Press Release

CHANNEL MIX: FILMS, VIDEOS, AND RELATED WORK 1968-1977

Nicole Klagsbrun is pleased to feature Keith Sonnier’s film, video and related work from 1968-1977. Primarily identified with the neon sculptures that he has been producing since 1968 Sonnier is less well-known as a pioneer in the field of video art tape production and video installation. Sonnier’s hybrid of performance, sculpture, computer technology, and film had resonance not only in the post minimalist atmosphere of the late sixties and early seventies but is also of significance today in the light of the recent video work produced by both emerging and established artists.

Sonnier’s early body of media work begins with tapes shot in his Chinatown studio with performers, musicians, and dancers moving through his first light pieces. Improvisational tapes like “Dis-Play” (1969) underlined the artist’s interest in the fact that projected, strobe, neon, and black light has on inanimate objects the art’s interest in the effect projected, strobe, neon, and black light has on inanimate objects and animate bodies. A sensual undercurrent is present in the works from this period and in the tapes that followed , such as “Painted Foot: Black Light: (1970) and “Color Wipe” (1973) which included formal experimentation with light and/or colour and continued Sonnier’s exploration of the process of transmission and reception.

In later work Sonnier embraced the high and technology available, integrating computer technology, radio and television broadcast and satellite transmission into works. The infusion of popular culture in the form of commercial television, radio, and cinema provides some of the sound and/or imagery for “T-Hybrid-V-I” (1971) and “TV In and TV Out” (1972), for example, while in computer-generated tapes like “Animation I” (1973) and “Animation II” (1974) Sonnier incorporated as many as seven different visual and audio tracks to create a video silkscreen or collage of overlapping sound and image.

During the exhibition eighteen of Sonnier’s film and video works will be projected large screen on one of the gallery’s walls. These works are also available for viewing individually on a monitor by request. In addition the gallery is also presenting photographs made from the film and videos as well as a series of small drawings from Sonnier’s sketchbooks illustrating both how to shoot the tapes and plans for the video installations he presented in the 1970s such as “Channel Mix” (1972) where four off-air TV signals were missed and shown in quadrophonic project.

The film and video screening component of the exhibition was curated by Dara Meyers-Kingsley, an independent curator and former director of the Film and Video Collections for the Andy Warhol Foundation. A special screening of selected film and video works with commentary by the artist and curator will take place Saturday April 19th at 3pm.