IAP Film Screening: The Vasulka Effect

January 8, 2025
Screening
MIT Community
Three videos are shown in a gallery space. At center, a distorted image of a‬ ‭ person playing the violin is projected on the wall: the bow is curved and the person‬ ‭ indistinct, hinting at its electronic manipulation. At right, a flat monitor shows an image of‬ ‭ an older woman against a yellow background; portions of the background show through‬ ‭the face. At right, a boxy video monitor sits on a stand.‬ ‭

Exhibition view: Steina: Playback , MIT List Visual Arts Center, 2024. Photo: Dario Lasagni

Location
Bartos Theatre 20 Ames Street, Bldg. E15 Atrium level Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
Day & Time
Admission
Free, but registration required.
Register

Join MIT List Visual Arts Center for a screening of The Vasulka Effect (2019), a documentary portraying the life and work of pioneers in video art, Steina and Woody Vasulka.

Upon escape from Czechoslovakia during the Soviet invasion, the artists found refuge in New York City. There, they founded the legendary art and performance gallery, The Kitchen. Their groundbreaking installations were at the heart of New York’s art scene in the 1960s, where they shared wild nights with the likes of Andy Warhol, Laurie Anderson, Nam June Paik, and Candy Darling. Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdóttir’s intimate portrait reintroduces the Vasulkas for a new generation, as the couple, now retired in Santa Fe, reckon with age, mortality, debt, and the future of their artistic archive.

This film screening is in conjunction with Steina: Playback and has a run time of 85 minutes.

6:00 PM Pizza
6:30 PM Film start time

This program is part of the Independent Activities Period (IAP), a special four-week term at MIT. IAP 2025 begins on Monday, January 6, 2025, and ends on Friday, January 31, 2025. Guests from outside the MIT community are welcome to attend all in-person events.

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