The Vasulka Effect

The opening of The Vasulka Effect couldn’t be more apt: Steina Vasulka addresses her husband Woody through various TV screens. He does the same and replies. A perfect image of the relationship between the free-spirited, groundbreaking pioneers of video art. After meeting in Prague in the early 1960s, they relocated from Czechoslovakia to New York, where they later founded The Kitchen, their legendary art and performance gallery.

Now retired, living in Santa Fe and in huge debt, the Vasulkas seem largely forgotten by the contemporary art world. However, they are busy with their legacy: conserving and archiving their videos, in the same DIY fashion as before. Gunnarsdóttir’s documentary reveals the impact their experiments had. Judging from the current media landscape, it’s clear they were far ahead of their time in the 1960s. The renewed interest is more than deserved.

Trailer

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