Tag Archives: performance

I took videos during my trip in Vancouver, edit it on my phone, uploaded on Instagram and now it’s on the net for everyone in the world to see. But back in the 70s, it was another different ball game.

Videofreex including Parry Teasdale and David Cort, fourth and fifth from left, Bart Friedman, third from right, and Skip Blumberg, second from right, gathered in their Catskills town in 1973. Courtesy of Videofreex

Videofreex including Parry Teasdale and David Cort, fourth and fifth from left, Bart Friedman, third from right, and Skip Blumberg, second from right, gathered in their Catskills town in 1973.
Courtesy of Videofreex

Reading up on Videofreex’s history online, I realise their story is worth mentioning and actually worth doing a documentary about. Actually, there’s already a documentary about the Videofreex! Here’s the link if you want to know more about it! And here’s a review for the documentary by The Hollywood Reporter.
Anyway, let’s start knowing who are the Videofreex by watching the documentary titled ‘Here Comes The Videofreex’ Trailer!

To understand Lanesville TV, I feel that we need to look back briefly at their history. After CBS hire them to do a show on counterculture, they went on to video demonstrations and even interviews Fred Hampton of the Black Panthers! They went the opposite direction of commercial television and were ahead of their time and thats what make CBS reject the Videofreex. That is where they decided to start afresh by moving upstate into Lanesville, NY. Lanesville TV was born.

From left, Videofreex David Cort, Bart Friedman and Parry Teasdale filmed kids' programs and daily goings-on in 1973 at their Maple Tree Farm in Lanesville, N.Y. John Dominis/Courtesy of Videofreex

From left, Videofreex David Cort, Bart Friedman and Parry Teasdale filmed kids’ programs and daily goings-on in 1973 at their Maple Tree Farm in Lanesville, N.Y.
John Dominis/Courtesy of Videofreex

In a nutshell, Lanesville TV is believed to be the country’s first pirate television station. Using a transmitter, they were able to show videos they make to the public. Videofreex’s Bart Friedman remembers it as basically public access TV. This is huge actually! They have the power and technology to actually show things to the public! With huge responsibility, they did not disappoint.

“We got the kids to participate in the kids’ programs, we covered stocking of the stream, the firehouse, local residents, car accidents, gun club dinners, things like that,”

Bart Friedman (Videofreex).

Here’s a 6 minute sampler of Lanesville TV.

I found a video on youtube, showing full clips of their tv show.

Press Watch On Youtube! I particularly want to point out that they even use basic effect to enhance the viewing pleasure for the kids show, which I thought was pretty amazing in the 70s!

screenshot of Lanesville TV episodes.

screenshot of Lanesville TV episodes.

It would be amazing if the Videofreex were still active today and they will definitely participate in the NetArtizens Project. Videofreex’s vision for the world to see their own show was very forward looking but unfortunately, the internet wasn’t born yet during their time. I feel that given their restricted access to share their work, they did a pretty good job in making Lanesville TV happen. Imagine what Videofreex can do now with the Internet!

Skip Blumberg, Mary Curtis Ratcliff, Parry Teasdale, David Cort, Carol Vontobel, Davidson Gigliotti, Ann Woodward and Bart Friedman We’re All Videofreex: Changing Media & Social Change from Portapak to Smartphone Friday, April 5 2013

Skip Blumberg, Mary Curtis Ratcliff, Parry Teasdale, David Cort, Carol Vontobel, Davidson Gigliotti, Ann Woodward and Bart Friedman
We’re All Videofreex: Changing Media & Social Change from Portapak to Smartphone Friday, April 5 2013

I agree that the power of video is very much powerful. It doesn’t matter if its a short film, video art, internet tv or even videos on youtubes. With the help of the internet, videos are actually more powerful as they are able to reach the masses. Looking at Videofreex’s history and their project using videos, I am able to see that life doesn’t always have to be about commercialise like the NBC, CBS or ABC. It’s about pushing boundaries of what technology can do for us artists.

We strongly feel that the media arts have not fully embraced this potentiality, despite the progressive nature of the field.

