Circa 1971 Early Video & Film from the EAi Archive

September 17, 2011-September 4, 2012

Dia:Beacon Riggio Galleries

3 Beekman Street Beacon New York 12508

845 440 0100 www.diaart.org

site

map

13

9 4

5

12

14

11

10

3 6

15

16

8 7

2

17

19

1

18

chec

klis

t

All

wor

ks c

ourt

esy

Ele

ctro

nic

Art

s In

term

ix, N

ew Y

ork.

_,

Nam

Jun

e P

aik

and

Jud

Yal

kut,

with

Cha

rlotte

M

oorm

an

TV

Cel

lo P

rem

iere

, 19

71

·, 16

mm

film

tra

nsfe

rred

to

vide

o (c

olor

, sile

nt);

7:2

5 m

in.

\.

2 Jo

an J

onas

V

ertic

al R

oll,

1972

V

ideo

(bl

ack-

and-

whi

te,

soun

d);

19:3

8 m

in.

3 Jo

hn B

alde

ssar

i I A

m M

akin

g A

rt,

1971

V

ideo

(bl

ack-

and-

whi

te,

soun

d);

19:0

6 m

in.

4 V

ito A

ccon

ci

Cen

ters

, 19

71

Vid

eo (

blac

k-an

d-w

hite

, sou

nd);

22

:28

min

.

5 E

lean

or A

ntin

R

epre

sent

atio

nal

Pai

ntin

g, 1

971

Vid

eo (

blac

k-an

d-w

hite

, si

lent

); 3

7:53

m

in.

6 A

ntho

ny R

amos

B

allo

on N

ose

Blo

w-U

p, 1

972

Vid

eo (

blac

k-an

d-w

hite

, so

und)

; 11

:29

min

. P

last

ic B

ag T

ie-U

p, 1

972

Vid

eo (

blac

k-an

d-w

hite

, so

und)

; 21

:16

min

.

7 Ly

nda

Ben

glis

M

umbl

e, 1

972

Vid

eo (

blac

k-an

d-w

hite

, so

und)

; 19

:28

min

.

8 V

ALI

E E

XP

OR

T

Fac

ing

a F

amily

, 19

71

Film

tran

sfer

red

to v

ideo

(bl

ack-

and-

whi

te,

soun

d);

4:44

min

.

9 N

am J

une

Pai

k an

d Ju

d Y

alku

t V

ideo

-Film

Con

cert

, 19

66/1

972

16 m

m fi

lm t

rans

ferr

ed t

o vi

deo

(bla

ck-a

nd-w

hite

, co

lor,

sou

nd);

26

:32

min

. V

ideo

Com

mun

e (B

eatle

s B

egin

ning

to

End

), 1

972

16 m

m fi

lm tr

ansf

erre

d to

vid

eo (

colo

r, s

ilent

); 8

:36

min

.

10

Ste

ine

and

Woo

dy V

asul

ka

Sel

ectio

ns

from

Stu

dies

, 19

70-7

1 V

ideo

(co

lor,

sou

nd);

12:

20 m

in.

11

TV

TV

F

our

Mor

e Y

ears

, 197

2 V

ideo

(bl

ack-

and-

whi

te,

soun

d);

61 :3

3 m

in.

1 2

Dav

id C

ort

M

ayd

ay R

ea/t

ime,

197

1 V

ideo

(bl

ack-

and-

whi

te, s

ound

); 5

9:42

m

in.

13

An

t F

arm

A

nt

Far

m's

Dir

ty D

ish

es,

1971

V

ideo

(bl

ack-

and-

whi

te, s

ound

); 8

:30

min

.

Sh

irle

y C

lark

e T

he

Tee

Pee

Vid

eo S

pac

e T

rou

pe:

Th

e F

irst

Yea

rs,

1970

-71

Vid

eo (

blac

k-an

d-w

hite

, sou

nd);

16:

15 m

in

14

Rai

nd

ance

R

ain

dan

ce:

Med

ia P

rim

ers,

197

1 V

ideo

(bl

ack-

and-

whi

te, s

ound

); 5

5:41

m

in.

15

Go

rdo

n M

atta

-Cla

rk

Ch

inat

ow

n V

oye

ur,

197

1 V

ideo

(bl

ack-

and-

whi

te, s

ound

); 5

9:24

m

in.

16

Nan

cy H

olt

an

d R

ob

ert

Sm

ith

son

S

wam

p,

1971

16

mm

film

tra

nsfe

rred

to

vide

o (c

olor

, so

und)

; 5:

54

min

.

1 7

Dan

Gra

ham

P

ast

Fu

ture

Sp

lit A

tten

tio

n,

1972

V

ideo

(bl

ack-

and-

whi

te, s

ound

); 1

6:51

min

.

1 8

Den

nis

Op

pen

hei

m

Sel

ecti

on

s fr

om

Asp

en P

roje

cts,

197

0 8

mm

film

tra

nsfe

rred

to

vide

o (c

olor

, sile

nt);

10:

34 m

in.

Tw

o S

tag

e T

ran

sfer

Dra

win

g (

Ad

van

cin

g t

o a

Fu

ture

Sta

te)

and

(R

etre

atin

g t

o a

Pas

t S

tate

), 1

971

8 m

m fi

lm t

rans

ferr

ed t

o vi

deo

(col

or, s

ilent

); 5

:05

min

.

19

Car

ole

e S

chn

eem

ann

P

lum

b L

ine,

197

1 8

mm

and

16

mm

film

tran

sfer

red

to v

ideo

(co

lor,

sou

nd);

14:

58

min

.

