Experience: Video

Before all this technology stuff I did artwork "the old fashioned way".

In the early 70's that included advertising art, theatrical lighting and film animation.

Then I discovered video, and spent the rest of the 70's working with video and cable TV - mostly on community -oriented projects, art pieces and documentaries.

The page at right lists some of the things I did during this first period of my career. You can click on a couple of them for more detailed info.

The New Media Emerges (1972-1981)

Even before all this technology stuff my core abilities were as a graphic artist and educator. Early jobs (aside from restaurant worker, substitute teacher & cab driver) included commercial & advertising art and film animation. Then came video and cable TV - and I discovered interactivity.

The Medium is the Message

Hand-held video cameras (most notably the Sony PortaPak) first appeared on the scene in the early 70's. The timing couldn't be more perfect. This cheap, "luggable" video camera recorded grainy B&W video on reel-to-reel tape. A generation of self-styled "VideoFreaks" embraced the new technology as a tool for democratization, social activism and artistic expression. During this decade I produced advocacy documentaries, performed video art pieces - Sometimes I even got paid for working in the media.

Cable TV was originally just a convenient way to deliver decent reception of broadcast TV signals to out-of-the way places. It was also the leading edge of the movement towards interactivity in the home, the media empowerment of local communities and the deregulation of our dominant media monopolies. An interesting place to be in those early days.

Nice Work if You Can Get It

"Hair" (1971) Spotlight operator for the Amsterdam, Holland, production of the pop musical. Long hair. Lived on a houseboat. Wheeeeee!

Lisberger-Ladd Animation Studio (1973) Created animation snippets for "Make a Wish", a children's program that aired on ABC.

Instructional videos (1972-74) Directed & edited medical, dance, teaching and documentation videotapes for Tufts University, Boston University and MIT.

WGBH New Video Workshop (1973-74) Technical Director; creative productions with Paik-Abe videosynthesizer, assisted in arts productions field research for cross-cultural children's program.

Live Video & Dance Performances (1974) Worked with filmmaker Richard Leacock, video artist Anne McIntosh and a troupe of dancers and video artists at MIT and other places around Boston/Cambridge.

The Video Mirror Proposal (1975) I submitted a plan to use "bicycled" video messages as a way to help defuse the racial tension among area communities resulting from the court-ordered mandate to integrate the Boston school system by busing.

"The Politics of Frustration" (1975) Video documentary of my local community's struggle to take an active role in the development of it's cable TV system, which was a true "Cable Fable". My activism eventually resulted in my being selected by the local community's Cable Advisory Board to head the ...

Municipal Cable Project / Channel 84 (1975-76) Director of the first community-run municipal access cable channel in the United States in Somerville, MA.

"Sacramento Field: Where Will the Children Play?" (1976) Produced & directed a video documenting and promoting neighborhood design of a community park, funded by the Cambridge (MA) Arts Council and the "City Spirit" Program (National Endowment for the Arts).

MIT Arts Program (1976) Film Animation Assistant Instructor at the University Film Study Center workshops at Hampshire College, MA.

Graham Junior College (1977) Taught communications & video courses.

Participatory Design Conference (1977) Demonstrated how video could be used to assist in community advocacy and design at this conference at the University of California (Santa Cruz)

Automation House (1977-78) Staff position as the Lighting Director, Set Designer & Graphics person for a Madison Avenue video studio that produced local origination programming for Manhattan Cable TV. While there I helped establish the Municipal Access Cable Channel L in NYC.

Urban Homesteading (1977-78) Video documentation of community self-help groups in the NYC area who were doing "sweat equity" grassroots housing redevelopment of deteriorated community spaces (Loisaida, Harlem Renegades, Manhattan Valley Coalition, Banana Kelly). In cooperation with Pratt Institute Center for Community and Environmental Development.

Buckminster Fuller's Worldgame (1978-79) Produced multimedia documentation of 3-day international conference and workshop that focused on creating housing solutions.

Television News Research (1979-80) Director of editing and production of the Television News Talent Bank.

Bryant Park - Project for Public Spaces (1981) Directed on-site video research crew in redesign of the park behind the New York Public Library.