Artists Space

DIVA TV (Damned Interfering Video Activist Television) came into existence expressly to document the 1989 ACT UP demonstration against New York Mayor Ed Koch’s lack of response to AIDS. Following this action, DIVA TV continued as an affinity group within the larger coalition. Target City Hall is an energetic and emotional record of preparing for the demonstration, of the demo itself, and of its aftermath. The footage is paired with Baylis Glascock’s artful films conveying the gentle charisma of Sister Corita and the environment of her 1960s classroom. Corita’s teaching philosophy permeates the film as we witness her assigning experiments and collages, instructing students to question their own working structures, and celebrating visuals of the everyday. Glascock’s filmic methods seem to mirror Corita’s educational tenets, folded into a sensitive cinematography.

This program is preceded by Cinema Elaine, by Jason Simon and Danh Vo, 2012, from a group of short videos made on the occasion of Tell It To My Heart.