Videofreex Archive
Videofreex, one of the first video collectives, was founded in 1969 by David Cort, Curtis Ratcliff and Parry Teasdale, after David and Parry met each other, video cameras in hand, at the Woodstock Music Festival. The group soon grew to ten full-time members--including Chuck Kennedy, Nancy Cain, Skip Blumberg, Davidson Gigliotti, Carol Vontobel, Bart Friedman and Ann Woodward--and produced tapes, installations and multimedia events. In 1971 the Freex moved to a 17-room, former boarding house called Maple Tree Farm in Lanesville, NY, operating one of the earliest media centers. Their innovative programming ranged from artists' tapes and performances to behind-the-scenes coverage of national politics and alternate culture. During the decade that the Freex were together, this pioneer video group amassed an archive of 1,500+ raw tapes and edits.
The Videofreex Archive, now housed at VDB, chronicles the counter-cultural movement of the 1960s and 1970s. The titles listed here are the early results of an ongoing project to preserve and digitize important examples of this early video art collective.
More About the Videofreex Archive Preservation
  Shot over one day, this program records the events and protests in Washington DC on May Day, 1971. This was the day when one of the most disruptive actions of the Vietnam War era occurred in Washington, DC, when thousands of anti-war activists...
Collection: Videofreex Archive, Early Video Art, Single Titles Tags: activism, city, documentation, film or videomaking, history |
A wonderful and humorous example of early image processing, Parry Teasdale and Carol Vontobel perform to camera as their faces are morphed together, forming an image of one person. The exercise is repeated by Nancy Cain and Bart Friedman as...
Collection: New Releases, Videofreex Archive, Single Titles Tags: art collective, film or videomaking, humor, image processing, performance, technology |
Taped on Prince Street in Soho, New York, Skip Blumberg creates a one-word performance. Shouting the word "Money" over and over, he attracts the attentions of New York's finest. The crew attempt to explain to the policemen that there...
Collection: New Releases, Videofreex Archive, Single Titles Tags: art collective, city, consumer culture, crime or violence, culture jamming, film or videomaking, performance, politics, technology, video history |
Footage of a May 1970 rally featuring political speakers, including members of the Black Panther Party. Abbie Hoffman talks about fighting imperialism at home, and the Chicago 7 Conspiracy Trial. As the crowd chants “Free Bobby Seale,” the...
Collection: Videofreex Archive, Early Video Art, Single Titles Tags: activism, documentation, history, politics, war |
The town of Lanesville, NY was home to the Videofreex for more than ten years, and their house was know as "Probably the World's Smallest TV Station." This overview details the regular activities of the collective and their work,...
Collection: New Releases, Videofreex Archive, Single Titles Tags: art collective, film or videomaking, humor, magic, technology, television, tv production, video history |
This tape, shot in April 1971, documents the making of a WNET/13 TV show about video collectives and how they use the new video technology.
Collection: Videofreex Archive, Early Video Art, Single Titles Tags: documentation, film or videomaking, future/technology, history, politics, television |
Shot by Mary Curtis Ratclif at the O.K. Harris Gallery on Prince and Green Streets, New York, this tape focuses on performer “Ricky Jay” as he performs card tricks at his magic table for an enthusiastic audience.
Collection: Videofreex Archive, Early Video Art, Single Titles Tags: dance, documentation, history, performance |
A look at the town of Rome N.Y., including an arts panel visit to the Art and Community Center.
Collection: New Releases, Videofreex Archive, Single Titles Tags: art collective, artist spaces, portrait |
In this spoof program produced for Lanesville TV, the premise is that a “Sheik” has come to buy all the land in Lanesville. Videofreex member Carol Vontobel reports that the sheik (Davidson Gigliotti), escorted by his real estate agent (Parry...
Collection: Videofreex Archive, Early Video Art, Single Titles Tags: history, humor, performance, tv production |
