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EAI VIDEO PROJECT SPACE AT X: SEPTEMBER VITO ACCONCI FEATURE LENGTHS THE RED TAPES September 9-19, 2009 MY WORD September 23 - October 3, 2009 Wednesday - Sunday, 11 am - 6 pm EAI Video Project Space X Initiative 548 West 22nd Street, Ground Floor New York, NY 10011 www.eai.org Admission free EAI is pleased to present two seminal but rarely screened feature-length works from the 1970s by Vito Acconci: The Red Tapes (1977) and My Word (1973-74). The Red Tapes is a three-part epic that is a key work in video art history. My Word is a feature-length silent film that is unique in Acconci's artistic practice. This September, visitors to the EAI Video Project Space at X will have the opportunity to engage with these complex and absorbing works in an intimate screening environment. ___________________________________ September 9-19, 2009 THE RED TAPES 1977, 141:27 min, b&w, sound In this three-part work, Acconci maps a topography of the self within a cultural and social context, exploring identity through history, cultural artifacts and language. Stating that the work moves "from Vito Acconci to a larger Americanism, between a psychological personal space and a cultural personal space," Acconci constructs a dense amalgam of narrative strategies, photographic images, music, performance and spoken text. Designed originally for video projection, The Red Tapes merges video space (the close-up) with filmic space (landscape). In Tape 1: Common Knowledge, Acconci focuses on representation and self, with a narrative that takes the form of a mystery. Tape 2: Local Color is essayistic and analytical; architectural and sculptural spaces become manifestations of the psychological. In Tape 3: Time Lag, Acconci and actors act out a "rehearsal of America." ___________________________________ September 23 - October 3, 2009 MY WORD 1973-74, 91:30 min, color, silent, Super 8 film on video In this feature-length silent film, Acconci uses hand-written title cards to present an "interior monologue" about speaking, language and silence. The written text alternates with images of Acconci, alone in the interior of an urban loft or on a rooftop, with the skyline of downtown New York as a backdrop. Acconci’s metaphorical landscape of isolation visually resonates in the text, in which he directly addresses several different women by name, alluding to their relationships with him. The women's identities seem mutable; they are consigned to silence. Suggesting the unstable nature of subjectivity that is explored in his early works, Acconci ultimately appears to be "speaking" to himself. ___________________________________ EAI at X Initiative EAI presents a series of public programs at X, the not-for-profit, temporary exhibition space located in Manhattan's West Chelsea neighborhood. The EAI Video Project Space, located on the ground floor of X, features a curated exhibition program of artists' video from EAI’s major collection of media artworks. Highlighting a multi-generational, multi-disciplinary range of artists and practices, EAI's programs at X bring new works by emerging artists into dialogue with rarely seen historical treasures from the EAI archives. X is located at 542 West 22nd Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues. http://x-initiative.org/ ___________________________________ About EAI Founded in 1971, Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI) is one of the world's leading nonprofit resources for video art. A pioneering advocate for media art and artists, EAI's core program is the distribution and preservation of a major collection of over 3,500 new and historical media works by artists. EAI fosters the creation, exhibition, distribution and preservation of video art and digital art. EAI's activities include a preservation program, viewing access, educational services, extensive online resources, and public programs such as artists' talks, exhibitions and panels. The Online Catalogue is a comprehensive resource on the artists and works in the EAI collection, and also features extensive materials on exhibiting, collecting and preserving media art: www.eai.org Electronic Arts Intermix 535 West 22nd Street, 5th Floor New York, NY 10011 (212) 337-0680 tel (212) 337-0679 fax info@eai.org |