Perception
Launched as EAI's pilot program by Steina
and Woody
Vasulka, Eric
Siegel, and Vince Novak in 1971, Perception was an ad-hoc
artist's collective that explored the language and ecology of video
as a form of art and communication. Conducting research and experiments
in areas such as biofeedback and electronic image generation, Perception
served as a ŅlaboratoryÓ for other important media art projects; its
activities and participants were associated with The
Kitchen, a new space for electronic art and music in New York.
Woody Vasulka, a Czech ˇmigrˇ and artist, was the director of the
group, and Siegel, the young engineer and artist, was the Technical
Director. PerceptionÕs activities, largely funded by the
New
York State Council on the Arts, took place in the artists' own
studios and at The Kitchen. Initially conceived as an “electronic
image workshop” with “a view towards integrating the medium
into the overall ecology of information-exchange,” the activities
of Perception ultimately evolved from informal and exploratory meetings
into more organized performances. Video works produced by its members,
who included Juan
Downey, Frank
Gillette, Beryl Korot, Andy Mann, and Ira
Schneider, were screened at small Ōshow-and-tellÕ sessions and
presented together in The KitchenÕs Annual Video Festival on May 13,
1973. |