Cathode Ray Tube Projections - Science Matters September at Rooftop Reds
Inside screens of all kinds, from computers to televisions, is a device that has two oppositely charged poles. Out of one of these poles shoots electrons–which have a negative charge and repel towards the opposing anode–onto a glass wall; the electrons scan across the glass surface to create the visible image. The cathode ray tube was used from the 1920s until the adoption of digital technology. As with all new technologies, artists were interested. In 1966, electrical engineer Billy Klüver and multi-media artist Robert Rauschenberg founded a matchmaking service called Experiments in Art and Technology to pair artists interested in sound, light, and movement with engineers in order to create new work.
The collaboration could "work both ways. Artists' projects could stimulate the engineer in new ways of looking at technology and influence technical development in the future," Klüver wrote in 2001. Meanwhile, artists could create work that could not be realized without using the technology.
Masterful artists such as Stan Vanderbeek, Joan Jonas, and David Tudor participated in Experiments in Art and Technology. These artists' use of the cathode ray tube contributed to their status as pioneers of media art.
On September 20, Sonia Epstein and Imagine Science Films will present a program centered on an animated film by Experiments in Art and Technology co-founder Billy Klüver, made as his graduation thesis from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm in 1951. The program will be introduced by television historian Mark Schubin and Julie Martin, director of E.A.T.
Motion of Electrons in Electric and Magnetic Fields, by Billy Klüver, 1951. 15 min.
David Tudor's Bandoneon Factorial, by Julie Martin, 1966. 15 min.
Poemfield 2, by Stan VanDerBeek, 1966. 5 min.
Organic Honey's Visual Telepathy, by Joan Jonas, 1972. 17 min.
Symmetricks, by Stan VanDerBeek, 1972. 6 min.
Tickets: $9 online, $15 at the door
Wednesday, September 20
Doors: 6pm
Program: 7pm
Rooftop Reds
Brooklyn Navy Yards
Enter at 299 Sands Street
The collaboration could "work both ways. Artists' projects could stimulate the engineer in new ways of looking at technology and influence technical development in the future," Klüver wrote in 2001. Meanwhile, artists could create work that could not be realized without using the technology.
Masterful artists such as Stan Vanderbeek, Joan Jonas, and David Tudor participated in Experiments in Art and Technology. These artists' use of the cathode ray tube contributed to their status as pioneers of media art.
On September 20, Sonia Epstein and Imagine Science Films will present a program centered on an animated film by Experiments in Art and Technology co-founder Billy Klüver, made as his graduation thesis from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm in 1951. The program will be introduced by television historian Mark Schubin and Julie Martin, director of E.A.T.
Motion of Electrons in Electric and Magnetic Fields, by Billy Klüver, 1951. 15 min.
David Tudor's Bandoneon Factorial, by Julie Martin, 1966. 15 min.
Poemfield 2, by Stan VanDerBeek, 1966. 5 min.
Organic Honey's Visual Telepathy, by Joan Jonas, 1972. 17 min.
Symmetricks, by Stan VanDerBeek, 1972. 6 min.
Tickets: $9 online, $15 at the door
Wednesday, September 20
Doors: 6pm
Program: 7pm
Rooftop Reds
Brooklyn Navy Yards
Enter at 299 Sands Street
