Inflatables Illustrated

1971-2003, 21:20 min, b&w and color, sound

In the late 1960s and early '70s, the Ant Farm collective pioneered the idea of "inflatable" structures as alternative architecture. Inflatables Illustrated offers a visual primer on how Ant Farm prepared and constructed their utopian, experimental inflatable-plastic architecture. Objects such as "The 50x50 Foot Pillow," "Spare Tire Inflatable" and "Clean Air Pod" are examples of the group's notion of an architectural practice that was less about pneumatic structure than it was about interactivity and ephemerality. This tape is a corollary to Ant Farm's seminal 1969 publication The Inflatocookbook (now out of print), a "do-it-yourself" guide to inflatable architecture. Both the book and the tape can be seen as early examples of what is now termed "open source"; through collective practice, Ant Farm was interested in providing widespread access to their artistic concepts.

Eye: A.R. Hand: Curt-tek. Mouth: Doug. Heart: Judi. Produced by Allen Rucker and Curtis Schreier. Featuring: Curtis Schreier. With: Judi Boshes, Joe Hall, W. Douglas Hurr, Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez, Doug Michaels, Dan Newman, Andy Shapiro, Media Access Center. 16 mm: Kelly Glager. Re-edited and refined by Chip Lord, 2003.