Series: Contemporary Art Television (CAT) Fund
Program: Irony
Date: 1985-01-01
Subject: Motion pictures; Drama

Clip Description
"Irony," 1985, by Ken Feingold, was made in association with The Contemporary Art Television (CAT) Fund. Though ultimately fictional, "Irony" includes scenes where characters talk directly to the camera as if being interviewed. These layered scenes are interspersed with footage shot during travels in India, which include documentation of a film shoot in the desert (featuring brightly costumed Indian dancers) and villagers looking into the camera. Two female characters emerge as director/filmmaker figures, and seem to mirror or double each other, sometimes sharing dialogue. The suggestion that develops is that "Irony" is a film about the making of a film that is about a woman and the making of a film. In addition to examining the process of filmmaking, the work looks at the translation or representation of experience, especially the experience of travel. At one point, one of the directors/filmmakers says, "How she [the character in the film] follows these threads is our story -- the story of a woman in between things." Music was created by Ratso Harris.

The Contemporary Art Television (CAT) Fund was a joint venture between Boston's Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) and WGBH's New Television Workshop. Funding came from the Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities' New Works program in 1983. Co-directors were WGBH's Susan Dowling (New Television Workshop Director, 1982-1993), and David Ross (ICA Director). Kathy Rae Huffman served as curator and producer. The Fund's primary objective was to award money to video artists for new works. The goals were to foster excellence in the exploration of television as a creative medium, broaden video arts international audience through broadcast and gallery exhibition, and increase revenues for artists from the distribution of their works in all markets. Many of the works were broadcast as part of "New Television," and appeared in festivals worldwide. The Fund was also used to sponsor international symposia among curators, distributors, and producers to help promote the growth of video art. In 1990, the ICA assumed full sponsorship of the Fund, where it continued for another year.

Program Description
"Irony," 1985, by Ken Feingold, was made in association with The Contemporary Art Television (CAT) Fund. Though ultimately fictional, "Irony" includes scenes where characters talk directly to the camera as if being interviewed. These layered scenes are interspersed with footage shot during travels in India, which include documentation of a film shoot in the desert (featuring brightly costumed Indian dancers) and villagers looking into the camera. Two female characters emerge as director/filmmaker figures, and seem to mirror or double each other, sometimes sharing dialogue. The suggestion that develops is that "Irony" is a film about the making of a film that is about a woman and the making of a film. In addition to examining the process of filmmaking, the work looks at the translation or representation of experience, especially the experience of travel. At one point, one of the directors/filmmakers says, "How she [the character in the film] follows these threads is our story -- the story of a woman in between things." Music was created by Ratso Harris.

The Contemporary Art Television (CAT) Fund was a joint venture between Boston's Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) and WGBH's New Television Workshop. Funding came from the Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities' New Works program in 1983. Co-directors were WGBH's Susan Dowling (New Television Workshop Director, 1982-1993), and David Ross (ICA Director). Kathy Rae Huffman served as curator and producer. The Fund's primary objective was to award money to video artists for new works. The goals were to foster excellence in the exploration of television as a creative medium, broaden video arts international audience through broadcast and gallery exhibition, and increase revenues for artists from the distribution of their works in all markets. Many of the works were broadcast as part of "New Television," and appeared in festivals worldwide. The Fund was also used to sponsor international symposia among curators, distributors, and producers to help promote the growth of video art. In 1990, the ICA assumed full sponsorship of the Fund, where it continued for another year.

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/Irony7.HTML