Exhibition dates subject to change.

This selection of videos is drawn from the Allen’s 1984 exhibition New Voices 4: Women and the Media, New Video, which was organized by the pioneering curator and scholar Bill Olander.

The political climate at the end of U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s first term converged with the rapid development and ubiquity of affordable video technologies. Women artists were leaders in harnessing the new media to critique mass media, surveillance, and American imperialism. These two videos engage with multiple forms of media: a Cuban soap opera, a variety show, propagandistic advertising, and news headlines. Amid Cold War tensions and the threat of nuclear attack, these artists highlight the role news outlets play in mediating national policy and geopolitical relationships.

This exhibition is presented in conjunction with The land is a being who remembers everything.

Images:

Nancy Buchanan (American, b. 1948), An End to All Our Dreams (still), 1982. Video (color, sound), 8 min. Special Acquisitions Fund, 1984.62.

Lyn Blumenthal (American, 1949–1988), Social Studies (still), 1983. Video (color, sound), 20 min. Special Exhibitions Fund, 1984.37.