi n was o f a generat i on t h a t promotedadeci dedl y democr at i c approach t o vi deo t echnol ogy, shar i ng pl ans f or t he I P f r e e o f char ge t oanyone whor equest ed themandworki ng t o devel op l ow- budget versi ons of advanced and


31/42

ot herw se cost- prohi bi t i ve tool s . Sandi n' s i deal o f accessi bl e vi deo t echnol ogy hel ped t o f o s t eraChi cago communi ty of vi deo t echni ci an/ producers .

I l ene Segal oveI l ene Segal ovewas born i n 1950 i n Los Angel es, Cal i f orni a . She st udi ed Communi cati onArtsa t Loyol a Uni versi t y ( p l a c e) andr ecei ved asubsequent degr ee i n Fi ne Ar t s from he Uni versi t yo f Cal f orni a Santa Barbara. Worki ngi n vi deo si nce 1972, whenshe bought a portapack f romNamune Pai k' s g i r l f r i e n d , I l ene Segal ovewas i n i t i a l l y "of f ended by [ v i deo ' s ] i nvasi vequal i ty andseduced by i t s power . " Ael f - descri bed " ch i l d of Bever l y H i l l s , " s h e began poi nt i ngt hecamera a t " f am l i a r t h i n g s , " produci ng quasi document ar i es about her f a m l y (Momapes,1973- 75) andAmeri canTVcul t ure (TVi s OK, 1976) . Segal ove wasmember of t he ear l y groupTel ethon, wi t h B i l l y Adl er , J ohn Margol i s, andVanSchl ey, whi chdesi gned i n s t a l l a t i o n sf eat uri ng commer i cal TVcol l ages andguest edi t ed Radi cal Sof t ware : TheTVEnvi r onment( Vol . 2no . 2 ) .

Ri chard SerraBor n i n 1939, Ri chard Serra st udi ed Engl i sh Li t erature a t Uni versi t y o f Cal i f orni a Berkel eywhi l eworki nga t a s t e e l m l l t o earn a l i v i n g Hewent on t o recei ve anMFAt Yal e Uni versi t ywherehe st udi ed wi t h pai nt er/ t h e o r i s t J oseph Al per s . Li vi ng i nNewYork, P a r i s , andRomet hr ough t he l a t e 1960s Serrabecameaquai nted wi t h a r t i s t s of t heNewYork School : Phi l i pGust on, Robert Rauchenberg, AdRei nhart , andFrank S t e l l a , a s wel l as avant - garde composerP h i l i p G ass . Associ ated wi t h t heemer gence o f Pos t - M ni mal i smandProcess Art, S e r r a ' s l eadspl ashi ng scul ptures were i ncl uded i n "The WarehouseShow" ( Leo C a s t e l l i Gal l er y, 1968) andAnt i - I l l us i on: Pr ocedur es Mater i al s ( Whi t ney Museum, 1968) , both pi vot al exhi bi t i ons whi chestabl i shed anewdi scour se i n t he f i e l d . Serra produced several f i l ms bef or e he beganmaki ngvi deot apes i n t he ear l y 1970s . Hi s ear l yworks i nc l udi ng Tel evi si on Del i vers Peop l e ( 1 9 7 3 ) ,


32/42

Pr i soner ' s D l emma (1974), andBoomerang ( 1974) ar e structural examnat i ons o f t he medi umas avehi c l e f or communi cat i on .

E r i c Si egelBor n i n 1944, E r i c Si egel at t endedSamuel Gomper s Vocat i onal andTechni cal H ghSchool i nBr ookl yn, bui l di ng hi s ownTVs e t byage f ou r teen . I n 1968he desi gnedandbui l t t he Si egelCol or i zer andi n 1970, avi deo synt hesi zer . AmongS i e g e l ' s ear l y vi deo pr o j e ct s ,Psychedel avi s i on i n Co l o r , was i nc l uded i n t he gr oundbr eaki ng "Tel evi s i on as a Cr eat i veMedi um exhi bi t i on at t he Howar d WseGal l er y i n 1969 . "Psychedel i avi s i on i smyat t empt atvi deo mndexpansi on, " Si egel expl ai ned . "Anewsci ence must be createdwhi chcan reach t hei nner c or e o f humanbei ngs . Oneo f t hemost i mpor t ant t ool s i n t h i s newci ence wi l l bet el evi s i on . . . TheAmeri canDr eamno l onger i s evol vi ng. I t ' s i n as t at e o f decay . Tel evi s i onmust be l i bera ted " ( E r i c Si egel quot ed i n ExpandedCi nema, 1970, p 316) . I n addi t i on t opr oduci ng hi s ownwor k, Si egel regul ar l y col l abora ted wi t h ot her vi deo a r t i s t s and c o l l e c t i v e s ,among t hemSt ei na andWoody Vasul ka andVi deof r eex and cont r i but ed t o t he ear l y i ssues o fRadi cal Sof t ware . I n 1972 Si egel t ravel ed t o I ndi a, a f t e r whi chhepr oduced TheH ndus t anTapes, a s e r i e s on I ndi an cul t ur e .

