Urban Episodes

Shot in downtown Minneapolis in 1980, Urban Episodes is part of the Machine Vision series, Steina’s ongoing investigation of the intersection of mechanical systems and the electronic image. Ordinarily, the camera view is associated with the human viewpoint, paying attention to the human condition which surrounds it. In this series, by constructing rotating devices with cameras, prisms, and mirrors, Steina redefines that idea of space, situating the camera as part of a larger machine, controlled by the mechanized decision making of instruments. The movements and gaze of the camera are directed toward its own non-human, mechanical viewpoints.