Not

e: W

orks

that

wer

e or

igin

ally

prod

uced

on

vide

o or

cre

ated

to b

e se

en o

n br

oadc

ast t

elev

isio

n are

dis

play

ed on

CR

T m

onito

rs; w

orks

that

wer

e or

igin

ally

sh

ot o

n an

d pr

ojec

ted

as fi

lm a

re p

roje

cted

her

e fr

om v

ideo

tran

sfer

s.

Cir

ca 1

971:

Ear

ly V

ideo

&

Film

fro

m t

he

EA

i A

rch

ive

Cel

ebra

ting

the

40th

an

nive

rsar

y of

Ele

ctro

nic

Art

s In

term

ix (

EA

i), C

irca

197

1 br

ings

toge

ther

ea

rly s

ingl

e-ch

anne

l vi

deo

and

film

wor

ks f

rom

one

of

the

wor

ld's

mos

t

com

preh

ensi

ve c

olle

ctio

ns o

f vi

deo

art.

Tak

ing

the

year

of

EA

i's f

ound

ing

as it

s po

int

of d

epar

ture

, th

e ex

hibi

tion

sets

in

dial

ogue

a s

erie

s of

div

erse

wor

ks c

reat

ed i

n an

d

arou

nd 1

971,

whi

ch a

re li

nked

by

the

alte

rnat

ive

artis

tic a

nd a

ctiv

ist

impu

lses

tha

t

drov

e th

e ea

rly v

ideo

sub

cultu

re. F

ocus

ing

on a

spe

cific

win

dow

of

time,

197

0-72

,

Cir

ca 1

971

pres

ents

a s

naps

hot

of a

cul

tura

l m

omen

t-or

, m

ore

accu

rate

ly,

a

coun

terc

ultu

ral m

omen

t-an

d th

e fe

rtile

pol

itica

l an

d ar

tistic

lan

dsca

pe f

rom

whi

ch

thes

e w

orks

em

erge

d.

Ove

r th

e pr

evio

us d

ecad

e, c

onte

mpo

rary

art

pra

ctic

es h

ad m

oved

aw

ay f

rom

obj

ect

mak

ing

tow

ard

an e

mph

asis

on

proc

ess,

the

influ

ence

of

tele

visi

on h

ad b

ecom

e

perv

asiv

e, a

nd r

adic

al p

oliti

cal

mov

emen

ts h

ad u

pend

ed l

ong-

held

cul

tura

l ass

ump­

tions

. Aris

ing

out

of t

hese

shi

fts, t

he a

rtis

ts in

this

exh

ibiti

on c

reat

ed m

ovin

g-im

age

wor

ks

that

dre

w f

rom

and

exp

ande

d on

the

fie

lds

of v

isua

l art

s, te

levi

sion

, an

d ci

nem

a, w

hile

stak

ing

out

a di

stin

ctiv

e ec

olog

y of

vid

eo a

s a

med

ium

. P

erfo

rman

ce a

nd v

isua

l art

ists

,

polit

ical

act

ivis

ts, c

yber

netic

the

oris

ts,

film

mak

ers,

Flu

xus

prov

ocat

eurs

, an

d se

lf­

desc

ribed

vid

eo f

reak

s an

d el

ectr

onic

gee

ks a

ll co

ntrib

uted

to

the

flu

id m

ix-a

nd

crea

tive

fric

tion-

of

the

emer

gent

vid

eo a

rt s

cene

. C

irca

197

1 ex

pose

s th

e

gene

rativ

e en

coun

ters

am

ong

thes

e ar

tists

and

inf

luen

ces

and

initi

ates

une

xpec

ted

corr

espo

nden

ces

betw

een

seem

ingl

y di

spar

ate

wor

ks.

TV

Cel

lo P

rem

iere

, Jud

Yal

kut's

16

mm

ren

derin

g of

ava

nFga

rde

celli

st C

harlo

tte

Moo

rman

pla

ying

Nam

Jun

e P

ai k'

s vi

deo

scul

ptur

e T

V C

ello

, whi

ch i

tsel

f sy

nthe

size

s

perf

orm

ance

, el

ectr

onic

pr

oces

sing

, an

d po

p-cu

ltura

l co

nten

t ap

prop

riate

d fr

om t

elev

i­

sion

, im

plic

itly

exem

plifi

es t

his

ecle

ctic

ism

and

plu

ralit

y. O

pen-

ende

d an

d irr

ever

ent

(Moo

rman

blit

hely

pla

ys a

cel

lo m

ade

of m

onito

rs s

how

ing

tele

vise

d im

ages

of

Jani

s

Jopl

in a

nd a

con

cert

pia

nist

), T

V C

ello

Pre

mie

re is

a c

eleb

rato

ry m

ultim

edia

hyb

rid.

