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Selected Works: Reel 5

William Wegman

1974 00:30:20 United StatesEnglishB&WMono4:3

Description

A newly re-mastered collection of 17 vignettes and performances to camera, produced during 1974-75. Some use props and sight gags to preposterous effect; others star Man Ray, lapping milk from a glass, stopping marbles and dropping balls. Many of the pieces feature off-screen dialogue, including a comparison of the differences between audio- and videotape, and video and film.

Contents:

Nocturne, 7:49

Stalking, 2:06

Audio Tape and Video Tape, 2:04

Dancing Tape, 5:27

Hobo on Train, 0:52

Drinking Milk, 1:55

Copyright, 1:43

Buying a House, 1:00

Lerch Hairpieces, 0:19

Tammy and Can of Plums, 0:19

Loves Water, 0:43

Average Guy, 0:15

Newscast, 2:42

Marbles, 0:23

Ball Drop, 0:43

Treat Table, 0:38

Hey Roy, 0:40

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

About William Wegman

Born in 1943, William Wegman studied painting at Massachusetts College of Art and the University of Illinois, Urbana. He began producing short, performance-oriented videotapes in the early 1970s, which are considered classics. Many featured his canine companion, a Weimaraner named Man Ray. These tapes are dead pan parodies of "high art" using sight gags, minimalist performance, and understated humor.

Describing the process behind his tapes, Wegman says, "I present a situation and develop some kind of explanation around it. By the time the story is over you get to know why that particular prop or mannerism was displayed." Recorded as single takes in real time, Wegman used portable video's intimacy and low-tech immediacy to create idiosyncratic narrative comedy. Wegman was among a group of artists to produce work through WGBH's Television Lab. In recent years, Wegman has become famous for his hilarious and touching photographs of other Weimeraners who are Man Ray’s successors.