Schum, Gerry (video artist).

[THE BIRTH OF THE TERM “LAND ART” IN ART TELEVISION] Leaflet on the premiere of the first television exhibition [Land Art: Group Exhibition. 28 Mar 1969 SBF, Berlin, Germany].

Berlin: n.p., 1969. Octavo (21 × 15 cm). Pictorial leaflet with inserted, folded transparent glassine sheet, printed with artist and work details of the reproduced works and video stills; [8] pp. Very good. Item #55038

Rare leaflet for the first "Television Exhibition" by Gerry Schum, through which he coined the term "Land Art." In this broadcast, Schum presented land art works by Marinus Boezem, Walter De Maria, Jan Dibbets, Barry Flanagan, Michael Heizer, Richard Long, Dennis Oppenheim, and Robert Smithson — all shown without commentary. With this and subsequent films, Schum did not seek to create documentaries about contemporary art or artists. Rather, his intention was to allow the artworks to speak for themselves through the medium of film. Schum’s television gallery can be seen as a further development of André Malraux’s concept of the Musée Imaginaire. Land art, in particular, seemed to call for this new medium, as it enabled the simultaneous experience of works created in remote locations — despite their spatial separation and site-specific character. The film was not only broadcast on television but was also screened on a large projection at the Berlin Academy of the Arts. A catalog was published concurrently. (Cf. Dorine Mignot, "Gerry Schum. Die Idee einer Fernsehgalerie," in: Videokunst in Deutschland 1963–1982, ed. by Wulf Herzogenrath, Stuttgart 1983, pp. 44–67).

In another episode of his “television exhibition”, he showed works by Joseph Beuys, Daniel Buren, and Mario Merz. A third episode with the project title “Artscapes” fell through due to a shortage of funding. This was followed by further television projects. However, Schum's idea of using television as a democratic medium independent of the art market for the direct presentation of artworks failed. The main reason for this was the refusal of the broadcasters to finance further projects. (Cf. Helmut Kronthaler, in: AKL CII, 2019, 285).

The front and back of the leaflet show video stills taken from the sections about the works “A Hole in the Sea” by Barry Flanagan and “12 Hours Tide Object with Correction of Perspective” by Jan Dibbets. Opened, additional video stills are revealed, accompanied by information about artists and works on the printed glassine sheet.

Price: €2,000.00

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