Send/Receive Satellite Network was a collaborative video programme organised by Liza Bear and Keith Sonneir. It took place in 1977. The project centres on two-way telecommunication and was the first ever interactive satellite transmission organised by artists. Participants included dancers, visual artists, video/filmmakers and musicians, who took part in both verbal interactions and non-verbal performances transmitted via satellite between New York and San Francisco.
“Looking at the tape, you feel the suspense of waiting for a connection–for the first live feed from San Francisco and, a bit later, anticipating the split screen that would show dancers Margaret Fisher and Nancy Lewis, echoing each other’s moves side by side on the screen, a highlight of the afternoon.”
Liza Béar, via Castelli)
Send/Receive exhibits a shallower form of hybridity. The performance takes place in two remote locations. Participation is limited to the participants who are on-site in these two locations.
Credits
- Produced by: Liza Bear, Keith Sonnier, and Sharon Grace, with La Mamelle/Artists Television Access
- Participating artists, NASA/Ames Research Center, Mountain View: Margaret Fisher, Terry Fox, Sharon Grace, Carl Loeffler, Richard Lowenberg, and Alan Scarritt
- Participating artists, Lower Manhattan: Liza Bear, Willoughby Sharp, Keith Sonnier, Richard Landry, Nancy Lewis, Richard Peck, Betty Sussler, Paul Shavelson, and Duff Schweninger
- NASA/Ames public relations sponsor: Brad Gibbs
- Set photographers: Jackie Winsor and Dickie Landry.