Series: New Television
Program: New Television
Episode: 408
Date: 1987-01-01
Subject: Interviews; Self-portraits; Williams, Emmett
People: Adams, Katrin; Blum, Eberhard; Chopin, Henri; Frei, Marlene; Godard, Keith; Green, Peter; Lehman, Anne Holyoke; Logue, Joan; Noel, Ann; Pretzell, Agnes; Pretzell, Rainer; Ruhm, Gerhard; Schon, Eva-Marie; Wasmuth, Tom; Whitfield, Laurence
Copyright Holder: Joan Logue

Clip Description
Documentary-style piece featuring associates of artist Emmett Williams, speaking about their personal recollections of him. Speakers are shown in extreme close-up. Some of the speakers' stories are left unfinished. Digital effects are used with some of the speakers. Shots of a hotel worker delivering food occasionally are placed between the speakers, with subtitles showing what time the room service was delivered. Shot during the International Seminar on the Arts, Warsaw, Poland, May 23-30, 1987. A self-portrait drawing by Emmett Williams is shown at the beginning and the end of work. Williams is shown after the final speaker, though he does not speak himself. Approximately 23 minutes in length.

Program Description
This episode of "New Television" features "The Kissing Booth," "Portraits of a Friend by Friends: Emmett Williams," and "Within Dialogue: Silence."

"The Kissing Booth" features four celebrities discuss kissing, romance, and love. Copyright: Co-Directions, Inc.

"Portraits of a Friend by Friends: Emmett Williams," features associates of artist Emmett Williams giving their recollections of him. Copyright: Joan Logue.

"Within Dialogue: Silence" is a short video piece exploring silence and the banality of words. Copyright: Susan C. Rynard.

Series Description
The New Television Workshop originated at WGBH, a public broadcasting station in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1974 to support the creation and development of experimental video art. This experimental programming included dance, drama, music, performance and visual arts on video and film. As early as 1968, WGBH was committed to the development of video art through residency programs, with artists such as Nam June Paik, and the "Rockefeller Artists-in-Television" project. Many of these early works (pre-1974) were broadcast both locally and nationally.

As an umbrella for arts related programming, the Workshop included "Artist's Showcase, " "Frames of Reference, " "Dance for Camera, " "Poetry Breaks," and "New Television," as well as acquired arts programming. Individual works were created for "Visions," a series produced by WNET (New York), and "Alive From Off Center," a series produced by KTCA (St. Paul - Minneapolis). The Contemporary Art Television (CAT) Fund was co-founded by the Workshop and Boston's Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) in the 1980's, to commission works by video artists. In 1993 the Workshop ceased production at WGBH.

See also: http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/NTW/FA/TITLES/Portrait95.HTML