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.

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Videofreex Shirley Clarke and the... 1971 \| 16:18 Parry Teasdale, David Cort and Chuck Kennedy visit The Kitchen in New York looking for Shirley Clarke, and bump into Steina and Woody Vasulka who are overseeing a show in progress. A few doors down they find Shirley in her studio, dressed... Collection: New Releases, Videofreex Archive, Single Titles Tags: art collective, artist spaces, city, experimental film, film or videomaking, future/technology, video history	Videofreex Soup in Cup 1972 \| 04:40 A Japanese Kabuki-influenced performance piece, shot in the woods in Winter. A masked woman emerges from a snowy forest and approaches a stone dwelling, where another woman is waiting. The pair enact a tea ceremony in silence. ... Collection: New Releases, Videofreex Archive, Single Titles Tags: art collective, film or videomaking, image processing, performance, ritual	Videofreex Subject to Change 1969 \| 1:18:35 In early 1969, inspired by the raw energy of their Woodstock tapes, a CBS television executive named Don West commissioned the nascent Videofreex collective to produce a new kind of TV program with "contemporary relevancy" to be aimed at the... Collection: New Releases, Videofreex Archive, Single Titles Tags: art collective, film or videomaking, television, video history
Videofreex Sybil 1970 \| 03:25 Nancy Cain interviews an upside down chin face about Women's Liberation, asking "Where do you stand on the subject?" The chin face professes to be happy with her lot, and says she enjoys living alone with her cat. This video was shot... Collection: New Releases, Videofreex Archive, Single Titles Tags: art collective, body, feminism, gender, humor, performance	Videofreex Trashing and Gassing in... 1972 \| 33:00 This tape was shot in August 1972 by the same crew that had convened for pioneer video collective TVTV’s (Top Value Television) project Four More Years. Videotaped at the 1972 Republican Convention, it begins with the cameraman taping... Collection: Videofreex Archive, Single Titles Tags: activism, crime or violence, documentation, film or videomaking, history, media analysis, politics, television	Videofreex Tuned In, Turned On! ... 2011 \| 1:12:07 Formed in 1969 at the legendary Woodstock Music Festival by David Cort and Parry Teasdale, who met while taping the events with the newly available Portapak video equipment, the Videofreex (also known as "the Freex") were one of the very first... Collection: New Releases, Single Artist Compilations, Videofreex Archive, Early Video Art Tags: activism, african-american, art collective, body, chicago art, consumer culture, feminism, film or videomaking, image processing, performance, race, state, the, technology, television, video history
Videofreex Women's Lib... 1970 \| 23:30 Ten thousand women marched down New York's Fifth Avenue on August 26th, 1970, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment, which granted women the right to vote. The march was part of a "Women's Strike for Equality"... Collection: Videofreex Archive, Early Video Art, Single Titles Tags: activism, documentation, feminism, film or videomaking, gender, history, labor	Videofreex Women's Lib... 1970 \| 1:08:40 This video, shot in March 1970, contains raw footage from a Women’s Liberation event and discussion that took place in an art space. The tape begins with shots of the crowd mingling while music and speeches are heard in the background. Speakers... Collection: Videofreex Archive, Early Video Art, Single Titles Tags: activism, documentation, feminism, gender, health, history	Videofreex Women's Lib Rally 1970 \| 1:09:00 This video consists of raw footage from a Women’s Liberation Rally in New York City, shot on March 7th 1970, in celebration of International Women's Day. The first two thirds of the piece consist of footage of the crowd and speakers. Many... Collection: Videofreex Archive, Early Video Art, Single Titles Tags: activism, documentation, feminism, gender, history

Videofreex Shirley Clarke and the... 1971 \| 16:18 Parry Teasdale, David Cort and Chuck Kennedy visit The Kitchen in New York looking for Shirley Clarke, and bump into Steina and Woody Vasulka who are overseeing a show in progress. A few doors down they find Shirley in her studio, dressed... Collection: New Releases, Videofreex Archive, Single Titles Tags: art collective, artist spaces, city, experimental film, film or videomaking, future/technology, video history	Videofreex Soup in Cup 1972 \| 04:40 A Japanese Kabuki-influenced performance piece, shot in the woods in Winter. A masked woman emerges from a snowy forest and approaches a stone dwelling, where another woman is waiting. The pair enact a tea ceremony in silence. ... Collection: New Releases, Videofreex Archive, Single Titles Tags: art collective, film or videomaking, image processing, performance, ritual	Videofreex Subject to Change 1969 \| 1:18:35 In early 1969, inspired by the raw energy of their Woodstock tapes, a CBS television executive named Don West commissioned the nascent Videofreex collective to produce a new kind of TV program with "contemporary relevancy" to be aimed at the... Collection: New Releases, Videofreex Archive, Single Titles Tags: art collective, film or videomaking, television, video history
Videofreex Sybil 1970 \| 03:25 Nancy Cain interviews an upside down chin face about Women's Liberation, asking "Where do you stand on the subject?" The chin face professes to be happy with her lot, and says she enjoys living alone with her cat. This video was shot... Collection: New Releases, Videofreex Archive, Single Titles Tags: art collective, body, feminism, gender, humor, performance	Videofreex Trashing and Gassing in... 1972 \| 33:00 This tape was shot in August 1972 by the same crew that had convened for pioneer video collective TVTV’s (Top Value Television) project Four More Years. Videotaped at the 1972 Republican Convention, it begins with the cameraman taping... Collection: Videofreex Archive, Single Titles Tags: activism, crime or violence, documentation, film or videomaking, history, media analysis, politics, television	Videofreex Tuned In, Turned On! ... 2011 \| 1:12:07 Formed in 1969 at the legendary Woodstock Music Festival by David Cort and Parry Teasdale, who met while taping the events with the newly available Portapak video equipment, the Videofreex (also known as "the Freex") were one of the very first... Collection: New Releases, Single Artist Compilations, Videofreex Archive, Early Video Art Tags: activism, african-american, art collective, body, chicago art, consumer culture, feminism, film or videomaking, image processing, performance, race, state, the, technology, television, video history
Videofreex Women's Lib... 1970 \| 23:30 Ten thousand women marched down New York's Fifth Avenue on August 26th, 1970, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment, which granted women the right to vote. The march was part of a "Women's Strike for Equality"... Collection: Videofreex Archive, Early Video Art, Single Titles Tags: activism, documentation, feminism, film or videomaking, gender, history, labor	Videofreex Women's Lib... 1970 \| 1:08:40 This video, shot in March 1970, contains raw footage from a Women’s Liberation event and discussion that took place in an art space. The tape begins with shots of the crowd mingling while music and speeches are heard in the background. Speakers... Collection: Videofreex Archive, Early Video Art, Single Titles Tags: activism, documentation, feminism, gender, health, history	Videofreex Women's Lib Rally 1970 \| 1:09:00 This video consists of raw footage from a Women’s Liberation Rally in New York City, shot on March 7th 1970, in celebration of International Women's Day. The first two thirds of the piece consist of footage of the crowd and speakers. Many... Collection: Videofreex Archive, Early Video Art, Single Titles Tags: activism, documentation, feminism, gender, history

Videofreex Archive

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