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Send/Receive I, and Send/Receive II

Liza Béar

1977 01:01:40 United StatesEnglishColorMono4:3Video

Description

A primer in satellite system operation, Send/Receive extends the critique of media as commodity by asking questions concerning the people's right to access satellites. The objective of Send/Receive was specifically to connect groups of artists on the East and West Coasts via public satellite, and it was the first artist-initiated project to do so.  Part I presents an in-depth study of the politics and possibilities of using satellite networks to establish a two-way communication system for public use, as opposed to the industry-driven, militaristic and mass media uses to which satellites are currently restricted. Part 2 excerpts a live satellite feed between New York City and San Francisco.

About Liza Béar

During t​he ​late​ 1970s Liza Béar created an intriguing body of work that focuse​d​ on communications issues — specifically the use of media and the disempowered role of the public in communications policy. Central to Béar's ​early ​work ​was​ a desire to tie the means of production (technology) to the reasons for production (​economic advantage, national ideology, etc.). While Béar's concerns ​have diversified, her approach is always personal and experimental — collapsing the norms of narrative and documentary, subjective authorship and objective document.