About Media

Anthony Ramos

1977, 25 min, color, sound

Ramos' astute deconstruction of television news focuses on the media coverage of President Jimmy Carter's 1977 declaration of amnesty for Vietnam War draft resisters, and his personal involvement with the issue. Ramos, who had served an eighteen-month prison sentence for draft resistence, was...

Nor Was This All By Any Means

Anthony Ramos

1978, 24 min, color, sound

In this densely layered work, Ramos explores his cultural and personal heritage through a collage of recorded and appropriated footage. Juxtaposing African and American landscapes, personal and media imagery, he traces a spiritual and physical journey that moves from Harlem to Goree Island, Cape...

Plastic Bag Tie-Up

Anthony Ramos

1972, 21:16 min, b&w, sound

In this harrowing performance, Ramos and the artist Lowell Darling are blindfolded, their hands and feet bound, and sealed into body-sized plastic bags. Over the course of 20 minutes, the men struggle to escape from the clear plastic bags. The real-time performance creates a palpable tension as the men writhe inside the bags. Ramos performed this piece at Cal Arts, shortly after he had been released from federal prison, where he had served 18 months for draft resistance during the Vietnam War.