Participation / 3 martie / 20h00 / Centrul Ceh
DOCUMENTARY MONDAYS
un eveniment Centrul Ceh sustinut de Pilsner Urquell
PARTICIPATION
Woody and Steina Vasulka
New York 1969-1971, 62 min., b/w
Acum mai mult de 40 de ani, Woody si Steina Vasulka au plecat din Republica Ceha la New York. Au devenit foarte repede centrul scenei underground din Soho, documentand concertele rock si evenimentele underground cu prima camera video Sony Portapak.
Steina (1940, Islanda) si Woody (1937, Republica Ceha) au fost repede cunoscuti drept expertii in domeniul media-art. Proiectele lor sunt unice si, din punct de vedere istoric, esentiale. In 1971 au infiintat The Kitchen, un laborator de testare pentru sunet si arta elecronica. Curand acest laborator a devenit un paradis pentru artistii video, o legenda a New York-ului, un spatiu non-comformist de prezentare a proiectiilor si performance-urilor. Chiar si astazi, The Kitchen este considerat unul dintre cele mai interesante spatii multi-media din oras.
Participation este un film realizat cu camera video Sony Portapak ce ne poarta in acea perioada legendara a artei contemporane si muzicii independente, cu Don Cherry, Warhol Superstars si Jimi Hendrix.
ENGLISH VERSION
More then 40 years ago, Woody and Steina Vasulka, known also as the Vasulkas, left the Czech Republic and landed in New York. They quickly became central to the burgeoning underground scene in Soho, documenting rock concerts and underground events alike using the first Sony Portapak camera. In 1971 they founded The Kitchen, an electronic arts and sound ‘test laboratory’ which became a haven for the new video artists. The Kitchen soon became a NYC legend, presenting screenings, performances and concerts ranging from the new music of La Monte Young to Talking Heads, and it continues today as one of the city’s most interesting multi-media spaces.
Participation pioneering video-document made with the early Sony Portapak video allows us to take part on this unique und legendary era for conteporary art and independent music.
Featuring Don Cherry performing in Washington Square,Warhol Superstars on stage and Jimi Hendrix in concert, Participation captures the Vasulkas’ early engagement with the American artistic counter-culture.
Steina, was born 1940 in Iceland and Woody Vasulka was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia in 1937. The Vasulka are widely acknowledged to be leading exponents in the field of media art. Their body of work is unique, and from an historical view point (insofar as we can consider the short history of media art) their contribution is evolutionary.
„I am starving. I am just looking good“.
