[-empyre-] from Peer Bode: bold electronic experimenters

Tue Sep 29 06:02:40 AEST 2015

Nam obviously was a good sleeper.

M.

On Mon, Sep 28, 2015 at 12:40 PM, peer bode <peerbode at hotmail.com> wrote:

> ----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------
> Nam June Paik commented that one of the actions he like to carry out in
> television studios,  was to lay down in front of the studio equipment and
> take a short nap. The purpose of which was answer the question,  who is the
> boss ?
>
> Nam June vacuumed in the ETC studio when Shuya Abe  was there with him
> working on building the Paik Abe Colorizer Synthesizer.  Shuya thought the
> studio was too dusty. David Jones should tell the story. At the ETC Hunter
> opening David added to the story of Nam Jun vacuuming by saying that Nam
> June had the vacuum cleaner on and running to sound like he as cleaning
> while in fact he was napping.
>
> Eating and sleeping with the machines is what we all did. It was, no
> doubt,  more important than we realized.
>
> Peer Bode
>
> > From: tcm1 at cornell.edu
> > To: empyre at lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au
> > Date: Mon, 28 Sep 2015 16:20:01 +0000
> > Subject: Re: [-empyre-] from Peer Bode: bold electronic experimenters
> >
> > ----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------
> > Following up on Maureen's recollections of Kuntzel's time at ETC, I asked
> > him a decade later what it was that he enjoyed about Ithaca (which is 20
> > miles north of Owego, the location of the ETC studio, and the site of
> many
> > restaurants and bars). He looked at me, baffled, and said, "what is
> > Ithaca?" All I wanted to do was remain in that loft where I could eat and
> > sleep with the machines!"
> >
> >
> > Timothy Murray
> > Professor of Comparative Literature and English
> > Taylor Family Director, Society for the Humanities
> > http://www.arts.cornell.edu/sochum/
> > Curator, Rose Goldsen Archive of New Media Art
> > http://goldsen.library.cornell.edu
> > A D White House
> > Cornell University,
> > Ithaca, New York 14853
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On 9/28/15 12:14 PM, "Turim,Maureen Cheryn" <mturim at ufl.edu> wrote:
> >
> > >----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------
> > >I love that Peer Bode remembered Thierry Kuntzel's visit to the ETC. I
> > >remember chats Thierry and I had about the difference in working at the
> > >ETC from that of working with the technicians at INA l'Institut National
> > >de l'audio-visuel) in Paris, when he was a fellow there. At INA the
> > >technical staff resisted any play with the image, and were hard to
> > >interest in the kind of experimentation he aimed to do. Deregulating
> > >their standard imagery registration was not part of their customary
> > >practice. So I know that his interaction with Peer was a pleasure for
> > >him.
> > >________________________________________
> > >From: empyre-bounces at lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au
> > ><empyre-bounces at lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au> on behalf of Timothy
> Conway
> > >Murray <tcm1 at cornell.edu>
> > >Sent: Sunday, September 27, 2015 7:23 PM
> > >To: soft_skinned_space
> > >Subject: [-empyre-] from Peer Bode: bold electronic experimenters
> > >
> > >----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------
> > >Hi, everyone, I am forwarding this posting from Peer Bode:
> > >
> > >
> > >The ETC allowed many of we next generation young artists to participate
> in
> > >the adventures of electronic video thinking and making. When I think of
> > >making work at the ETC, I come back to the notions of experimentation,
> > >process and performance. There were the array of evolving electronically
> > >modified and electronically designed and built tools handed over to each
> > >artist, commonly for five days, in a space and location that had great
> > >ambience of comfort and particularly in Owego, great natural beauty, the
> > >Susquehanna river etc. The artists were given a fast workshop in
> equipment
> > >and system details by myself and in later years by Hank Rudolph. They
> were
> > >then left alone to explore and work. I was taken by Kristin Lucas¹s
> > >comment of how many tapes and recording she had made at her ETC
> > >residencies. Multiply that by the number of artists who worked in the
> ETC
> > >studios and you begin to see the sheer enormous scale of work, now
> > >history, that was made at the ETC. That is a cultural heritage, a huge
> > >virtual archive across many artists.
> > >
> > >The thinking regarding my personal video work at the ETC goes something
> > >like this. There was electronic learning and experimenting, process and
> > >performance. Having studied the New American Cinema in Binghamton and
> also
> > >being inspired by the New Music richness, including electronic music,
> wow,
> > >that was internalized as an understanding, a striving and teasing out a
> > >set of electronic practices, atmospheres, certain qualities, textures,
> > >certain rhythms and durations Šparticular occurrences and discoveries Š
> > >ways of opening a thinking space, a kind of breathing, a speeding up and
> > >slowing down. There was this electronic vibratory easing, the moving
> image
> > >and sound going from glancing to a being sticky. The point being,
> reactive