Film

-par

ticul

arly

S

uper

8 a

nd 1

6 m

m-w

as

take

n up

as

a m

ediu

m i

n th

e la

te 1

960s

by a

num

ber

of v

isua

l art

ists

who

wou

ld s

oon

turn

to

vide

o as

it b

ecam

e m

ore

read

ily

acce

ssib

le,

incl

udin

g B

ruce

Nau

man

, Joa

n Jo

nas

, and

Vito

Acc

onci

. F

or N

ancy

Hol

t

and

Rob

ert

Sm

ithso

n, t

he 1

6 m

m B

olex

cam

era

beca

me

an i

nstr

umen

t w

ith w

hich

to

expl

ore

perc

eptio

n-an

d th

e lim

its o

f pe

rcep

tion-

via

the

cam

era

eye

in S

wam

p, a

n

exer

cise

in

proc

ess,

vis

ion,

and

poi

nt o

f vi

ew. W

hile

man

y ar

tists

' fil

ms,

suc

h as

tho

se

by D

enni

s O

ppen

heim

, ar

e th

emat

ical

ly a

nd c

once

ptua

lly

linke

d to

per

form

ance

vid

eo

wor

ks f

rom

the

sam

e tim

e pe

riod,

oth

ers,

lik

e C

arol

ee S

chne

eman

n's

auto

biog

raph

ical

colla

ge P

lum

b Li

ne, w

ith i

ts e

choe

s of

the

"ho

me

mov

ie,"

sho

uld

be s

een

mor

e di

rect

ly

with

in t

he c

onte

xt o

f ex

perim

enta

l ci

nem

a. T

he s

hort

, co

lor

film

s in

this

exh

ibiti

on

are

dist

inct

ivel

y m

ediu

m-s

peci

fic,

stan

ding

in

form

al c

ontr

ast

to t

he b

lack

-and

-whi

te,

larg

ely

dura

tiona

l, an

d of

ten

uned

ited

vide

os p

rodu

ced

with

hal

f-in

ch o

pen-

reel

equ

ip­

men

t. (C

olor

vid

eo c

amer

as w

ere

not

wid

ely

avai

labl

e to

art

ists

unt

il th

e m

id-1

970s

.)

TV

may

be

like

a pe

ncil-

that

is

, jus

t an

othe

r ar

t-m

akin

g to

ol-a

s Jo

hn B

alde

ssar

i

asse

rted

in

1977

, but

the

dis

tinct

ive

char

acte

ristic

s of

vid

eo t

echn

olog

y w

ere

cata

lyst

s

for

mat

eria

l an

d co

ncep

tual

exp

lora

tions

, as

wel

l as

pol

itica

l in

terv

entio

ns.1

Unl

ike

film

,

vide

o al

low

s on

e to

see

ins

tant

aneo

usly

wha

t on

e is

rec

ordi

ng,

on a

mon

itor,

dur

-

ing

the

act

of r

ecor

ding

. T

his

sim

ulta

neity

has

bee

n so

tho

roug

hly

abso

rbed

int

o th

e

ever

yday

ver

nacu

lar

of m

ovin

g-im

age

prod

uctio

n th

at i

t m

ay b

e di

fficu

lt to

gra

sp h

ow

rich

for

met

apho

rical

and

tec

hnic

al e

xper

imen

tatio

n th

is n

otio

n w

as i

n 19

71.

Art

ists

and

activ

ists

wer

e dr

awn

to t

he f

orm

al,

theo

retic

al,

and

cultu

ral

impl

icat

ions

of

the

med

ium

's i

mm

edia

cy,

repr

oduc

ibili

ty,

and

varia

bilit

y. V

ideo

's i

nsta

ntan

eous

tra

nsm

is­

sion

and

its

abi

lity

to g

ener

ate

live,

clo

sed-

circ

uit

feed

back

im

pact

ed b

oth

the

polit

ical

unde

rpin

ning

s an

d co

ncep

tual

la

ngua

ge o

f ea

rly v

ideo

pra

ctic

es a

nd i

ncite

d no

t on

ly

activ

ism

but

als

o pe

rfor

man

ces

for

the

cam

era

and

inte

rrog

atio

ns o

f th

e m

ater

ialit

y of

the

med

ium

.

Man

y of

the

vid

eo a

nd f

ilm w

orks

in

Circ

a 19

71 e

mer

ge f

rom

and

eng

age

with

pre

­

vaili

ng c

onte

mpo

rary

ar

t m

ovem

ents

of

the

perio

d, p

artic

ular

ly B

ody

art,

Pro

cess

art

,

Min

imal

ism

, an

d C

once

ptua

l ar

t. In

Bru

ce N

aum

an's

hig

hly

influ

entia

l se

ries

of v

ideo

exer

cise

s (a

num

ber

of w

hich

are

cur

rent

ly o

n vi

ew a

t D

ia:B

eaco

n),

the

artis

t's p

er­

form

ativ

e ge

stur

es a

nd a

ctio

ns i

nter

roga

te t

he v

ery

proc

ess

of m

akin

g ar

t. B

y 19

71,

thes

e m

ovem

ents

wer

e ev

en p

rime

for

paro

dy a

nd h

omag

e, a

s Jo

hn B

alde

ssar

i's

dead

pan

(and

dea

d-on

) I A

m M

akin

g A

rt e

vinc

es.

As

muc

h as

they

can

be

seen

in

rela

tion

to p

aral

lel

art

disc

ours

es a

nd p

ract

ices

, th

ese

wor

ks a

re a

lso

defin

ed b

y th

eir

com

plic

ated

re

latio

nshi

p to

the

ind

ustr

y w

ith w

hich

vide

o sh

ares

its

tech

nolo

gy:

tele

visi

on. A

s fir

st-w

ave

baby

boo

mer

s, a

rtis

ts w

ho m

atur

ed

durin

g th

is p

erio

d w

ere

amon

g th

e fir

st g

ener

atio

n to

hav

e gr

own

up w

ith t

elev

isio

n as

thei

r pr

imar

y m

ass-

cultu

ral

refe

renc

e; t

heir

wor

ks a

ssum

e a

criti

cal

posi

tion

in r

elat

ion

to t

he m

ass

med

ia a

nd t

he t

elev

isio

n in

dust

ry.

