X-Screen: Film Installations and Actions in the 1960s and 1970s

by Branden Joseph, Liz Kotz

For several years now, film and video have determined contemporary art and exhibitions on a scale unheard of since the 1960s and 1970s, but rarely have these roots themselves been explored. X-Screen presents a comprehensive historical analysis of expanded forms of filmic projection, arranging a complex constellation of films, performances, and installations according to three categories. First is an exploration of the expansion of the field of projection, understood as part of Happenings, as well as Fluxus and Pop performances. Work by Robert Whitman, Carolee Schneemann, and USCO is discussed. Second is an interrogation of the screen in terms of media analysis, anti-illusionism, or institutional critique in the context of Structural Film and Conceptual art. Film installations and multiple projections are especially relevant here, including work by Valie Export, Michael Snow, and Peter Weibel. And third is a consideration of post-minimalist explorations of the relationship between the media image and physical space, as seen in the work of Dan Graham, Bruce Nauman, Dennis Oppenheim, and others.

Genres: Film

216 pages, Paperback

First published May 2, 2004

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Branden Joseph is only one of the contributors to this stimulating book about film performance, expanded cinema and early installation art. His contribution on Warhol is actually one of the least interesting, but the book itself has top notch images and includes a very broad range of artists from the film/art spectrum.