Description
The television production Two Moon July was a multidisciplinary event that featured experimental video, film, visual art, performance and music in a theatrical framework. More than thirty artists participated in the program, which was produced for the Kitchen by Carlota Schoolman and directed by Tom Bowes. This production reflects a moment when art centers were experimenting with new modes of presenting the arts for television. The participating artists read like a "who's who" of 1980's downtown art icons. Short excerpts from video and film works (by artists including Vito Acconci, Dara Birnbaum, Bruce Connor and Bill Viola) are intercut with performances and art installations in the Kitchen's gallery spaces. Laurie Anderson performs Difficult Listening Hour, speaking through the male voice of her "Soul Doctor" character; Talking Heads' front man David Byrne is featured in the performance piece Report from L.A.; choreographer and dancer Bill T. Jones performs Inspiration to the accompaniment of John and Evan Lurie's music. Art works by '80s art stars Cindy Sherman, Robert Longo and Jonathan Borofsky are integral to the mise en scene, while music by downtown legends Brian Eno, Philip Glass and Arto Lindsay, among others, provides a running soundtrack.
Performances:
Laurie Anderson, Difficult Listening Hour; David Byrne, Report From L.A.; Molissa Fenley, Hemispheres; Philip Glass, Mad Rush; Bill T. Jones, Inspiration; Arto Lindsay, Tou De Pijama, Ash Get Off That Cigarette, Fui Luoco; Evan Lurie & John Lurie, Boating
Visual Art:
Jonathan Borofsky, Chattering Man, 1982 (sculpture); Brian Eno, Mistaken Memories of Mediaeval Manhattan, 1981 (video installation); Robert Longo, Men in the Cities, 1979-83 (lithographs); Cindy Sherman, Untitled (portraits)
Video Excerpts:
Vito Acconci, The Red Tapes, 1976; Laurie Anderson, Oh Superman, 1981; Michel Auder, Stories, Myths, Ironies and Songs, 1983; Dara Birnbaum, Damnation of Faust: Evocation, 1983; Kit Fitzgerald & John Sanborn, Olympic Fragments, 1980; George Lewis & Gregory Miller, Atlantic Bill Viola, Hatsu-Yume (First Dream), 1981.
Film:
Bruce Conner, America is Waiting, 1981; Eric Mitchell, Red Italy, 1979; Robert Longo, Iron Voices.
Music Excerpts:
Brian Eno, Mistaken Memories of Mediaeval Manhattan; Philip Glass, Facades; Arto Lindsay, Berberibe; Arto Lindsay and The Ambitious Lovers, Locus Covuleus.
Director: Tom Bowes. Producer: Carlota Schoolman. Camera: Ed Bowes. Lighting Director: Stan Pressner. Sound: Bob Bielecki, Connie Kieltyka. Editing: Tom Bowes, Steve Giuliano.
Associate Producers: Robin O'Hara, Mary Perillo. Assistant Director: Matthew Geller. Post Production Facilities: Broadway Video through the Media Alliance. Produced for The Kitchen by Carlota Schoolman. On-Line Program and Sync Sound, Inc.
Courtesy of The Kitchen Archives.