Inde

ed,

man

y of

the

tro

pes

of e

arly

vide

o ar

e op

posi

tiona

l re

spon

ses

to t

he c

onve

ntio

ns o

f co

mm

erci

al t

elev

isio

n. F

or

exam

ple,

ext

ende

d du

ratio

n, "

real

-tim

e,"

and

in-c

amer

a ed

its n

ot o

nly

are

by-p

rodu

cts

of e

arly

vid

eo t

echn

olog

y bu

t al

so b

ecam

e de

liber

ate

coun

ters

trat

egie

s to

the

pac

ing

and

frag

men

ted

"flo

w"

of c

omm

erci

al t

elev

isio

n.

·1 r

Art

ists

em

brac

ed v

ideo

's o

ppos

ition

al

pote

ntia

l as

a m

ediu

m t

hrou

gh w

hich

to

"tal

k

back

" to

the

med

ia a

nd t

he d

omin

ant

cultu

re t

hrou

gh c

ritic

al a

nd c

reat

ive

inte

rven

­

tions

. P

aik

noto

rious

ly e

ngag

ed i

n di

rect

med

ia i

nter

vent

ion,

dis

rupt

ing

the

elec

tron

ic

sign

al a

s w

ell

as t

elev

isio

n co

nten

t: in

Vid

eo-F

ilm C

once

rt,

he p

layf

ully

app

lies

a

dist

ortin

g m

agne

t to

a te

levi

sion

im

age

of M

arsh

all

McL

uhan

, th

e er

a's

reig

ning

med

ia

theo

rist;

in W

aitin

g fo

r C

omm

erci

als,

P

aik

appr

opria

tes

and

re-p

rese

nts

a se

ries

of

adve

rtis

emen

ts f

rom

Jap

anes

e T

V, a

str

ateg

y th

at w

as t

o be

com

e on

e of

the

mos

t

endu

ring

in v

ideo

art

. Man

y ea

rly a

rtis

ts'

vide

os i

nter

roga

te t

he r

elat

ions

of

tele

vi-

sion

, vid

eo, a

nd t

he a

ct o

f vi

ewin

g. T

he v

iew

er o

f V

ALI

E E

XP

OR

T's

_Fac

ing

a F

amily

,

orig

inal

ly c

reat

ed f

or b

road

cast

on

Aus

tria

n te

levi

sion

, ob

serv

es a

fam

ily,

in r

eal t

ime,

wat

chin

g te

levi

sion

in

a do

mes

tic s

pace

. D

irect

ing

the

cam

era'

s ga

ze f

rom

the

out

side

in, G

ordo

n M

atta

-Cla

rk's

C

hina

tow

n V

oyeu

r is

a su

rvei

llanc

e-lik

e re

nder

ing

of t

he

build

ings

and

roo

ftops

-with

vo

yeur

istic

glim

pses

at

indi

vidu

als

insi

de t

he w

indo

ws­

of d

ownt

own

New

Yor

k, c

irca

1971

.

The

wor

ks i

n th

is e

xhib

ition

wer

e cr

eate

d w

ithin

a h

eate

d cu

ltura

l m

ilieu

cha

ract

er­

ized

by

the

ongo

ing

Vie

tnam

War

and

cor

resp

ondi

ng

antiw

ar d

emon

stra

tions

, th

e ci

vil

right

s an

d fe

min

ist

mov

emen

ts,

and

a co

unte

rcul

tura

l m

ise-

en-s

cene

of

"se

x, d

rugs

,

and

rock

'n' r

oll."

In th

e U

nite

d S

tate

s, 1

970-

72

saw

the

Ken

t S

tate

sho

otin

gs,

the

rele

ase

of t

he P

enta

gon

Pap

ers,

the

reel

ectio

n of

Ric

hard

Nix

on,

and

the

Wat

erga

te

brea

k-in

. W

hile

thi

s in

tens

e po

litic

al c

limat

e m

ay b

e pr

esen

t as

an

unde

rcur

rent

thro

ugho

ut

the

exhi

bitio

n, i

t ex

plic

itly

perv

ades

the

cha

rged

. vid

eo p

erfo

rman

ces

of

Ant

hony

Ram

os, w

ho s

erve

d 18

mon

ths

in fe

dera

l pr

ison

for

eva

ding

the

dra

ft an

d

who

se e

arly

vid

eo w

orks

add

ress

rac

e, m

argi

naliz

ed c

omm

uniti

es,

and

the

med

ia.

Alte

rnat

ive

colle

ctiv

es a

nd r

adic

al m

edia

act

ivis

ts d

eplo

yed

the

rece

ntly

ava

ilabl

e

batte

ry-p

ower

ed

and

self-

cont

aine

d S

ony

Por

tapa

k vi

deo

syst

em a

s a

wea

pon

agai

nst

broa

dcas

t te

levi

sion

and

as

a to

ol f

or c

omm

unity

eng

agem

ent.