George St oneyBor n i n 1916, Geor ge St ony s t udi ed j our nal i smat t he Uni ver s i t y o f NorthCar ol i na andat NewYorkUni ver s i t y . Af ter worki ngas a f reel ance j o u r n a l i s t , as an i nf ormat i on o f f i c e r f or t he FarmSecur i t y Andm ni s t r at i on, andas phot o i n t e l l i g e n c e o f f i c e r i n war s e r v i c e, hej oi ned t heSout her n Educat i onal F i l mSer vi ce as awr i t er / di r ect or i n 1946 . I n 1950, he f ormedhi s owncompany andby 1980 hadmade over 40 f i l ms , wi t h subj ect s r angi ng fromb i r t h c ont r o l ,i nsur ance, and t hement al l y i l l t o t h e nature of t he Bahai f a i t h andt he s i t uat i on of Canadi anI ndi geonsous . Anear l y advocat e o f vi deo as a t o o l f or s o ci a l change, St ony was t he Execut i veProducer of t he Canadi an F i l mBoar d' s "Chal l enge f or Change/ Soci et e Nouvel l e" from1966-


33/42

70, af ounder andboar dmember of t heNat i onal Fererat i on of Local Cabl e Programmers( 1 9 7 6 ) , andwas co- f ounder i n 1972, w t h RedBurns, o f t he Al t ernat eMedi aCent er at NewYorkUni versi t y, whicht rai nedagenerat i on of publ i c access producers/ a c t i v i s t s . Si nce t h a tt i me, he has pr oduced anddi rectednumerous s o c i a l andeducat i onal works i n vi deo, amongthemhi s awar d- w nni ng f i l mRobert F l aher t y : Howt he MythWasMade ( 1 9 7 8 ) .

Ski p SweeneyBorn i n 1946, Ski p Sweeney st udi ed Theat er Arts at Sant a Cl ara Uni versi t y bef ore becomngi nvol ved i n t heBayAreavi deo scene i n t he l a t e 1960s . I n 1968, Sweeneywas one of t hef ounders o f E l e c t r i c Eye, anearl y medi a c o l l e c t i v e concernedw t h vi deo per f ormances andexper i ment s . I n 1970, w t h Ar t hur Gi nsberg, Sweeney foundedVi deoFree Ameri ca, t heSanFranci scomedi aar t cent er andcommuni cat i ons nexus . Sweeny' s work i n vi deo i ncl udedabst ract i mage- process i ng andsynt hesi s, aut obi ographi cal document ari es and p o r t r a i t s , t ovi deo i n s t a l l a t i o n s f or t heat er product i ons i ncl udi ng Al l en Gi nsberg' s Kaddi sh ( 1 9 7 7 ) . Tuni ngandt i nkeri ng, often f or hours t o pr oduce shi mmer i ng, i nt erweavi ng mandal as, Sweeny hasbeen descr i bed as one o f ahandf ul of peopl e whocame t o mast er vi deo f eedback . . Sweeneyhas si nceworked i n col l aborati onw t h J oanna Kel l y, produci ng vi deo dance t a p e s , vi deo a r t ,anddocumentary

T. R . UthcoT R . UthcowasaSanFranci sco-based mul t i - medi a perf ormance ar t c o l l e c t i v e t hat engagedi ns a t i r i c a l cri t i ques of t he rel at i onbetweenmassmedi ai mages andcul t ural myt hs, usi ng i rony,t h e a t r i c a l i t y , andspectacl e as i t s pri mar y s t r at eg i es . FoundedbyDougHal l , Di ane AndrewsHal l , andJ ody Procter i n1970, T. R Uthco f ocused on t he i r reverent st agi ng of f abr i cat edevent s, al so produci ng i n s t a l l a t i o n s andvi deo documents o f i t s perf ormances, col l aborat i ngw t h Ant Farmo pr oduce The Eternal Fr ame ( 1975) andMedi a Burn ( 1 9 7 5 ) T R . Uthcodi sbanded i n 1978 .


