Vital Signals
Japanese & American Video Art from the 1960s & ‘70s

Screenings at 2 PM, 5:45 PM and 8:30 PM
Artist Discussion at 7:30PM

Co-presented with     (Electronic Arts Intermix)

As part of 

Vital Signals, a program of early video art from America and Japan, highlights the significant parallel developments in these countries during the 1960s and ‘70s. Co-presented with EAI, the leading international resource for video and media art, the three-part screening program brings together rarely screened and seminal video art works, and includes a special discussion with artist Takahiko Iimura and American video artist Mary Lucier.

Open Television 2–4 pm
The new medium of video and its inherent accessibility changed the way artists approached the mov­ing image and spurred the growth of communities. The artists presented in this screening saw video as a way to directly engage with culture. This pro­gram includes work by Nam June Paik, Jud Yalkut, Toshio Matsumoto, Fujiko Nakaya, Chris Burden, TVTV, Saburo Muraoka, Tatsuo Kawaguchi, Keiji Uematsu, Ko Nakajima, Shirley Clark, Video Earth and Video Information Center.

The Language of Technology 5:45–7:15 pm
This section highlights early examples of video art that explored technical developments such as electronic image manipulation and instantaneous play­back. Artists include Nam June Paik, CTG, Gary Hill, Toshio Matsumoto, Katsuhiro Yamaguchi, Keigo Yamamoto, James Byrne, Takahiko Iimura, Kohei Ando and Morihiro Wada.

Artist Discussion 7:30–8:15 pm
With Takahiko Iimura and American video artist Mary Lucier, moderated by Barbara London, Curator of Video and Digital Media, Museum of Modern Art.

Body Acts 8:30–10:30 pm
The artists featured in Body Acts use video technology to experiment with physical and emotional gesture in performative works created for the camera. Artists include Joan Jonas, Takahiko Iimura, James Byrne, Norio Imai, William Wegman, Katsuhiro Yamaguchi, Ante Bozanich, Mako Idemitsu, Paul McCarthy, John Baldessari, Hakudo Kobayashi, Mobuhiro Kawanaka and Vito Acconci.

TICKETS
For one video screening (includes discussion):
$10/$8 Japan society members

All-Day Pass (reentry permitted):
$20/$15 Japan society members

Buy Tickets Online or please call the Japan Society Box Office at (212) 715-1258, Mon. – Fri. 11 am – 6 pm, Weekends 11 am – 5 pm.

Admission to the 7:30 pm Artist Discussion is included with any purchase.

Part of the
Fall 2009 Performing Arts Season: Japan Transatlantic: Tokio-Berlin.

   (November 1–22, 2009) is the third edition of the internationally acclaimed biennial of new visual art performance presented by Performa, a non-profit multidisciplinary arts organization dedicated to exploring the critical role of live performance in the history of 20th-century art and to encouraging new directions in performance for the 21st century.

   Founded in 1971, Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI) is the leading nonprofit resource for video art. EAI’s core program is the international distribution of a major collection of over 3,500 new and historical media works by artists. EAI fosters the creation, exhibition, distribution and preservation of video art and digital art. www.eai.org

Special thanks to JVC Professional Video Products Division for their support and provision of the BR-HD50 ProHD VTR.