Douglas Davis (1933-2014)
Video Against Video (1975)

1975, 28:50 min, b&w and color, sound

As deconstructions of the television viewing experience, Davis' early works exemplify the formal investigations pursued by the first generation of video artists. This anthology comprises Davis' pioneering work, which subverts assumptions of how time and space operate within the television frame. Breaking through television's "fourth wall," he interacts with the audience directly. An interview with Davis by Russell Connor is intercut with excerpts from the following works: The Santa Clara Tapes (1973), Numbers, A Videotape Event for the Boston Symphony Orchestra (1972), Studies in Black and White Videotape I (1971), Street Sentences (1972), Studies in Color Videotape II (1972), Talk-Out! (1972), Studies in Myself (1973), The Austrian Tapes (1974), The Florence Tapes (1974), and The Caracas Tapes (1975). Narration: Russell Connor. Produced by the TV Lab at WNET/Thirteen (VTR series). -- EAI

This title is available for exhibitions, screenings, and institutional use through Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), NY. Please visit the EAI Online Catalogue for further information about this artist and work. The EAI site offers extensive resources for curators, students, artists and educators, including: an in-depth guide to exhibiting, collecting, and preserving media art; A Kinetic History: The EAI Archives Online, a collection of essays, primary documents, and media charting EAI's 40-year history and the early years of the emergent video art scene; and expanded contextual and educational materials.