Thi

s co

nver

genc

e of

polit

ical

act

ivis

m a

nd p

orta

ble

vide

o eq

uipm

ent

fuel

ed a

ltern

ativ

e do

cum

enta

ries

such

as T

VT

V's

gue

rrill

a te

levi

sion

cov

erag

e of

the

197

2 R

epub

lican

Con

vent

ion,

Fou

r M

ore

Yea

rs; a

nd M

ayda

y R

ea/ti

me,

Dav

id C

ort's

unm

edia

ted

"rea

l-tim

e" r

ecor

ding

of

an

anti-

Vie

tnam

War

dem

onst

ratio

n in

Was

hing

ton,

D.C

., in

May

197

1. C

ount

ercu

ltura

l

med

ia c

olle

ctiv

es s

uch

as R

aind

ance

(w

ho a

lso

publ

ishe

d th

e se

min

al v

ideo

jour

nal

Rad

ical

Sof

twar

e) t

rans

late

d cy

bern

etic

the

orie

s to

vid

eo-m

akin

g, c

reat

ing

free

-for

m

med

ia c

ritiq

ues

that

dre

w o

n so

urce

s th

at t

oday

ser

ve a

s to

uchs

tone

s of

the

era

,

rang

ing

from

vid

eo f

oota

ge

of t

he R

ollin

g S

tone

s pe

rfor

min

g at

Alta

mon

t to

Abb

ie

Hof

fman

aw

aitin

g th

e ve

rdic

t at

the

Chi

cago

Sev

en t

rial.

Ant

Far

m's

Dirt

y D

ishe

s

(the

firs

t ta

pe-#

001-

to

be c

atal

ogue

d in

EA

i's c

olle

ctio

n)

is a

Por

tapa

k sk

etch

book

of t

he c

olle

ctiv

e's

com

mun

al l

ife, c

irca

1971

. Shi

rley

Cla

rke

's T

ee P

ee V

ideo

Spac

e

Tro

upe:

The

Ear

ly Y

ears

is a

ver

ite d

iary

of

the

dow

ntow

n N

ew Y

ork

art

scen

e, w

ith a

cast

tha

t in

clud

es A

ndy

War

hol,

John

and

Yok

o, A

rthu

r C

. Cla

rke

, and

the

Che

lsea

Hot

el.

Eve

n th

ose

wor

ks

mor

e co

ncer

ned

with

for

mal

or

conc

eptu

al

expl

orat

ion

than

soc

ial

enga

gem

ent

can

be s

een

as e

mer

ging

fro

m a

dis

tinct

ly c

ount

ercu

ltura

l se

nsib

ility

, as

artic

ulat

ed t

hrou

gh t

his

emer

gent

tec

hnol

ogy.

The

sel

f-re

flexi

vity

en

gend

ered

by

vid

eo

tech

nolo

gy

gave

ris

e to

dire

ct,

body

-driv

en p

erfo

rman

ces

for

the

cam

era

that

inv

esti­

gate

d re

latio

nshi

ps b

etw

een

artis

t an

d vi

ewer

, pu

blic

and

priv

ate,

and

sub

ject

ivity

and

obje

ctiv

ity. W

ith a

str

ikin

g ec

onom

y of

mea

ns, a

rtis

ts u

sed

thei

r ow

n bo

dies

to

crea

te

perf

orm

ance

act

ions

for

the

cam

era

or t

o in

itiat

e fa

ce-t

o-fa

ce

enco

unte

rs w

ith t

he

view

er. T

he v

ideo

mon

itor

as m

irror

is

a po

tent

, re

curr

ing

trop

e of

ear

ly s

tudi

o-ba

sed

vide

os, w

hich

exp

loit

the

intim

ate

spac

e ot

'vid

eo a

nd t

he s

cale

of

the

vide

o sc

reen

.

Vito

Acc

onci

's e

arly

per

form

ance

vid

eos

forc

e ps

ycho

logi

cal

rela

tio

nsh

ips

betw

een

the

artis

t an

d vi

ewer

, su

bjec

t an

d o

bjec

t, 'I

" an

d 'y

ou."

In C

ente

rs, A

ccon

ci, f

acin

g th

e

cam

era

in c

lose

-up,

poi

nts

stra

ight

ahe

ad a

t hi

s ow

n im

age

on t

he v

ideo

mon

itor.

In

poin

ting

at h

imse

lf, A

ccon

ci i

s al

so p

oint

ing

dire

ctly

at

the

view

er; h

e ha

s w

ritte

n, '

I'm

look

ing

stra

ight

out

by

look

ing

stra

ight

in.

"2 In

Rep

rese

ntat

iona

l Pai

ntin

g, Ele

anor

Ant

in

empl

oys

the

mon

itor-

mirr

or

as t

he s

ite f

or a

fem

inis

t in

quiry

int

o th

e re

pres

enta

tion

of t

he f

emal

e bo

dy i

n th

e co

ntex

t of

mak

ing

art,

liter

aliz

ing

the

notio

n by

usi

ng t

he

mon

itor

as a

mak

eup

mirr

or.

Writ

ing

abou

t he

r pi

vota

l w

ork

Ver

tica

l Rol

l, Joa

n Jo

nas

stat

ed:

'The

mon

itor

is a

n

ongo

ing

mirr

or~3

In a

col

lusi

on o

f th

e co

ncep

tual

, the

tec

hnic

al, a

nd th

e po

litic

al, J

onas

disr

upts

the

mat

eria

lity

of t

he m

ediu

m-t

he

rele

ntle

ss '

vert

ical

rol

l" of

a te

levi

sion

, a

tech

nica

l er

ror-

as

a po

wer

ful

form

al a

nd m

etap

horic

al d

evic

e, fr

actu

ring

an im

age

of

the

fem

ale

body

and

man

ipul

atin

g an

d la

yerin

g sp

ace

and

time

. Lyn

da B

engl

is,

in h

er

vide

o w

orks

of

the

early

197

0s,

empl

oys

vide

o re

curs

ion

and

dist

ortio

n as

met

apho

rs

for

cons

ciou

snes

s, l

ayer

ing

mon

itors

with

in m

onito

rs,

reco

rdin

gs w

ithin

rec

ordi

ngs.

