Series: Rockefeller Artists in Television
Program: 9/23
Date: 1969-01-01
Duration: 00:01:28

Subject: Television; Image-processed works
People: Barzyk, Fred; Paik, Nam June
Copyright Holder: Copyright holder is unidentified.

Clip Description
"9/23." is named after the day it was videotaped, 9/23/69. It showcases the effects of the Paik-Abe video synthesizer and manipulates "live" footage taped off a television monitor, pre-recorded footage, and images staged in the studio. These include images of well-known figures, the faces of Fred Barzyk and Olivia Tappan, and lit candles.

This short sequence from "9/23." features Fred Barzyk.

Program Description
This episode of "Rockefeller Artists in Television" features "9/23," an early experimental work by Nam June Paik, while a Rockefeller Artist-in-Residence at WGBH, using the Paik-Abe video synthesizer.

"9/23." was never broadcast in its entirety, although segments of it were used in later Paik works, most notably "Video Commune." Additionally, footage may have been used in Paik's "Suite 212" and his work at the Museum of Modern Art (New York) Machine Age show. Some of "9/23" was broadcast as part of a live taping of an episode of the WGBH program "Mixed Bag." This episode of "Mixed Bag" was taped at Brandeis University, in conjunction with an exhibit in the Rose Art Gallery there, entitled Vision and Television. Although no credit information is provided with the work, WGBH personnel involved in its creation included Olivia Tappan, Fred Barzyk, and David Atwood.

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/9328.HTML