Pryings

This extraordinary performance carries a wealth of associative meanings in the sexual dynamics of privacy and power-man and woman pitted against each other in a struggle for mental and physical control.

"In Pryings, one of his earliest and least verbal tapes, the artist is seen trying to force open and gain entry into any and all of the orifices of a woman's face.This extraordinary performance carries a wealth of associative meanings in the sexual dynamics of privacy and power—man and woman pitted against each other in a struggle for mental and physical control. "In Pryings, one of his earliest and least verbal tapes, the artist is seen trying to force open and gain entry into any and all of the orifices of a woman's face. His persistence outlasts the running time of the tape, as does the persistence of the woman under attack, who manages to persevere in her attempt to guard her metaphysical privacy." —David Ross, "A Provisional Overview of Artists' Television in the US," Studio International 191 (May/June 1976)

This title was in the original Castelli-Sonnabend video art collection.