Curatorial Quirks and the Camera Arts: 1981 Biennial Exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York Feb. 1 - April 5
Afterimage, Summer 1981, v. 9, no. 1 & 2, pp. 6-7
A review of the 1981 Biennial Exhibition at the Whitney. The author laments the orphan status of video and film art, which are included as their own self-contained categories rather than allowed to permeate the "areas of shared concern"(6) which encompass the other arts into areas of influence and dialogue. She applauds the Biennial for its large film and video programme, which is much more innovative than the inclusions in the staid, painterly photography section. Among the video work, she is struck by Bill Viola and Davidson Gigliotti, whose use of landscapes abstracted by environmental phenomena - heatwaves and distance, respectively - results in a portrait of place that "transcends the level of electronic imagery" (6), entrancing the viewer with images rather than dwelling on the medium. However, she is impressed by Gorewitz's rhythmic and colorized work for its ethereal portraits, emphasizing the diversity of the video art represented rather than a single trend.
ITEM 1981.052 – available for viewing in the Research Centre
Videos, Artworks and Artists Cited
Phase – James Byrne
Creation – Stan Brakhage
Journeys from Berlin/1971 – Yvonne Rainer
Grand Opera – James Benning
Gloria – Hollis Frampton
Magellan Cycle – Hollis Frampton
Other – Stan Brakhage
Circus Riders – Martha Haslanger
Eureka – Ernie Gehr
T.Z. – Robert Breeze
Lucifer Rising – Kenneth Anger
Painting Room Light – David Haxton
Episodic Generation – Paul Sharits
Aransas: Axis of Observation – Frank Gillette
In Real Time – Buky Schwartz
Chott el-Djerid (A Portrait in Light and Heat) – Bill Viola
After Montgolfier – Davidson Gigliotti
El Corandero – Shalom Gorewitz
Delta Visions – Shalom Gorewitz
Hearts – Barbara Buckner
Lake Placid 80 – Nam June Paik
Olympic Fragments – Kit Fitzgerald
Olympic Fragments – John Sanborn
Condom – Howard Fried