The Early Video Project

Interviews

Our interview project is ongoing. All the interviewees were active in the video world of the late sixties and early seventies. We have a projected list of over 60 interviews scheduled over the next year. As we transcribe them, we will publish them on this site. Our interviews are conversational in tone, wide-ranging, edited only for personal matters and rancor. We sometimes get a little off topic, but we usually return to the subject at hand. We hope, both the interviewees and myself, that the informality of our dialogues will reveal something of language and issues and mindset of the time period discussed. Also, we include here topical interviews from other sources as well as ourselves.

Shirley Clarke Interview by DeeDee Halleck

Halleck interviewed Shirley Clark at her home in the Chelsea Hotel in 1985. Ms. Halleck is currently engaged in a book project, the working title of which is: Hand Held Visions: The Uses of Community Media. It will be published by Fordham University Press.

John Reilly Interview: Part 1.

John Reilly was, with Rudi Stern and Ira Schneider, a founder of Global Village, a video collective and video school. Schneider left to join Raindance in December of 1969.

Rudi Stern Interview: Parts 1 & 2.

Rudi Stern came to video through light shows. With Jackie Cassen he operated the Theater of Light, which gave many peformances in New York and around the country. He joined Global Village in 1969 and left in 1972.

Les Levine Interview: Part 1.

Artist Les Levine began with video in 1964, and discusses early video, his views on video art, television and culture.

Peter Bradley Interview: Part 1.

Peter Bradley was head of Film, TV-Media, and Literature Department of the New York State Council on the Arts when it began its significant support of early video. It is not far fetched to call him the architect of video and video-art funding. Though he worked at NYSCA, his program was the model for many throughout the country.

Andy Mann Interview

Like many early video artists Andy Mann didn't do just one thing. He lugged and plugged at Global Village, handed out Portapaks at NYU, and was on hand participating in some interesting and seminal video events. In the meantime he produced some memorable video pieces. He was an excellent cameraman, capturing images, on occasion, that Antonioni would have been proud to call his own. He died of pancreatic cancer early in 2001.

 

To submit comments about this page contact: davidson@davidsonsfiles.org

© Davidson Gigliotti, 2000CE