Ants at Automation House #5
Discussions about ants and the media at the opening of environmental artist Alan Sonfist’s exhibition “Army Ants: Patterns & Structures.”
Home » Posts tagged 'media'
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Nixon Resigns: The Legacy of Impeachment
August 8, 1974. It was a different world, a different president and an unprecedented American crisis. That was the night Richard Nixon sat in the Oval Office and made the surprise announcement that he was resigning as President of the United States. Some independent video producers obtained a videotape recorded in the moments before the speech. It was the European pool feed, never intended for broadcast: a rare glimpse into the curation and production of a president’s image. We think […]
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![[Howard Zinn raw #20: Zinn and Studs Terkel examine the state of news media]](https://development-q5nzhaa-ou7jifsrmm4uk.us.platform.sh/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/677967421_640-228x160.jpg)
[Howard Zinn raw #20: Zinn and Studs Terkel examine the state of news media]
Second half of a conversation between Howard Zinn and Studs Terkel in Berkeley, California. They discuss their careers, the difficulty of challenging political consensus in the United States, and field questions from audience members.
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Nixon resigns, August 8, 1974
Forty years ago today, Richard Nixon resigned as President of the United States. Millions tuned in to his televised address to see what Nixon had to say about his presidency and his reasons for resigning. What they didn’t see was the seven minutes of the television pool feed before Nixon went live. It’s a fascinating counterpoint to the gravity of the event and a unique look at Nixon’s mindset at this defining moment of his career. The video also includes […]
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Essential election viewing: Brian Springer’s Spin (1995)
In the early ’90s, media artist Brian Springer learned that, with a home satellite dish, it was possible to pick up and record the raw satellite feeds created by the TV networks. These parallel feeds included the behind-the-scenes signals sent to the TV shows’ control rooms but not intended for broadcast, such as talk show sets during commercial breaks or people waiting to be patched in to an interview with a news anchor. Springer recorded these feeds throughout the 1992 […]
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Media Burn by Ant Farm, 2003 edit
A recent edit (2003) of Ant Farm’s classic video art piece examining and satirizing the media, particularly the impact of television. On July 4, Independence Day, 1975, what a TV newscaster described as a “media circus” assembles at San Francisco’s Cow Palace Stadium. A pyramid of television sets are stacked, doused with kerosene, and set ablaze. Then a modified 1959 Cadillac El Dorado Biarritz, piloted by two drivers who are guided only by a video monitor between their bucket seats, smashes through the pyramid destroying the TV sets.
Preceding the event are clips from various TV news broadcasts that covered it (many of the TV reporters make the comment that they “didn’t get it”). The tape includes interviews with invited guests, a speech given by Doug Hall as President John F. Kennedy explaining the message of Media Burn, the dramatic unveiling of the Phantom Dream Car, several sequences of the car smashing through the TV sets, and its triumphant return from the end of the Cow Palace parking lot.
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Breaking Conventions
A documentary focusing on the demonstrations surrounding the 1996 Republican National Convention in San Diego, CA. Several segments covering demonstrations, both in support of and opposition to the Republican platform are covered with camcorders. Segments are separated by an intro from Pat Payne. Some demonstrations include: A Christian Coalition rally, a Union De Barrio (Hispanic rights group) rally, a biker rally in support of Bob Dole (1996 Republican Presidential Nominee), a Republicans for the Environment rally, a Republican for Choice march, and an anti-Pat Buchanan rally.
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War Goes Prime Time #1
A compilation of various news broadcasts from the night of January 16, 1991, the night the U.S. launched “Operation Desert Storm” against Iraq. Footage includes President George H.W. Bush’s address to the nation. Also, each network has several correspondents reporting from various U.S. and Middle Eastern Locations, including Baghdad. Most of this footage, although repetitive, is quite compelling. There are, however, some moments of complete absurdity when the reporters have nothing new to report.