Camera: Steina VASULKA
With: Robert ASHLEY, Ernest GUSELLA, Cosimo CORSANO, Ben HARRIS, Andrea HARRIS, David OSSMAN
Set Design: Bradford SMITH
Editor: Peter KIRBY
Audio Mix: Baird BANNER
Vocoder: Harald BODE
Scan Processor: Steve RUTT/Bill ETRA
Digital Image Articulator: Jeffrey SCHIER

Applying his electronic imaging codes to the narrative in “The Commission”, Woody VASULKA develops a metaphorical image language to envision an epic electronic opera. The text, which is based on the relationship of violinist Niccolo PAGANINI (played by video artist Ernest GUSELLA) and composer Hector BERLIOZ (composer/performer Robert ASHLEY), confronts myths of Romanticism, history, and art-making. Constructing a fantastic video theater, Woody stages a narrative of transformation, an intricately crafted blend of figuration and abstraction, in which imaging techniques serve as expressive visual syntax. Specific video effects are assigned interpretive meaning; reframed images proliferate within images in re-compositions that propel the narrative progression. “The Commission” is a pivotal work in the articulation of narrative strategies through all electronic image language.

“The Commission” 1983