“White Collar Funk” aka East 23rd street in the 70s. It was a time when the novelty of having a video camera would stir interest and create interaction. Here on 23rd St. bet Park & Lex, downtown side. Back then I screened a work in progress to a video artist I worked with named Juan Downey. He suggested taking the edit I had and playing it back on the street I made it about to interact with people, which I did. This is that section.
This event was my initiation into world of video art, with some of its best known names represented. I made this film as part student television project. Yes it’s pretty bad but I think the subject matter is important. Featured here is “T.V. Garden” and “Video Buddha” by Nam June Paik. Also works by Frank Gillette and Peter Campus. Sitting while making his presentation was long haired Willoughby Sharp. He seemed very formal at the time, a far cry from approachable, friendly fellow I knew before he passed away. I think I see Bill Viola in there who was based in Syracuse and involved with Synapse at the time. The YouTube blurb contains more information.
Just in case you did not know what Media Burn was.
Very cool tease about Juan Downey and his work. I was a video assistant for Juan, originally at the Visiting Artsist Program. Along with Ant Farm, and Julia Heyward, he was on my top three list. Besides his work in this trailer we see flashes of his widow Marilys who I count as a friend (she manages The Juan Downey Estate).
Once I was hired to be on the staff of the Synapse Visiting Artists Program, this was first project for the year. It was as though I had died and gone to heaven. For me along with the nascent punk-rock scene emerging in NYC, this was the coolest thing going on at the time.
There doesn’t seem to be much on the net about the Synapse Visiting Artists Program. It was funded by the New York State Council on the Arts and provided access to broadcast quality editing, TV studios etc. During my time there 1974-76 visiting artists included Juan Downey, Julia Heyward (Duka Delight), Ant Farm, Shigeko Kubota, Nam June Paik, members of the Videofreex, Dennis Oppenheim, Jaime Davidovich and Bill Viola among many, many others. I hope to add and link to more information in time.
This was shot with a low-light Newvicon camera (tube) which usually makes people look like crap (esp me). Think puffy-faced flesherpoid creature. This tape is basically out-takes from indie coverage of the Convention called “Five Day Bicycle Race.” As a self-styled video “reporter” I had a bad case of media-on-the-mind or navel-gazing. – Go to its YouTube page for a more detailed blurb.