34/42

TVTV( TopVal ueTel evi si on)"Our i nt e nt i o n, and i t ' s s t i l l our i nt ent i on, was t o change t el evi s i on The p o l i t i c s ofi nf ormat i on, t he p o l i t i c s of t e l ev i s i on , are what weare t r yi ng t o a l t e r . Whenwe f i r s t went t ot he convent i ons i n 1972, we s et out t o prove a poi nt . The poi nt was [ t o ] demonst rat e t hat youcoul d t ake t h i s l ow- cost t echnol ogy andpeopl ewhohadnot beenwrungt hr ough t hebroadcast t el evi s i on systemandmakenot onl y t echni cal l y decent t el evi s i onbut al so t el evi si oni n wh cht he i nf ormat i onwas shocki ngl y d i f f e r e n t ; i t was l o os er , more d i r e c t , more i nf ormal ,morepersonal and i t wasmore v i s c e r a l . You f e l t l i k e youwere t here a f t e r wat chi ng t heshows, as opposedt o f eel i ngsomeonehad l a i d ar aponyou " Al l en Rucker, quot ed i n "Vi deo :State o f t he A r t , " J oanna Branson G i l l , 1976 .

TVTV ( Top Val ue Tel evi si on) f ormed i n 1972whenmembers of ex i st i ng medi ac o l l e c t i v e s( Rai ndance, Vi deof reex, Ant Far m) j oi ned f orces t o provi de al t ernat i ve coverage o f t heDemocrat i c Nat i onal Convent i on i n Mam . Theedi t ed t ape, TheWorl d' s Largest TVSt udi o( 1 9 7 2 ) , andi t s compan on Four Mour Years, 1972whi ch chroni cl ed t he Republ i can Convent i on,wer e amongt he f i r s t i ndependent document ar i es t o be broadcast onpubl i c t el evi si on .I nf l uencedby t heNewournal i sm o f t he l at e1960s and1970s, TVTVused l ow echequi pmentanda l o os e , subj ecti ve s t yl e of repor t i ng, provi di ng candi d i nt ervi ews wi t h del egat es andradi cal s a l i k e , whi l e a t t hesame t i me devot i ng subst ant i al at t ent i on t o t he networkmedi apresence i n order t o showvi ewers t he "underbel l y of broadcast TV " TVTV' s subsequentproj ect s ranged i n f ocus from ul t rel i gi on (The Lordof t he Uni ver se, 1974) , spor t s ( Superbowl ,1976) andTVcommer i cal s (Adl and, 1974) . As a r t i s t s - i n - r e s i d e n c e a t t he Tel evi si on Laba tWNET-13( NYC) , TVTVproduced Geral d Ford' s Ameri ca ( 1 9 7 5 ) , a f our part s e r i e s on t he " f i r s tonehundreddays" of the presi dency . TVTVdi sbanded i n 1979 .

Uni vers i t y Commun tyVi deo


35/42

I n 1973, twost udent vi deo gr oups a t t he Uni versi t y of M nnesot a, M nneapol i s/ Sai nt Paulmerged t o formUni versi t y Communi tyVi deo (UCV) . Support edbyUni versi t y f unds, thenamewas chosen t o r e f l e c t t he consti t uenci es served by t heneworgani zati on . Foundersi ncl ude st udent a c t i v i s t s M l e s Mogul escu, E l l en O' Nei l l , RonMcCoy, St ephen Kul czycki , andothers . UCVbeganby pr oduci ng programmngf or t he Uni versi t y' s c l os ed- c i r c u i t cabl et el evi si on systemwhichl ed t o t he product i on o f "Communi t ube", aregul arl y schedul edprogramt i l i z i n g 1/ 2" open- reel , bl ackandwhi t e vi deo equi pment andbroadcast on (KTCA)i n t he 1973- 74 season . Onl yone other gr oup- Por t abl e Channel i n Rochest er, NY-waspr oduci ngaregul ar s e r i e s w t h smal l - f ormat equi pment f or t r adi t i onal broadcast a t t he t i me ."Communi tube" was t he f or er unner of "Changi ngChannel s" , anal t ernat i ve vi deo magazi newhi ch premered onKTCAi n Oct ober 1974 . "Changi ngChannel s" wasproducedbyUCVandi ncorporated t hework o f bothUCVandcommuni typroducers . I n J anuary 1975, UCVbeganpr oduci ng "Everybody' s TVTi me", an open- access programbroadcast i n conj unct i on w t h"Changi ng Channel s" .