Sim

ilarly

, Dan

Gra

ham

's e

arly

sin

gle-

chan

nel

vide

o w

orks

, w

hich

pla

y w

ith c

lose

d­

circ

uit f

eedb

ack

loop

s an

d tim

e de

lays

, lau

nch

an in

vest

igat

ion

of t

he p

heno

men

olog

ical

and

psyc

holo

gica

l im

plic

atio

ns o

f th

e m

ediu

m.

In a

sig

n of

the

tim

es,

Gra

ham

has

rela

ted

the

exte

nded

tim

efra

mes

and

tem

pora

l di

stor

tions

of

muc

h ea

rly v

ideo

to t

he

effe

cts

of p

ot s

mok

ing.

4

Oth

er a

rtis

ts,

in in

vent

ing

a gr

amm

ar f

or e

lect

roni

c im

age-

mak

ing,

sou

ght

to r

etur

n th

e

tech

nolo

gy t

o th

e ha

nds

of t

he i

ndiv

idua

l-to

'hum

aniz

e"

mac

hine

s an

d in

tera

ct w

ith

,,

them

. P

roce

ss-b

ased

, pl

ayfu

l, an

d im

prov

isat

iona

l, th

e ea

rly e

lect

roni

c ex

perim

ents

of a

rtis

ts s

uch

as P

aik

and

Ste

ina

and

Woo

dy V

asul

ka e

mpl

oy a

nalo

g to

ols

that

wer

e

ofte

n de

sign

ed a

nd b

uilt

by th

e ar

tists

the

mse

lves

. T

he i

mpl

icat

ions

of

elec

tron

ic f

eed­

back

and

int

erac

tivity

are

key

to

thes

e ea

rly e

xper

imen

ts w

ith e

lect

roni

c sy

nthe

sis

and

proc

essi

ng. O

ne s

ees

in th

ese

vide

os t

he i

nter

wov

en t

hrea

ds o

f liv

e pe

rfor

man

ce­

the

'han

d" o

f th

e ar

tist-

and

the

med

iatio

n of

ele

ctro

nic

tech

nolo

gy.

For

exa

mpl

e,

Pai

k's

Vid

eo C

omm

une

(Bea

tles

Beg

inni

ng to

End

) doc

umen

ts a

n in

tera

ctiv

e te

levi

sion

'per

form

ance

" at

pub

lic t

elev

isio

n st

atio

n W

GB

H

in B

osto

n in

197

0. I

mag

es g

ener

­

ated

dire

ctly

by

Pai

k th

roug

h th

e P

aik/

Abe

S

ynth

esiz

er w

ere

mix

ed i

n re

al ti

me

with

prer

ecor

ded

mat

eria

l an

d br

oadc

ast

live:

true

'P

artic

ipat

ion

TV

."

Like

the

se e

arly

wor

ks t

hem

selv

es,

the

cont

exts

in

whi

ch t

hey

wer

e pr

oduc

ed,

exhi

bite

d, a

nd d

isse

min

ated

re

flect

an

ad h

oc, r

eneg

ade

etho

s. I

n a

shift

aw

ay f

rom

the

conv

entio

nal

mod

el o

f th

e w

ork

of a

rt a

s ra

refie

d ob

ject

, th

e la

te 1

960s

an

d ea

rly

1970

s sa

w t

he d

evel

opm

ent

of a

net

wor

k of

alte

rnat

ive

spac

es a

nd n

onpr

ofit

supp

ort

stru

ctur

es. V

ideo

-eas

ily

repr

oduc

ible

, pot

entia

lly w

idel

y ac

cess

ible

, and

see

min

gly

resi

stan

t to

com

mod

ifica

tion-

circ

ulat

ed

larg

ely

outs

ide

of t

he a

rt m

arke

t. E

Ai,

one

of

the

earli

est

nonp

rofit

s in

the

Uni

ted

Sta

tes

dedi

cate

d to

ele

ctro

nic

art,

was

fou

nded

by g

alle

rist

and

art

patr

on H

owar

d W

ise

as a

n al

tern

ativ

e pa

radi

gm t

o su

ppor

t th

is

burg

eoni

ng f

orm

tha

t co

uld

not-

or

wou

ld n

ot-f

it ea

sily

with

in c

omm

erci

al g

alle

ry o

r

com

mer

cial

tel

evis

ion

syst

ems

. In

1970

, w

hen

Wis

e cl

osed

his

epo

nym

ous

galle

ry o

n

Wes

t 57

th S

tree

t in

Man

hatta

n (w

hich

had

foc

used

on

k(ne

tic a

rt),

he

wro

te,

with

an

alm

ost

utop

ian

optim

ism

, th

at v

ideo

wou

ld e

nabl

e ar

tists

to

expa

nd t

heir

prac

tices

'ou

t

of t

he g

alle

ry a

nd i

nto

the

envi

ronm

ent,

the

sky,

the

ocea

n, e

ven

oute

r sp

ace

."5 T

he

idea

tha

t vi

deo

's r

epro

duci

bilit

y an

d m

utab

ility

wou

ld a

llow

for

new

mod

es o

f cr

eativ

e

prod

uctio

n, e

xhib

ition

, an

d ci

rcul

atio

n w

as p

hilo

soph

ical

ly,

even

pol

itica

lly, e

mbe

dded

in th

e sp

irit

of t

he t

imes

, a

notio

n th

at h

as m

ore

rece

ntly

reg

aine

d cu

rren

cy a

roun

d

digi

tal

and

Inte

rnet

art

.

