Finding Aid to the National Center for Experiments in Television Records, 1967-1975, 1998-2003 PFA.MSS.001
Jocelyn Saidenberg
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
BAMPFA Film Library
Title: National Center for Experiments in Television records, 1967-1975, 1998-2003
creator:
National Center for Experiments in Television
creator:
KQED-TV (Television station : San Francisco, Calif.)
creator:
Beck, Stephen, 1950-
creator:
Hallock, Don
creator:
Howard, Brice
creator:
Sears, Loren
creator:
Kyger, Joanne
creator:
Olson, Charles, 1910-1970
Identifier/Call Number: PFA.MSS.001
Physical Description:
2 storage cartons
2.5 linear ft.
Date (inclusive): 1967-1975, 1998-2003
Language of Material: Collection materials are in English
Physical Location: UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive Film Library and Study Center
Conditions Governing Access
The Collection is open for research.
Accruals
Accruals are not expected.
Biographical / Historical
The National Center for Experiments in Television (NCET) was an unusual artists' research center initially affiliated with
San Francisco's public television station, KQED. Initiated in 1967, the NCET sought an answer to a simple but hitherto overlooked
question: Can artists work with the medium of television? Under the guidance of director Brice Howard, the NCET developed
the concept of "videospace," an expressive realm that shunned the conventions of theater and cinema. In videospace, the electron
served as raw material, and the monitor's surface of phosphors as a lively canvas. In 1975, the NCET closed its doors due
to lack of financial support, leaving behind a groundbreaking body of works that redirected video technology toward unconventional
visual modes. NCET members, artists from various disciplines including composers, visual artists, writers, choreographers
and others, collaborated to create explorations in the artistic possibilities of television. They created approximately 120
videoworks and approximately 15 research papers dealing with aesthetic concerns that had important political and social implications,
making connections among the disparate fields of psychology, social anthropology and moving image making. Several of the members
participated in the Television: Art and Technology Meeting in Asilomar, California in 1973 where they presented papers.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], National Center for the Experiments in Television recorcds.[PFA-MSS-001]. UC Berkeley Art Museum
and Pacific Film Archive, University of California, Berkeley.
Scope and Contents
This collection comprises reports, researchpapers, correspondence, artist files, meeting transcripts, and other papers relating
to the National Center for Experiments in Television. Also contains secondary source materials and materials relating to the
BAMPFA exhibition about the NCET, Videoscape, in 2000.
Separated Materials
All videocassettes from the collection have been separated to the BAMPFA film and video collection. Posters relating to the
collection are included in the BAMPFA Film Library and Study Center's poster collection.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. Literary rights are
retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Head of
the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive Film Library and Study Center.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Experimental films--United States
Video art--California
National Center for Experiments in Television
National Center for Experiments in Television
KQED-TV (Television station : San Francisco, Calif.)
Beck, Stephen, 1950-
Hallock, Don
Howard, Brice
Sears, Loren
Kyger, Joanne
Olson, Charles, 1910-1970
Series 1. Correspondence
1969-1975, undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Scope and Contents
This series comprises correspondence materials written by members of the NCET and others closely related. Included are lengthy,
significiant letters from Brice Howard.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Howard, Brice
Box 1, Folder 1
General correspondence
1969-1975, undated
Physical Description: 1 Folder
Series 2. Publications
1970-1973, undated
Physical Description: 12 folders
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by author.
Scope and Contents
This series contains publications, research papers and reports written by members of the NCET and their colleagues. Their
research relates to issues about the communication, television and artistic production and their social and political implications.
Box 1, Folder 2
Beck, S. Direct video: electronic art form for color television. San Francisco: NCET.
Beck, S. (1971). Operating notes direct video instrument #1 prototype. San Francisco: NCET.
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 3
Duckler, M. Talking faces, eating time, and electronic catharsis. San Francisco: NCET.
1973
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 4
Gwin, W. Video feedback: How to make it; an artist's comments on its use; a system approach. San Francisco: NCET.
Gwin, W. (1973). Reflections on two media. San Francisco: NCET.
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 5
Howard, B. About television reality and performance. San Francisco: NCET.
Howard, B. An ancient gift. San Francisco: NCET.
Howard, B. and Kaplan, G. Research Plans. San Francisco: NCET.
1970, undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 6, Folder 7
Howard, B. Videospace. (Unpublished draft).
1968
Physical Description: 2 folders
Box 1, Folder 8
Kaplan, G. Innovations in television. San Francisco: NCET.
1972
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 9
Kaufman, P. (1972). Reflections on the values in public television and their relationship to political and organizational
life. San Francisco:NCET.
Kaufman, P. (1973). Television and reality: A report from the Television: Art and Information Meeting. San Francisco: NCET.
1972-1973
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 10
Moore, R.O. (1973). Communication, organization and John Stuart Mill. San Francisco: NCET.
1973
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 11
National Center for Experiments in Television. (1970). What's happening at the center: A report on current activities at the
National Center for Experiments for Television. San Francisco: NCET.
1970
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 12
Stephens, R. and Hallock, D.(1973). Suggestions toward a small video facility. San Francisco: NCET.
1973
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 13
Templeton, L.W., Hallock, D., Stephens, R., and Turner, A. (undated). A video facility for artistic use: Design philosophy
and a description of components. San Francisco: NCET.
Physical Description: 1 folder
Series 3. Artist Papers
1968-1988, undated
Physical Description: 2 folders
Arrangement
Arranged by artist name.
Scope and Contents
This series comprises papers from three artists who participated in the NCET programs: Joanne Kyger, William Rosenquist, and
Loren Sears. Included are resumes, notes, news clippings, and a facsimile of Joanne Kyger's poem, "Places to Go[,]" published
in 1970 by Black Sparrow Press.
Box 1, Folder 14
Joanne Kyger and Loren Sears
1968-1970, undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 15
William Rosenquist
1968-1988, undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Series 4. Meeting Transcripts
1967-1968, undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Scope and Contents
This series comprises a small and incomplete sample of NCET technical meetings. Included are transcriptions of meetings that
involved many of original members of the NCET, notably Charles Olson and Joanne Kyger.
Box 1, Folder 16
Meeting Transcripts
1967-1968, undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Series 5. Reviews and clippings
1968-1987
Physical Description: 1 folder
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Scope and Contents
This series comprises newspaper and magazine articles written about NCET projects and participants.
Box 1, Folder 17
Reviews, articles and news clippings
1968-1987
Physical Description: 1 folder
Series 6. Ephemera
1970-1975, undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Scope and Contents
This series comprises posters, pamphlets and other ephemera items from the collection. Other posters from the collection have
been separated and are part of the BAMPFA poster collectionholdings.
Box 1, Folder 18
Ephemera
1970-1975, undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Series 7. Press Releases
1970-1973, undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Scope and Contents
This series comprises press releases from San Francisco MoMA and KQED announcing NCET exhibitions and programs.