As t he organi zat i on and t he vi deo- maki ng communi tymat ur ed, "Changi ngChannel s" becamei ncreasi ngl y sophi st i cat ed i n both i t s product i on val ues andcont ent . The o r i g i n a l commtmento f UCVandarea producers t o al t ernat i ve p o l i t i c s andt he i nf l uence of grassroots andst udentgroups i n t h e area resul t ed i n adocumentarystyle that UCVand area vi deomaker s are s t i l lknownf or . Energy i s s ue s , t hewomen' smovement, oppressi on o f Nat i ve Amer i cans andot heret hni c mnori t i es, t r eatment of t he handi capped, andl abor hi storywereamongt he concerns o fUCVand l o ca l i ndependent producers . "Changi ng Channel s" ceased product i on i n J une 1978 .Thr oughout i t s hi storyUCVal so pr ovi ded anextensi ve programof vi deoworkshopsandal arge i nventory of vi deoequi pment f or use by st udent andcommuni typroducers . Ot herprograms devel oped byUCVsought t o hel p peopl e i nt egrate vi deo as a t o o l i n t h e i r work,i ncl udi ng a Perf orm ng Arts Vi deoProj ect andt he Publ i c Servi ce Communi cati ons Proj ect


36/42

( pr oduct i on of publ i c servi ceannouncements f or broadcast) . WCsarchi ves are hel d byI nt ermedi a Art s M nnesot a andTheM nnesot a Hi st ori cal Soci ety .

Descr i pt i on taken fromAFI Nat i onal Vi deo F es t i v al cat al og

St ei na Vasul kaSt ei na Vasul ka wasborn i n Reykj avi k, I cel and i n 1940 . Whi l e st udyi ng v i o l i n andmusi ctheory a t t he musi c conservatory i n Prague i n 1959, she met andmar r i ed WoodyVasul ka .Theymoved t o NewYork Ci t y i n 1965 whereSt ei na i n t i a l l y workedas a f r eel ance musi ci an . I nt h e i r earl y col l aborati vewor k, t he Vasul kas madeext ensi ve exam nat i on o f t he el ectroni cnature o f vi deo andsound, devel opi ng t h e i r owns et o f speci al i zed i magi ng tool s ands t r a t e g i e s , whi l e a t t he same t i me usi ng t he medi um o document t he c i t y ' s expandi ngunderground cul t ure . "Wwere i nterested i n cert ai n decadant aspects o f Amer i ca, t hephenomena o f t i me - undergroundrock andr o l l , homosexual t h e a t e r , and t he r e s t o f t hei l l eg i t i mat e cul t ure . I n t he sameway, wewerecur i ous about more pur i t ani cal concept s o f ar ti nspi red by [ Mar shal l ] McLuhanandBuckmnst er Ful l er . I t seemeda strange anduni f i edf ront - - agai nst t he est abl i shment . " I t was dur i ng t h i s t i me t h a t , w t h Andreas Manni k, t heVasul kas f oundedTheKi t chen as amedi a a r t s theater . I n t h e sameyear, St ei na andWoodyco-curated "ASpeci al Vi deot ape Show" a t t he Whi tneyMuseumandest abl i shed t he f i r s t annualvi deo f e s t i v a l at t he Ki t chen. Worki ngw t h s k i l l f u l andi nnovat i ve engi neer s, t he Vasul kasi nvent edandmodi f i ed vi deo pr oducti on i nst r ument s f or use i n per f ormances and i n s t a l l a t i o n sas wel l as si ngl e- channel t apes . They wer e amongt he f i r s t waveof a r t i s t s t o part i ci pate i n t her esi dency pr ogr ams offered through t he Tel evi s i on Labs (WGBH-TV, KQED-TV, WNET-13)then emer gi ng across t heUS . S t e i na ' s work i n vi deo has expl ored t he use of sound i n creat i ngandal ter i ng vi deo si gnal s ( V i o l i n Power , 1969- 78) and t he or chest rat i on o f vi deo i n ani n s t a l l a t i o n context . I n 1975, whi l e t eachi ng a t t he Center f or Medi aSt udy i n Buf f al o, NY, she