The

ofte

n ra

w a

nd o

pen-

ende

d w

orks

in

Cir

ca 1

971

spea

k fr

om a

n an

alog

wor

ld t

hat

has

larg

ely

disa

ppea

red.

Rev

isite

d at

a ti

me

whe

n vi

deo

is u

biqu

itous

in

the

mar

ket­

driv

en a

rt w

orld

and

whe

n el

ectr

onic

inf

orm

atio

n pr

olife

rate

s in

the

cultu

re a

t la

rge,

thes

e m

ovin

g-im

age

wor

ks a

re r

eson

ant

artif

acts

fro

m a

pre

-soc

ial

netw

orki

ng,

pred

igita

l er

a. P

erha

ps m

ost

strik

ing

to c

urre

nt v

iew

ers

, art

ists

' vi

deo

and

film

fro

m t

his

perio

d fo

rce

an a

nalo

g-th

at

is, s

low

ed-d

own-

expe

rienc

e of

tim

e. T

hey

embo

dy t

he

prov

ocat

ive

gest

ures

of

artis

ts w

ho t

rans

mut

ed

time,

pro

cess

, bo

dily

act

ions

, an

d th

e

elec

tron

ic

sign

al i

nto

art-

mak

ing

mat

eria

l an

d w

ho s

aw v

ideo

as

a to

ol f

or s

ocia

l

activ

ism

and

cul

tura

l tr

ansf

orm

atio

n.

Sig

nific

antly

, m

any

of t

he k

ey t

hem

es i

ntro

duce

d in

thei

r na

scen

t fo

rm i

n C

irca

1971

-

artis

ts'

criti

cal

enga

gem

ents

w

ith t

he p

rodu

ctio

n, r

ecep

tion,

and

circ

ulat

ion

of m

ass

med

ia i

mag

es a

nd i

nfor

mat

ion,

one

-on-

one

enco

unte

rs w

ith t

he t

elev

isua

l m

irror

to

expl

ore

notio

ns o

f id

entit

y an

d se

lf, a

nd s

ocia

l co

mm

unic

atio

ns-h

ave

been

rea

ctiv

ated

by s

ubse

quen

t ge

nera

tions

an

d re

frac

ted

toda

y th

roug

h di

gita

l cu

lture

. In

deed

, the

gene

rativ

e id

eas

that

pro

pel

thes

e ea

rly s

ingl

e-ch

anne

l w

orks

are

key

to

unde

rsta

nd­

ing

muc

h of

cur

rent

mov

ing-

imag

e ar

t, w

hich

in

its m

utab

ility

and

flu

idity

ado

pts

form

s

rang

ing

from

im

mer

sive

env

ironm

ents

to

dist

ribut

ed

med

ia a

nd d

igita

l so

urce

cod

e,

and

whi

ch m

oves

am

ong

mul

tiple

pla

tform

s, i

tera

tions

, an

d sc

reen

s. T

his

anni

vers

ary

exhi

bitio

n of

fers

a fr

amew

ork

for

reco

nsid

erin

g th

e m

ultip

le h

isto

ries,

art

istic

inv

estig

a­

tions

, an

d cu

ltura

l co

ntex

ts t

hat

have

info

rmed

our

rea

ding

s of

mov

ing-

imag

e ar

t fo

r

mor

e th

an f

our

deca

des.

Lori

Zip

pay,

Gue

st C

urat

or a

nd E

xecu

tive

Dire

ctor

, E

lect

roni

c A

rts

Inte

rmix

, N

ew Y

ork

no

tes

1. J

ohn

Bal

dess

ari,

'TV

(1)

Is

Like

a P

enci

l an

d (2

) W

on't

Bite

You

r Le

g,' i

n T

he N

ew T

elev

isio

n

(Cam

brid

ge,

MA

: M

IT P

ress

, in

asso

ciat

ion

with

Ele

ctro

nic

Art

s In

term

ix, N

ew Y

ork,

197

7),

p. 1

08.

2.

Vito

Acc

onci

, 'B

ody

as P

lace

-Mov

ing

in o

n M

ysel

f, P

erfo

rmin

g M

ysel

f,' A

vala

nche

, no.

6 (

Fal

l

1972

), p

. 12.

3. J

oan

Jona

s, 'P

anel

R

emar

ks,'

in T

he N

ew T

elev

isio

n, p. 7

1.

4.

Dan

Gra

ham

, re

mar

ks d

urin

g 'D

an G

raha

m:

Vid

eo-T

elev

isio

n-A

rchi

tect

ure,

' a

talk

at

Ele

ctro

nic

Art

s In

term

ix,

New

Yor

k, A

pril

10, 2

007.

5.

How

ard

Wis

e, in

lette

r to

How

ard

Wis

e G

alle

ry a

rtis

ts,

Dec

embe

r 10

, 19

70.

In th

e ea

rly 1

970s

, N

ew Y

ork

City

bec

ame

the

hom

e of

a n

umbe

r of

dyn

amic

art

s

orga

niza

tions

tha

t w

ere

crea

ted

in r

espo

nse

to n

ew w

ays

in w

hich

art

ists

pro

duce

d,

disp

laye

d, a

nd d

istr

ibut

ed t

heir

wor

k. F

ound

ed i

n 19

71,

Ele

ctro

nic

Art

s In

term

ix (

EA

i)

reco

gniz

ed t

he b

urge

onin

g ne

ed f

or a

ltern

ativ

e su

ppor

t sy

stem

s. O

ther

ini

tiativ

es

wou

ld f

ollo

w,

incl

udin

g th

at o

f th

e K

itche

n (1

971

), A

rtis

ts S

pace

( 1

972)

, an

d D

ia A

rt

Fou

ndat

ion

(197

4),

amon

g ot

hers

. F

orty

yea

rs o

f hi

ndsi

ght

mak

es c

lear

tha

t th

ese

early

effo

rts

have

bee

n fa

r re

achi

ng.

