Series: Frames of Reference
Program: Dreamworks
Date: 1974-01-01
Subject: Dreams; Magic; Interstellar travel; Memory
People: Meyers, Richard
Copyright Holder: Richard Meyers

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

In this black-and-white film, a young boy riding in the back of a car appears to fall into a dream state in which he is surrounded by older women and dancing showgirls. A magician appears, emphasizing the mysterious and surreal quality of the images. At one point the car floats in the air like a balloon, as people on the ground try to pull it down with ropes. A house is shown being demolished. As the images are repeated in new orders and with slight variation, they are recontextualized so that the narrative shifts continually. Produced and directed by Richard Meyers.

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/Double21.HTML