Series: Frames of Reference
Program: Dreamworks
Subject: Experimental films; Video art; Heat; Deserts
People: Viola, Bill

Clip Description
Filmed in extreme desert conditions "Event Horizon" looks at a landscape interrupted and transformed by visible signs of heat. The waviness blurs objects and figures, creating a mirage effect and rendering familiar objects unrecognizable. The work takes place in near silence, with the sound of wind dominating the score. The work is approximately seven and one-half minutes in length. Produced and directed by Bil Viola.

Program Description
This episode of "Frames of Reference" contains several video art works that evoke images of dreams or a dream state:
"37/73" by Richard Meyers
"Reverie" by Thomas Hilty
"Dream Moments" by Jerry Uelsmann
"Event Horizon" by Bill Viola

This episode of "Frames of Reference" contains a short excerpt from Richard Meyers film, "37/73"

In "The Reverie" moving images of human subjects overlap and dissolve with realistic black-and-white drawings depicting the same subjects.

In "Dream Moments" a figure walking across the beach is surrounded by manipulated backgrounds that dissolve into one another.

Bill Viola's "Event Horizon" looks at a landscape interrupted and transformed by visible signs of heat.

"Frames of Reference" was a series that began circa 1978. Half-hour shows were produced to showcase commissioned and already created works. It was around this time that the focus of the Workshop shifted, to concentrate more heavily on creating works for broadcast. During its time, "Frames of Reference" was the focus of the Workshop's national arts programming effort. The series ended circa 1983.

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/Event349.HTML