-Catlow, R., Garrett M., Packer R., “The NetArtizens Project,” (2015)

There are currently full time bloggers out there who uses videos to actually share their life with their viewers/subscribers. They practically walk around town with their hands holding their digital cameras and talking to themselves. They will then upload it onto youtube and this make take a while before it reaches to their fans.

This is where the NetArtizens.tv might help them or even us. By doing real time ‘vlogging’ (video blogging), the interaction between the audience and the blogger will be an instant and using the internet as an engine to power up people’s stalking mode. Imagine, me, Kamarul, wearing a google glass, with a camera facing in front, walking and doing my normal routine day, and anyone is able to see what I see just by going to a website. Now that’s technology.

Research Critique Assignments: Yoko Ono: Cut Piece

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Cut Piece by Yoko Ono

To go straight ahead into critique Cut Piece and how it fits into the Collective Narrative, I have taken the summarize explanation of Cut Piece from the book of Art & Feminism for you to read and understand what Cut Piece is all about.

“In this performance Ono sat on a stage and invited the audience to approach her and cut away her clothing, so it gradually fell away from her body. Challenging the neutrality of the relationship between viewer and art object, Ono presented a situation in which the viewer was implicated in the potentially aggressive act of unveiling the female body, which served historically as one such ‘neutral’ and anonymous subject for art. Emphasizing the reciprocal way in which viewers and subjects become objects or each other, Cut Piece also demonstrates how viewing without responsibility has the potential to harm or even destroy the object of perception.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYJ3dPwa2tI

Yoko Ono is an important artist in the Fluxus art movement and  her work fits in the collective narrative model. I was lucky to be able to visit Yoko Ono: One Woman Show in MoMA when I was in New York 2 weeks ago.

https://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/1544IMG_2112

As the idea of The Collective Narrative is about social interaction and exchanges of conversation, ideas and information, I feel Cut Piece is a good example. Cut Piece does not work just by Yoko Ono, Cut Piece needed the audience participation in order for it to happen. However, as the idea of the collective narrative is more than just audience participation, it is also about sharing and exchanging of thoughts and hearing other people voices. In this case, Cut Piece does not comply with this. I personally feel that Cut Piece has only one voice and that is Yoko Ono’s. The audience participation only makes Yoko Ono’s voice heard louder. By allowing the audience to cut her dress bit by bit, she radically critique the role of women in society. But what if the audience do not want to get involved? Will the meaning of Cut Piece change then? I think the Cut Piece was force due to the fact that this performance need an audience participation. If nobody in the audience wants to cut Yoko Ono’s dress, then I think Cut Piece won’t be discussed much today. DSC08502 copy

As I was viewing the video at MoMA, there were a few crowd looking at the video of Cut Piece being projected onto the wall. As I already knew of Cut Piece, I briefly explained it to my girlfriend who is with me. Our attention was short as we need to cover more space within a short period of time. But I think we stayed for a good 30 seconds and I feel that is good enough for one to understand what Cut Piece is all about though.DSC08503 copy

Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece reminds me of Marina Abramovic’s Rhythm 0 where the audience are free to do whatever they want to Marina with the items that were available such as a loaded gun, knife, hammer, saw and there’s even a condom. Marina’s Rhythm 0 makes Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece seems so conservative and small though.

As audiences gets more brave with time through out both performances, things get escalated quickly. As Marina Abramovic isn’t worry about getting nude, Yoko Ono was holding her bra after an audience member cut her bra strap. This makes Yoko Ono more conservative unlike Marina. This means Yoko Ono is preventing full audience control of the performance.

In Summary, having a Collective Narrative concept in any art is important if the meaning involves other people’s participation, be it the result is exactly how one think it should be or not. Even though Cut Piece deserve some respect for its avant garde and a first of its kind during its time, Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece is actually thought provoking and it makes me wonder, what are the thoughts going through the audience mind when they are cutting Ono’s dress. Are they happy about able to keep a piece of history or are they just a representation of how men view woman as objects rather than subject.