Series: New Television
Program: New Television
Episode: 411
Date: 1987-01-01
Subject: Birds
People: Ferran, Nicole; Matorin, Donna; Nance, Salandra M.; Pederson, Eric James; Wrinkle, Dana Maria
Copyright Holder: Donna Matorin

Clip Description
In the opening moments of this piece, a bird grasped by an outstretched hand flaps its wings in an attempt to fly away. In the ensuing montage that follows, images are repeated and reshuffled, taking on new meanings. A pregnant woman's body appears. A woman plays hide-and-seek with an infant. A man strokes a woman's shoulders and she opens her fist to reveal an animal's tooth. Clothes are hung on a line to dry. A hawk trapped indoors flaps wildly at a window. A child's hand is thrust into a tank containing a sea anemone, the tentacles of which curl around her fingers. A man cuts a child" fingernails, which begin to bleed. A loose relationship is suggested between the children and animals depicted. The work is approximately 14 minutes long.

Program Description
This episode of "New Television" features "Sombra a Sombra" by Daniel Reeves and "Quickening" by Donna Matorin.

In "Sombra a Sombra" the poems of Cesar Vallejo are read by Juan Downey to create a moody, evocative work. Copyright: Daniel Reeves and Shakti Productions.

Donna Matorin's "Quickening" juxtaposes images of birds and humans to suggest a loose relationship between the children and animals depicted in the piece. Copyright: Donna Matorin.

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/Quickening132.HTML