Early Video Art | Video Data Bank

Early Video Art is a collection of titles that are central to an understanding of the historical development of video art. This collection includes, but is not limited to, many titles from the original Castelli-Sonnabend collection, the first and most prominent collection of video art assembled in the United States. All of the work in this collection was produced between 1968 and 1980. These works represent important examples of the first experiments in video art, and include conceptual and feminist performances recorded on video, experiments with the video signal, and "guerilla" documentaries representing a counter-cultural view of the historical events of the 1960s and 70s. Many of these tapes represent a desire for a radically redefined television experience that is centered on the innovative, the personal, the political and the non-commercial.

LISTING STYLE:

William Wegman

Selected Works: Reel 6

1975 | 00:19:38

Selected Works: Reel 6

Originally recorded during 1975-76 and re-mastered in March 2005, this selection of 11 skits mostly focuses on Man Ray.

William Wegman

Gray Hairs

1976 | 00:05:05

Gray Hairs

Gray Hairs is a visual and aural poem to Man Ray, featuring close-up shots of the dog’s body and a soundtrack of panting, sniffing and licking.

William Wegman

Selected Works: Reel 7

1976 | 00:18:06

Selected Works: Reel 7

Originally made during 1976-77 and re-mastered in March 2005, this selection contains a mix of visual jokes, conceptual humor and performance.

Vito Acconci

Turn-On

1974 | 00:21:56

Turn-On

Acconci again confronts both the viewer’s and his own expectations of his performance, saying, "I've waited for the perfect time, for the perfect piece, I'm tired of waiting...

Paul Kos

Warlock(ing)

1971 | 00:07:30

Warlock(ing)

In this early black and white, reel-to-reel video, small game traps are set to catch the rain.

Paul Kos

A Trophy/Atrophy

1972 | 00:03:13

A Trophy/Atrophy

A two-headed calf died when one head atrophied. It became a trophy that the artist used as a source for this 16mm film transferred to video.

Nancy Holt

Going Around in Circles

1973 | 00:15:15

Going Around in Circles

Going Around In Circles continues Holt's interest in perception and point of view. A board with five circular holes is placed in front of the camera.

David Cort

Mayday Realtime

1971 | 00:59:45

Mayday Realtime

Shot over one day, this program records the events and protests in Washington DC on May Day, 1971.

Mary Curtis Ratcliff

Mayday Realtime

1971 | 00:59:45

Mayday Realtime

Shot over one day, this program records the events and protests in Washington DC on May Day, 1971.

Susan Mogul

Untitled (Menses)

1973 | 00:01:10

Untitled (Menses)

I moved three thousand miles from the east coast to join the feminist art program at CAL ARTS in 1973. I had only been in LA three weeks when Judy Chicago took us to a "Menstruation" art…

Vito Acconci

Sounding Board

1970 | 00:21:26

Sounding Board

Acconci literally feels the music in this tape as he lays down on speakers playing jazz.

Skip Sweeney

Illuminatin' Sweeney

1975 | 00:28:38

Illuminatin' Sweeney

Skip Sweeney was an early and proficient experimenter with video feedback. A feedback loop is produced by pointing a camera at the monitor to which it is cabled.