CCS Bard Archives
Center for Curatorial Studies
Bard College
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504
Phone: 845.758.7567
Fax: 845.758.2442
Email: [email protected]
Guide to the Annina Nosei Collection of "Discussions" recordings
MSS.015
Published in 2019
© CCS Bard Archives
Table of Contents
Summary Description
- Repository
- Center for Curatorial Studies Library & Archives
- Creator
- Weber, Annina Nosei
- Title
- Annina Nosei Collection of "Discussions" Recordings
- ID
- MSS.015
- Date [inclusive]
- 9 May 1977- 20 May 1977
- Extent
- 1 Linear Foot, 19 audio and video recordings
- Language
- English
- Author
- Hannah Mandel, Collection processed by Ann Butler and Hannah Mandel.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); Annina Nosei Collection of "Discussions" Recordings; MSS.015; Box 1; [component identification number], Center for Curatorial Studies Library and Archives, Bard College.
Biographical / Historical
The Annina Nosei Collection of "Discussions" Recordings is comprised of audiovisual material related to the 1977 exhibition and performance event "Discussions," held at various locations on the campus of New York University, Washington Square from May 9th to May 20th, 1977.
"Discussions" was organized by curator, gallerist and art historian Annina Nosei. Nosei was born in Rome, Italy, and received doctorates in literature and philosophy from the University of Rome. In 1964, Nosei was the recipient a Fulbright fellowship to study and teach in the United States, where she taught at several universities including the University of Michigan, UCLA, and the School of Visual Arts. In 1980, Nosei opened her eponymous gallery in the SoHo section of Manhattan. In 1995, Annina Nosei Gallery moved to Chelsea, where it remained until its closing in 2005. During the gallery's tenure, Nosei exhibited a diverse group of modern and contemporary artists, and was notably the first art dealer to represent Jean-Michel Basquiat, from 1981-1983.
In the accompanying book for the exhibition "Discussions", Nosei describes the participants as "artists who utilize the medium and technique of linguistic discourse in various ways,"(1) further defining the practice as "the direct application of the oral faculty in conversation or argumentation as the basis of artistic activity."(2) Nosei envisioned the works in the exhibition subverting a preconceived divide between dialogue, discussion and art.
Nine artists, poets, critical theorists and collectives contributed work for the exhibition: Willoughby Sharp with Joseph Beuys; Lucio Pozzi; International Local (Sarah Charlesworth, Joseph Kosuth and Anthony McCall); Victor Burgin and Tom Wolf; David Antin; Carolee Schneemann; Giuseppe Chiari; Ian Wilson; and Robert Ashley. A chronological breakdown of each participant's contribution to the exhibition follows:
May 9th, 1977, Loeb Student Center: Willoughby Sharp with Joseph Beuys' "Public Dialogue"
The first discussion involved a screening on a monitor in the exhibition space of Joseph Beuys' 1974 lecture, "Public Dialogue", which originally occurred at the New School for Social Research. The poet Willoughby Sharp performed during the screening, and presented a personal dialogue over the track of Beuys' talk.
May 10th 1977, Lassman Hall: Lucio Pozzi, "A Continuous Discussion"
Italian artist Lucio Pozzi's discussion took the form a four-hour experimental performance. Unbeknownst to his audience, changes in the artist's speech patterns and physical movements were determined by a pre-established code that utilized the objects in his surrounding installation.
May 10th-14th, 1977, Loeb Student Center: International Local (Sarah Charlesworth, Joseph Kosuth, Anthony McCall), four-channel video installation of discussion
The artist collective International Local presented a video installation of a pre-recorded discussion amongst the three group members. The discussion focused on the role of television in American media culture, and was installed as four T.V. monitors in the exhibition space. Each monitor showed one individual in the group talking, while the remaining fourth monitor played clips from network television.
May 10th-13th, 1977, Loeb Student Center: Victor Burgin interviewed by Tom Wolf, video recording
Artist and theorist Victor Burgin's discussion was presented as a videotape in the exhibition space. The discussion was an interview with Burgin by the art historian Tom Wolf, which was produced by Paul Tschinkel's Inner-Tube, a public access T.V. program.
May 13th, 1977, Lassman Hall: David Antin, "The Currency of the Country" Artist and poet David Antin presented a poetic lecture as discussion, employing humor, free association and improvisation. Antin told a metaphorical story about the concept of currency from a lectern in the exhibition space.
May 14th, 1977, Loeb Student Center: Carolee Schneemann, "ABC- We Print Anything- In the Cards" Artist Carolee Schneemann presented her multimedia performance work "ABC- We Print Anything- In the Cards." The piece involved the artist in costume in front of the audience, reading brief sentences and paragraphs off multicolored cards. The cards corresponded to personal conversations from the artist's past, regarding her relationships with two men she identified as "A" and "B". A slideshow of projected images that figuratively related to each card played behind Schneemann's performance.
May 17th, 1977, Lassman Hall: Giuseppe Chiari, "Discussion"
Italian Fluxus artist, musician and theorist Giuseppe Chiari's discussion took the visual form of a press conference-like event, with the artist and Nosei, acting as his translator, seated at a table facing the audience. Chiari asked the audience to address him with any question, on any topic. Towards the end of the performance, Chiari switched the script and turned his own questions on individuals in the audience.
