Extending the exhibition beyond the walls of the gallery, a screening at Lightbox Film Center (3701 Chestnut Street) will consider the legacy of television personality Ernie Kovacs (whose first appearances were on NBC’s Philadelphia affiliate) within a larger context of artists making work for or about broadcast, from performative interventions to critiques of representation within mass media. This screening program will include works by Alex Bag, Dara Birnbaum, Jaime Davidovich, Ulysses Jenkins, Jayson Musson, Cynthia Maughan, Name June Paik, Sondra Perry, Stan VanDerBeek and William Wegman.
This event is free and open to the public; register here.
Broadcasting: EAI at ICA brings together an intergenerational group of artists whose time-based artworks are produced in concert with their means of circulation, from the democratic platform of public access television to the instantaneity of social media. Founded in 1971, Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI) was one of the first nonprofit organizations dedicated to the advocacy for and development of video as an art form, providing a crucial space of production and distribution for figures such as Nam June Paik and Joan Jonas. Drawing on EAI’s extraordinary archive, and building upon ICA’s history of engagement with media art, Broadcasting will foster a dialogue between early innovators and contemporary practitioners through an installation, screenings, and series of live events. Featuring works by artists including Robert Beck, Tony Cokes, Ulysses Jenkins, JODI, Shigeko Kubota, Kristin Lucas, and TVTV the exhibition will focus on how artists exploit the act of “broadcast” as a subject, as a means of intervention, and as a form of participation across a variety of displays.