An exhibition of eight video artworks,
each of which subjects a particular song to a wild but discerning transformation.Let it be
Steina and Woody Vasulka
USA, single channel video (1970)
This early appropriation of a pop song was part of the artists' ongoing explorations of the relationship between sound and the electronic image. Lips, teeth and spit trace the words to the Beatles' song in an extreme close-up of a performance by Steina. The mime takes on an aggressive edge as the words of the popular anthem to spiritual serenity are almost literally chewed up and spit out.
Steina and Woody Vasulka. Steina was born in Iceland and trained as a musician. Woody was born in what is now the Czech Repulic and trained as an engineer. They met in Prague in the early 1960s and moved to New York City where they pioneered the use of video as an artistic medium and influenced the development of the aesthetics of electronic art. They founded the Kitchen in 1971. Their work has shown internationally and be recognized by National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Guggenheim Foundation, American Film Institute (with a Maya Deren Award in 1992) and the Siemens Foundation (with a Media Art Prize in 1995).