May 18th-19th, 1977: Ian Wilson
Artist Ian Wilson's discussions were held in New York University classrooms, over two multi-hour sessions. They were philosophical in nature and focused on many esoteric questions on truth and the nature of the student-teacher relationship.
May 20th, 1977, Lassman Hall: Robert Ashley, "Over the telephone: My brother called me and asked me to go to the cafe across the street from his apartment and call this number and describe everybody that went in and out. He sounded scared"
The final discussion in the exhibition was by artist Robert Ashley. The work consisted of an extensive installation of stacked newspapers in the exhibition space, and a spotlit telephone connected to a speaker. Ashley called the telephone from his apartment and began a dialogue using indecipherable language, interspersed with Latin American music and sounds from a television. After 40 minutes, a frustrated audience member hung up the phone, ending the performance.
1. Nosei Weber, Annina, Discussion (New York: Out of London Press, 1980), 11.
2. Nosei Weber, Annina, Discussion (New York: Out of London Press, 1980), 11.
Scope and Contents
The Annina Nosei collection of "Discussions" recordings is comprised of nineteen pieces of audiovisual media, including ten ½ inch open reel tapes; two videocassette tapes; and seven audio cassette tapes. One of the ½ inch open reel tapes (015.003) was delivered to the CCS Library and Archives as a blank tape. In 2019, the analog media was digitized. The corresponding digital files are available to researchers and reflected in the "Access" series of the collection.
The content of the media includes individual audio and visual recordings of a selection of discussions that were part of the exhibition, including those by Carolee Schneemann; Giuseppe Chiari; Willoughby Sharp and Joseph Beuys; Lucio Pozzi; Victor Burgin and Tom Wolf; David Antin, and International Local. Additionally, the collection contains an individual video recording of art historian Peter Frank discussing and "augmenting" David Antin's "Discussions" performance.
The collection also includes four video "compilations." These are versions of the same final distributed documentation recording of "Discussions", directed by Annina Nosei and produced by Paul Michael Shavelson. The compilation tapes include video recordings of performances, as well as still images, and descriptions of the works in the exhibition that were not recorded via audio or video.
Information for Users
Publication Information
Center for Curatorial Studies Library & Archives
Bard College
Annandale-on-Hudson 12504-5000
[email protected]
URL: https://ccs.bard.edu/research-center/
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open to researchers without restrictions. Appointments are necessary to consult manuscript and archival materials. Access copies for media materials may not be available yet. Please contact the CCS Archivist for further details.
Use Restrictions
Collection use is subject to all copyright laws. Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Director of the Library & Archives at the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College. Please contact [email protected] for more information.
Provenance
The Annina Nosei Collection of "Discussions" Recordings was donated to the Center for Curatorial Studies Archives in 2016 by Annina Nosei.
Controlled Access Headings
Corporate Name(s)
- New York University (New York, N.Y.)
Genre(s)
- Audiocassettes
- Videocassettes
- Videotapes
Personal Name(s)
- Antin, David, 1932-2016
- Ashley, Robert, 1930-2014
- Beuys, Joseph, 1921-1986
- Burgin, Victor, 1941-
- Charlesworth, Sarah, 1947-2013
- Chiari, Giuseppe, 1926-2007
- Frank, Peter, 1950-
- Kosuth, Joseph, 1945-
- McCall, Anthony, 1946-
- Pozzi, Lucio, 1935-
- Schneemann, Carolee 1939-
- Sharp, Willoughby, 1936-2008
- Weber, Annina Nosei
- Wilson, Ian, 1940-
- Wolf, Tom M.
Subject(s)
- Art -- 20th century -- Exhibitions
- Art -- New York (State) -- New York -- Exhibitions
- Conceptual art
- Conceptual art -- Exhibitions
- Performance art
- Video installations (Art)
Contents List
Original Media |
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| box | ||||
|
015.001 |
1 | |||
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015.002 |
1 | |||
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015.003 |
1 | |||
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015.004 |
1 | |||
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015.005 |
1 | |||
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015.006 |
1 | |||
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015.007 |
1 | |||
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015.008 |
1 | |||
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015.009 |
1 | |||
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015.010 |
1 | |||
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015.011 |
1 | |||
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015.012 |
1 | |||
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015.013 |
1 | |||
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015.014 |
1 | |||
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015.015 |
1 | |||
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015.016 |
1 | |||
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015.017 |
1 | |||
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015.018 |
1 | |||
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015.019 |
1 | |||
Access Copies |
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015.001_a |
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015.002_a |
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015.004_a |
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015.005_a |
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015.006_a |
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015.007_a |
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015.008_a |
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015.009_a |
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015.010_a |
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015.011_a |
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015.012_a |
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015.013_A_a, 015.013_B_a |
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015.014_A_a, 015.014_B_a |
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015.015_A_a, 015.015_B_a |
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015.016_A_a, 015.016_B_a |
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015.017_A_a, 015.017_B_a |
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015.018_A_a, 015.018_B_a |
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015.019_A_a, 015.019_B_a |
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