Series: Rockefeller Artists in Television
Program: City Motion Space Game
Date: 1968-01-01
Duration: 00:01:10

Subject: Modern dance; Interviews
People: Feldhaus-Weber, Mary; Morris, John; Solomons, Gus, Jr.
Copyright Holder: Copyright holder is unidentified

Clip Description
In "City Motion Space Game," a double-channel work, choreographer Gus Solomons, Jr., provides narration and movement for a work created in collaboration with writer Mary Feldhaus-Weber and composer John Morris. Here Solomons is seen dancing in the WGBH studios.

Program Description
This episode of "Rockefeller Artists in Television" features "City Motion, Space Game," a collaborative work of choreographer Gus Solomans, Jr., writer Mary Feldhaus-Weber and composer John Morris.

In "City Motion Space Game," a double-channel work, choreographer Gus Solomons, Jr., provides narration and movement for a work created in collaboration with writer Mary Feldhaus-Weber and composer John Morris. Solomons is seen dancing at the Prudential Center, on Boston Common, and in the WGBH studios. When the two channels are viewed side by side, the movements and locations overlap to create a dense tapestry of associated images. Solomons' narration provides a backdrop to the movement. He describes his interest in dance and movement to the viewer and makes suggestions as to how to view the piece. "See what you are interested in looking at any given moment," he proposes. His tall, lanky frame alternates between everyday pedestrian movements and a technical dance vocabulary. In the studio he works with a complicated grid he has laid out on the floor. John Morris composed the sound score. Produced by Rick Hauser. Directed by Peter Downey.

The work was originally created when composer John Morris, writer Mary Feldhaus-Weber, and choreographer Gus Solomons, Jr. were all Rockefeller Artists-in-Television at WGBH. When the work was broadcast on channels 2 and 44, viewers were asked to take two television sets and place them side-by-side. "City Motion Space Game" was eventually rebroadcast as an episode of "Artist's Showcase."

The "Rockefeller Artists-in-Television" materials were created before the creation of the New Television Workshop. They were processed as part of this Collection because of their relationship to video art and experimental work.

The "Rockefeller Artists-in-Television" residency program was created to support artists working in television. Funded by the Rockefeller Foundation from 1967 through 1970, it was replaced by "The WGBH Project for New Television."

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/City250.HTML