Charles Atlas / Merce Cunningham
Stephen Beck
Forcefield
Maggie Lee
Chris Marker
Seasonal Affective culminates with a rare exhibition presentation of Coast Zone (1983), a video-dance collaboration between Merce Cunningham and Charles Atlas originally shot in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. A hypnotic meditation on camera movement and dance choreography, the film features a composition by Larry Austin performed by John Cage, Martin Kalve, Takehisa Kosugi and David Tudor, setting the dancers to minimalistic percussion and quiet voiceover repeating the word "discordance."
The acidic synaesthesia of Anima (1974) and Union (1975) by video synthesis pioneer Stephen Beck fuses generated video optics and corporeal forms to reflect on material and spiritual unification. A full collection of early videos by artist collective Forcefield, Forcefield Video Collection (1996-2000), further extends analog aesthetics into the realm of neo-primivitism and decrepit futurism, foregrounding costumed performers and non-human protagonists in hallucinatory scenes.
Maggie Lee’s feverish urban encounters in Fall NYC (2014) and Hand Dryer (2012) appear in contrast to selections from Chris Marker’s intimate Bestiare (1985-90) series, featuring his beloved cat Guillaume-en-Egypte and a beguiling owl in direct closeup view.
Organized by Howie Chen in collaboration with Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI) Produced by Jon Huron, 80WSE.
Special thanks to Rebecca Cleman, Executive Director, and Karl McCool, Distribution Director, at Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI)
Photos by Carter Seddon