Series: New Television
Program: New Television
Episode: 501
Date: 1988-01-01
Duration: 00:01:05

Subject: Travel
People: Kobland, Ken
Copyright Holder: Ken Kobland

Clip Description
Ken Kobland's "Berlin/Nilreb: Tourist Journal" depicts the city of Berlin, evoking the experience of the traveler and calling attention to the Berlin Wall, which was removed a year after this work was made. The video shows several events occurring in "real time," such as a film playing on an airplane, children playing soccer in a park, or a nude woman seen lying in bed as her image is reflected in a mirror. Street scenes of contemporary city life and architecture are incorporated with images from Walter Ruttman's 1927 film "Berlin: Symphony of a Great City." At one point, a speech John F. Kennedy gave in 1963 denouncing Berlin serves as a voiceover. The work ends with the clutter of a desk being cleared to reveal a miniature model of the Berlin Wall. Artificial snow falls, covering the model and the room that houses it.

Program Description
This episode of "New Television" features Ken Kobland's "Berlin/Nilreb: Tourist Journal" and Nancy Buchanan's "Sightlines."

"Berlin/Nilreb: Tourist Journal" depicts the city of Berlin, evoking the experience of the traveler and calling attention to the Berlin Wall, which was removed a year after this work was made. It is approximately 20 minutes in length. Produced by Ken Kobland. Copyright: Ken Kobland.

"Sightlines." addresses complacency and suffering, using the concept of sight as a departure point. This short piece is approximately eight minutes in length. Produced and edited by Nancy Buchanan. Copyright: Nancy Buchanan.

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/Berlin54.HTML