Bryan Konefsky
Interview Archive
The criticism of the mass media of television, film and video that had been emerging since the 1960s formed the precondition for the expansion of cinematic forms and, in particular, an artistic approach to video and television technology. The theoretical foundation for this movement is, among other things, the book "Expanded Cinema" by the American thinker Gene Youngblood, published in 1970 and still significant today. Artists and theorists who were influenced by their encounters with Gene Youngblood, and who equally influenced Gene Youngblood's thinking, were interviewed by Bryan Konefsky between 2007 and 2022 and recorded on 55 mini-DV tapes. He likewise interviewed Gene Youngblood until shortly before his death. The resulting interview archive uses contemporary witnesses to portray Youngblood as an influential thinker, as well as the dawn of video art.
Bryan Konefsky on his remeeting with Gene Youngblood:
„(...) I first heard the name Gene Youngblood in 1977 when I was a student enrolled in a video art class taught by legendary media artist Shalom Gorewitz. Shalom introduced me to Youngblood’s iconic text, Expanded Cinema. Thirteen years after my first encounter with Youngblood’s work, I moved to New Mexico with high hopes of meeting Gene and his colleagues, Woody and Steina Vasulka. Gene and I became great friends until his death on April 6, 2021 just hours after what was to be our last visit.Gene’s longtime friendships with cultural “movers and shakers” such as The Vasulkas, Kit Galloway and Sherri Rabinowitz, Sandra Lischi, Steve Benedict and Buckminster Fuller all shaped Gene’s thinking and writing in profound ways. At a certain point, I decided that it might be interesting to create a searchable archive that would include some of these important cultural thinkers and practitioners and record their thoughts on Gene and his scholarly research. I began this project in November 2007, first interviewing film artist Peter Hutton. By the time I completed this project in 2022, I had collected more than 50 interviews that represented a remarkably diverse group of individuals, all of whom had been touched by Gene, a “cultural journalist” according to Peter Weibel, in his recorded conversation.The taped conversations included in my project vary quite a bit. Some are longer and more in depth than others. Some were recorded specifically to help raise funds to develop the archive, and some, such as the three hour conversation I recorded with Gene, provides viewers with a unique insight into how this important cultural thinker interpreted the world. (...)“
The full essay can be found here: LINK
The following artists and theorists are featured:
Adriano Apra, Larry Cuba, Bart Weiss, Peter Hutton, Craig Baldwin, Lynn Hershman, Steve Seid, Jane Veeder, George Stoney, Gerard Malanga, Greg Palast, Don Foresta, Richard Lowenberg, Steina and Woody Vasulka, Bill Viola, Jonas Mekas, Howard Guttenplan, Chrissie Isles, Allegra Fuller, George Kuchar, Matt McCormick, Jennifer Steinkamp, John Handhardt, Peter Weibel, Sandra Lischi, Marita Sturgeon, David Barsamian, Jerry West, Steve Benedict, Ulysses Jenkins, Kit Galloway/Sherrie Rabinowitz, Michael Naimark, Dario Evola, Dominique Noguez, Hubertus Von Amelunxen, Marco Gazzano, Scott Stark, Rick Prelinger, Mort Subotnick/Joan La Barbara, Ed Schlosberg, Alexei Dmitriev, Chip Lord, Gene Youngblood, D. Andres Denegri, E. Kenny Youngblood, F. Caroline Jones, Caroline Koebel, H. Bruno Clarke
If you would like access to all the interviews contact: sammlung-und-archive@zkm.de
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