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.
Send/Receive I, and Send/Receive II
Liza Béar
1977 01:01:40 United StatesEnglishColorMono4:3VideoDescription
About Liza Béar
During the late 1970s Liza Béar created an intriguing body of work that focused 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.