> > >spaces, processes and dialogues. Reflective surfaces to see, to
> > >electronically re-network and to internally discover and reinforce.
> > >
> > >All of this was in combinations with linguistic concerns. They were both
> > >influences bumping up against each other. The linguistic together with
> the
> > >direct intangible states, realisms, materialisms and art. We also had
> > >artists Ralph Hocking, Larry Gotham, Ken Jacobs, the dance artists Arnie
> > >Zane, Bill T, Jones and Lois Welk and the writer and theorist Maureen
> > >Turim to spar with.
> > >
> > >The actual moving image and sound makers are in fact the great fans, the
> > >experimenters, the researchers of the electronic moments. Video artist
> > >Shegiko Kubota came to the ETC several times. I very much liked
> Shegiko¹s
> > >writings, including she writing that video was ³the vacation of art².
> And
> > >there was also ³video as the vengeance of the vagina². Video as a
> > >vacation of art Š interesting. In that vein, we are free, if only
> > >intermittently and yes heroically, free of arts historical and critical
> > >burdensŠ open spaces, a kind of freedom.
> > >
> > >As still a new form, even now, video and electronic arts are free to be
> > >used to experiment and work in those often contested strange and
> wonderful
> > >regions, those spaces and durations of the unassigned. The photographer,
> > >filmmaker, videomaker and digital artist Hollis Frampton also considered
> > >and speculated in these ideas. He, by the way taught, early in his
> career,
> > >at Hunter College. Hollis suggested in a moment of humbleness or not,
> > >that film art (the moving image and sound art) was superior as the
> single
> > >art that incorporated the codes of all the other arts AND that film art
> > >was 20 years ahead of the painting and sculpture arts. I still like his
> > >conceit. Maybe it is in fact 40 years, including the 20 years the
> > >electronic arts have lost using commercial software, that forever
> renewing
> > >commercial redesign product. As we get through this period and as
> hardware
> > >and software settles around useful structures and systems, (open sourceŠ
> > >new hardware instruments) interested people, young media artists, will
> > >move quickly and deeply into more personal investigations using
> electronic
> > >materials, tools, instruments, ideas and cultures.
> > >
> > >The years of my engagement with the facilities of the Experimental
> > >Television Center and the remarkable people guiding and participating in
> > >its adventure have convinced me of the importance of pushing back, of
> the
> > >value of alternative thinkings, practices and communities. Nicholas Ray
> > >had thoughts about alternative cultures. Nicolas Ray, American auteur
> film
> > >director, who we in Binghamton had the opportunity experience as
> filmmaker
> > >and mentor and who together with Binghamton film students made a multi
> > >image electronically inspired film had thoughts about alternative
> > >cultures. Nick made video synthesizer recordings at the ETC. The
> > >multi-frame narrative feature film ³We Can¹t Go Home Again² offered the
> > >suggestion for a 1970¹s generation of young people to ³find your
> > >communities and take care of each other.²Not bad. The film and the
> > >accompanying documentary film, ³Don¹t Expect Too Much²by Susan Ray is
> > >distributed by Oscilloscope films.
> > >
> > >The French theorist and artist Thierry Kunztel came to the ETC in Owego,
> > >via South America in 1981. In conversation I asked him if there was
> > >something singularly important that he learned studying with Christian
> > >Metz and Roland Barthes. His response was quick. He said it was the
> > >importance of making actual media image and sound work. Given that
> Thierry
> > >himself was such an important and celebrated writer, his comments
> > >concerning the importance of making media work was a surprise. I agreed
> > >with him. I would add on today Š make the media work and make the
> > >situations to see and hear and reflect on the media work. Look at the
> > >work. Listen to the work. Keep looking and listening to the work. Keep
> > >being in dialogue with the work.
> > >
> > >
> > >The ETC experience Š wow Š. Fortunately the ETC studio and programs¹
> > >closing have not put an end to it all. Although many of us are still
> > >trying to get over it. The Experimental Television¹s immediate
> > >organization children, the Institute for Electronic Arts (IEA) Alfred
> and
> > >Signal Culture, Owego continue the experimental electronic arts
> > >imagination and outreach today.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >Thank you Š Bests, Peer
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >_______________________________________________
> > >empyre forum
> > >empyre at lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au
> > >http://empyre.library.cornell.edu
> > >_______________________________________________
> > >empyre forum
> > >empyre at lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au
> > >http://empyre.library.cornell.edu
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > empyre forum
> > empyre at lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au
> > http://empyre.library.cornell.edu
>
> _______________________________________________
> empyre forum
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