37/42

beganMachi ne Vi s i on, a"cont i nui ng i nvest i gat i on of space vi amachi ne syst ems and el ect r oni ci mages . "

WoodyVasul ka"Ther e ar e var i ous mot i ves f or peopl e whos t umbl e i n t o vi deo . I n some c a s e s , i t was pur eacci dent ; i n some c a s e s , i t was hope I nmyc a se , I hadbeeni n t hi ngs I coul dn' t workw t h . Iwas i n f i l m, and coul dn' t doanyt hi ng w t h i t . . . . Wen I f i r s t sawvi deo f eedback, I knewhadseen t he cave f i r e . I t hadnot hi ng t o dow t h anyt hi ng, j u s t aperpet uati on o f someki nd ofener gy . . . " WoodyVasul ka, quot ed i n "Vi deo : State o f t he A r t , " J oanna Br anson G i l l , 1976 .

Bor n i n i n Br no, Czechos l ovaki a i n 1937, WoodyVaul ka st udi edmet al t echnol ogy andhydr aul i c mechani cs at t he School of Engi neer i ng, Br no and l a t e r at at t heAcademyofPe r f o rmng Arts i n Pr ague, wherehe pr oduced anddi r ected shor t f i l m . I n 1965, heemgratedt oNewYorkCi ty w t h hi s w fe , St ei na . Wrki ngas a mul t i scr een f i l medi t or anddesi gner , hebeganexper i menti ng w t h el ect r oni c sound, st r oboscopi c l i g h t , and, i n 1969, w t h vi deo .Movi ng t o Buf f al o, NYi n 1974, where he t aught a t t he Cent er f or MedaSt udy at t he StateUni ver s i t y of NewYork at Buf f al o, Vasul ka cont i nuedhi s i nvest i gat i on of t he machi ner ybehi nd t he el ec t r on i c s i g na l , worki ngw t h t he Rutt /Et ra Scan Pr ocess or and successf ul l ybui l di ng i n 1976 a comput er cont r ol l ed per sonal i magi ng f a c i l i t y cal l ed TheDi gi t al I mageArt i cul ator , i n col l abora t i on w t hDonMacArthur andJ e f f r e y Schi er .

Vi deof r eex/ Medi a Bus I nc . / L anesvi l l e TVVi deof r eex was anear l ymed ac o l l e c t i v e whi chemergedi n 1969, shor t l y a f t e r Perry Teasdal eandDavi dCort, bothworki ng i n vi deo andel ec t r oni c s , met at t heWodstockFest i val . Latert h a t year , based upon tapes they hadproducedf rom ootage shot at Woods t ock, t he newyf or med Vi deof r eexwere i nvi t ed t o pr oduce f or t he "Now pr o j ec t , a s e r i e s on t he Ameri can


38/42

count er cul t ur e f or broadcast te l evi s i on ( CBS) . Af t er col l ect i ng avast assor t ment o f mat er i al ,i nc l udi ng i nt er vi ews wi t h Abbi e HoffmanandFred Hampton, t hey scr eened t he t apes t o anaudi ence o f CBSexecut i ves who pr ompt l y pul l ed t he pl ug onshow c a l l e d Subj ect t o Change)date andt hr eat ened to erase the t apes . Wth t hemoneypr ovi ded byCBSf or t he p r o j e c t ,however , Vi deof r eex hadacqui r ed oneof t hemost sophi st i cated edi t i ng syst ems i nNewYorkCi ty wh cht hey used i n subsequent pr oj ects andmade avai l abl e t o ot her i ndependent s .Oper at i ng out o f aPr i nce St r e et L of t , Vi deof r eex co

Surveying the First Decade (Video Art)

Documents