Like

Dia

, EA

i co

ntin

ues

with

an

aspi

ratio

n to

evol

ve a

ccor

ding

to

the

need

s of

bot

h ar

tists

and

the

ir au

dien

ces.

Our

inv

itatio

n to

Lor

i Zip

pay

to g

uest

cur

ate

an e

xhib

ition

of

EA

i's c

olle

ctio

n em

erge

d

from

the

des

ire t

o ac

know

ledg

e an

d to

cel

ebra

te t

he o

rgan

izat

ion'

s pi

onee

ring

role

in

crea

ting

and

diss

emin

atin

g ex

perim

enta

l w

ork.

The

frie

ndsh

ip

betw

een

EA

i an

d D

ia

date

s ba

ck t

o th

e ea

rly 1

990s

, w

hen

Dan

Gra

ham

's R

oofto

p U

rban

Par

k P

roje

ct

open

ed a

t D

ia's

exh

ibiti

on f

acili

ty i

n N

ew Y

ork

City

's C

hels

ea n

eigh

borh

ood.

As

part

of t

his

long

-ter

m

proj

ect,

Gra

ham

con

ceiv

ed a

Vid

eo S

alon

whe

re v

isito

rs w

ould

be in

vite

d to

cho

ose

free

ly f

rom

a li

brar

y of

art

ists

' vi

deos

for

vie

win

g on

mon

itors

inst

alle

d in

the

activ

e en

viro

nmen

t of

a r

oofto

p ca

fe. T

his

libra

ry w

as b

uilt

with

muc

h

guid

ance

fro

m E

Ai

and

was

fol

low

ed b

y m

any

reso

nant

col

labo

ratio

ns,

incl

udin

g

scre

enin

gs o

f w

orks

by

Dar

a B

irnba

um,

Joan

Jon

as,

Bru

ce N

aum

an,

and

othe

rs.

We

are

delig

hted

to

host

Circ

a 19

71:

Ear

ly V

ideo

& F

ilm f

rom

the

EA

i Arc

hive

and

wis

h to

tha

nk P

hilip

pe V

ergn

e, D

ia's

dire

ctor

, fo

r hi

s ov

errid

ing

supp

ort

for

this

ende

avor

. At

Dia

, we

are

inde

bted

to

the

effo

rts

of C

had

Bow

en,

Kur

t A

Die

bbol

l,

Cur

tis H

arve

y, P

atric

k H

eilm

an,

Kar

en K

elly

, Kel

ly K

ivla

nd,

Eliz

abet

h P

eck,

Jam

es

Sch

aeuf

ele,

Nic

ki S

ebas

tian,

Kat

ie S

onne

nbor

n, a

nd J

ohn

Spr

ague

for

the

rea

liza-

tion

of t

his

exhi

bitio

n. A

dditi

onal

tha

nks

are

due

to k

ey m

embe

rs o

f th

e st

aff

at E

Ai,

incl

udin

g R

ebec

ca C

lem

an, J

osh

Klin

e, D

esire

e Le

ary,

Nic

k Le

sley

, Tre

vor

Shi

miz

u,

Lola

Sin

reic

h, H

olly

Sta

nton

, an

d S

teph

anie

Sze

rlip

for

thei

r kn

owle

dge

and

colle

gial

ity.

Fin

ally

, on

beha

lf of

bot

h in

stitu

tions

, I t

hank

the

art

ists

. W

e ar

e pr

ivile

ged

to h

ave

this

rene

wed

opp

ortu

nity

to

view

the

ir w

orks

.

Yas

mil

Ray

mon

d, C

urat

or,

Dia

Art

Fou

ndat

ion

Electron ic Arts Intermix (EAi) , a nonprofit arts organizat ion founded in 1971, is one

of the world's leading resources for video and media art. A pioneering advocate for

media art and artists, EAi fosters the creation, exhibition, distribution and preservation

of video and digital art. EAi's core program is the distribution and preservation of

a major collection of over 3,500 new and historical moving-image works by artists.

EAi's activities include extensive online resources, educational services, viewing

access, and public programs such as artists' talks, exhibitions, and panels. The Online

Catalogu_e is a comprehensive resource on the artists and works in the EAi collection,

and features expanded reference materials on exhibiting, collecting, and preserving

media art.

selected bibliography

Video Art: An Anthology. Ed. Ira Schneider and Beryl Korot. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1976 .

The New Television: A Public/Private Art. Ed. Douglas Davis and Allison Simmons. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, in association with Electronic Arts Intermix, New York, 1977 .

Video Culture: A Critical Investigation. Ed. John G. Hanhardt. Layton, UT: G. M. Smith, Peregrine Smith Books, in association with Visual Studies Workshop Press, 1986.

Joselit, David. Feedback: Television against Democracy. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2007.

EAi Online Catalogue. Ed. Lori Zippay. New York: Electronic Arts Intermix, 1997-20 11. http:/ /www.eai.or9.

Related program Gallery Talk

Lori Zipp ay, Execut ive Director, Electronic Art s Intermix

Saturday, February 11 , 2012 , 2pm

'Circa 1971' is supported in part by Dia's Board of Trustees, Director's Council,

and Art Council.

Photo on cover: Joan Jonas, Vertical Roll, 1972 © Joan Jonas, courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix, New York